Call of the wild

Fife cameraman Doug Allan has captured some of the most memorable footage of all time and counts David Attenborough among his admirers. He tells Jack McKeown why we should all be taking action for the planet

Ashaggy head pushes out of the snow into the red light of an Arctic dawn. The mother polar bear hauls her great body out of her winter den then slides down the snowy hillside on her side, spraying snow with her massive paws in obvious happiness.

Two furry faces peep out nervously after her. The cubs clamber out of the den for the very first time, scrambling clumsily across the snow towards their mum, clearly overwhelmed by the enormity of the world around them.

You’re probably remembering the scene now. The incredible footage enchanted almost 9.5 million viewers when it was screened in the first episode of Planet Earth a decade ago.

It’s just one of many extraordinary encounters filmed by Doug Allan, from Fife. The cameraman has spent more than 30 years working in the world’s coldest and most remote locations for programmes including Planet Earth, The Blue Planet, Life, Human Planet and Frozen Planet and over that time he has captured some of the most beautiful and moving animal footage ever taken.

Doug, 65, grew up in Dunfermline and learned to dive with Fife Sub Aqua Club when he was 17. He studied marine biology at Stirling University, graduating in 1973. “I decided I didn’t want to be a scientist but I’d love to work in Antarctica,” he explains. In 1976 he got his wish and was taken on by the British Antarctic Survey, spending much of the next 10 years there. His life changed again when a BBC film crew arrived in the summer of 1981.

“David Attenborough and a crew of three stayed at the same base for a few days and I offered to show them round the island,” he recalls.

“They were amazed at what they could see and that was in summertime when water visibility isn’t nearly as good. I’d done three winters by that point and I thought if you think it’s good in summer you’ll be bowled over by what it’s like then.”

That first meeting also sparked an enduring friendship between Doug and Britain’s greatest wildlife presenter.

“Immediately there was a good chemistry between David and me and we remain friends to this day. I was in London recently with some time to kill so I phoned him and he invited me round.

“The thing that makes David special is he doesn’t think he’s special. He’s genuinely likeable, patient and enthusiastic. That he’s remained so working in the public eye for more than 60 years is remarkable and admirable. I don’t know what the BBC will do when he’s gone or if he refuses to do voiceovers any longer.

“Would Planet Earth have been nearly as successful with someone else’s voice? I don’t think so.”

When Attenborough and crew left Antarctica Doug wrote to the BBC asking if he could take video footage over the winter and send it in. The resulting footage was used in the series Birds for All Seasons and launched his career as a wildlife cameraman.

There are two things you need to deal with cold. One is the right clothing and the other is to learn your limitations