SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

WILDLIFE legend Sir David Attenborough turned 98 last week.

But apart from romping with monkeys, what else do we know about this national treasure?

Here are some interesting facts…

1

DAVID Frederick Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926, in Isleworth, Middlesex, and grew up on the campus of the University of Leicester, where his father, Frederick, was principal.

2

HE is the middle of three sons – his elder brother, Richard ( who died in 2014), became an actor and director, and his younger brother, John ( who died in 2012), was an executive at the Italian car maker

Alfa Romeo.

3

DURING the war, his parents fostered two Jewish refugee girls from Germany.

4

ATTENBOROUGH spent his childhood collecting fossils, stones, and natural specimens.

5

HE won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, in 1945 to study geology and zoology and obtained a degree in natural sciences.

6

AFTER doing his National Service in the Royal Navy, Attenborough got a job editing children’s science textbooks and eventually landed a position on the fledgling BBC Television.

7

HIS first hit series was Zoo Quest in 1954 where he travelled the world with animal collectors.

8

ATTENBOROUGH became Controller of BBC2 in March 1965. It was his idea to put snooker on telly when BBC2 first went over to colour.

9

HE also commissioned other classic shows, including Call My Bluff, Match of the Day, The

Old Grey Whistle Test, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Money Programme.

10

HE hit the natural history broadcasting stratosphere with the 1979 series Life on Earth.