My biggest regret is missing so much of the kids growing up
Sir David on wildlife film commitments
DAVID Attenborough says his biggest regret in life is spending three months at a time away from his young children to film wildlife documentaries.
Sir David said: “If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable – you miss something. My dear wife was very understanding about it. Perhaps you can’t have your cake and eat it.”
The 91-year-old’s wife Jane passed away in 1997. They had children Robert and Susan together.
He admitted his family used to make jokes about his absence.
He told Radio Times: “You know, ‘you were never there. You don’t remember that, father, do you, because you weren’t there?’ But... I’m not complaining. I really shouldn’t regret anything, because I’ve been just so unbelievably lucky.” The star of TV for more than 60 years is returning for new BBC series Natural Curiosities and revealed he has no desire to retire. He said: “I don’t [have a plan] except to keep doing what I want to do. But I mean, who wouldn’t be grateful for people coming up and saying, ‘Would you like to go to Trinidad?’ I say, ‘Yes, what will it cost?’ ‘No, no,’ they reply, ‘We’ll pay you!’”