NATURAL HABITAT
Sir David’s documentary dynasty
At the age of 92, you might think that Sir David Attenborough would be looking forward to slowing down, putting his feet up, having a cuppa and watching some telly, rather than making another landmark show.
But of course, the naturalist and nonagenarian has nothing of the sort in mind. Instead, far from resting on his laurels, he’s busier than ever, with two new series out this year, including his most ambitious yet, Dynasties, with each episode taking up to two and a half years to film.
“It was a huge undertaking and a huge investment,” he acknowledges. “I can’t think of any programme that I’ve done in which it’s just one particular family of animals that have been observed, continuously, for two and a half years.
“Quite frankly, I can’t imagine how the idea was ever sold to the BBC, because you might film for all that time and have nothing to show for it! If you tried to pitch it to me, I’d think you were crazy,” he laughs.
“We filmed families of lions, chimpanzees and tigers, but my favourite has to be the Emperor penguins of Antarctica,” he reveals, with boyish enthusiasm. “It’s a beautiful part of the world − perhaps the one part of the world which is still largely untouched by humans.
“I would have loved to have been there and experienced it first-hand, like our film crews did, but I’m afraid nine months in freezing temperatures is just a bit too extreme for me now.”
Part of the reason for Sir David’s continued and unbridled passion and indomitable drive is, he reveals, the fact that a few years back he had both his knees operated on as they were beginning to make walking and moving painfully difficult.
“Yes, I had knee replacement [surgery] and it’s given me a whole new lease of life,” he says, smiling. “Now they work very well, thank you. It’s certainly kept me [more] mobile.”
However, despite the newfound spring in his step, Sir David admits that because Dynasties was such a long and arduous shoot, he couldn’t stay out in the field as much as he would have liked to.
“Yes, sadly, I’m more in the studio these days rather than filming on location. I do miss it,” he admits. “I did go to Zimbabwe, though, to the
Mana Pools National Park, for the episode where we filmed [the Painted Dogs] and that was wonderful. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there even more.”
Now that field world is largely out of the picture, Sir David’s full focus is on narrating tales of the unexpected that are encountered while filming some of the world’s most magnificent animals.
“When they give me a script, I’ll work on it and if I think I can amplify something or put in words that make it easier to read and convey the message, then that’s what I’ll do,” he says.
In fact, Sir David confesses to being a “bit of a perfectionist” when scripting a documentary, because he wants the message that accompanies the groundbreaking footage to enhance, not detract, what’s been captured on camera.
“Yes, that’s true. I can be like that,” he nods. “I’m working on something else right now and I’ve just spent eight days trying to get it right. It’s because I’m very interested in the process of putting words with pictures. I think it’s not a very celebrated skill, but it should be because it takes time to learn and perfect.”
It’s that dedication, expertise and enthusiasm that has made Sir David such a respected icon, this status proven even more by the fact he was recently a guest of honour at Davos, the World Economic Forum, where world leaders meet to discuss