David Attenborough at 99: a 'radical' voice for climate action

David Attenborough is going to be "Britain’s busiest 99-year-old", said The i Paper. As his new film "Ocean" is released in cinemas today – his 99th birthday – the nation's most revered natural-history presenter is "drawing on his long life experience" to make "an emotional plea" to "halt the destruction" of our seas.

In "Ocean", Attenborough takes us "through 100 years of discoveries about Earth's seas", said Sky News. But this film is "very different" to his previous work, according to Toby Nowlan, one of the directors. With "extraordinary" urgency, Attenborough delivers the "biggest message he's ever told": that "if we save the ocean, we save our world".

'Passion' and 'distinctive voice'

Attenborough has "attained icon status for his intrepid, TV-savvy adventures", showing viewers every corner of the natural world, said Smithsonian Magazine. For 70 years, the broadcaster has been bringing nature "into the living rooms of billions", working with the BBC's Natural History Unit on more than 100 series. His "passion and deep knowledge", and his "distinctive, often-mimicked voice", have inspired generations of wildlife lovers to care about the world around them.

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Born in west London in 1926, Attenborough "was hooked on the natural world from an early age". He studied zoology and geology at the University of Cambridge, then served two years in the Royal Navy before joining the BBC in the 1950s, first as a trainee producer and then as a presenter – despite a BBC boss declaring "his teeth too big for TV".

Attenborough "made his reputation" with the "groundbreaking" "Zoo Quest" series, which he hosted for 10 years, said The Independent. He was quickly promoted into senior management, spending 15 years in executive jobs that included being controller of BBC2. But that life "did not appeal" and he returned "with relief" to "filming the wildlife that fascinated him so much". That "famous whispering voice captured the imaginations of the nation" in 1979's "Life on Earth", and he went on to present "The Living Planet", "Planet Earth", "Africa", and "Dynasties".

'More radical shift'

"People often become more conservative as they get older, but Attenborough's taken a more radical shift during his 90s," said Chas Newkey-Burden in The Spectator. He has started to speak up more about climate change, urging world leaders at Cop26, for example, to reduce emissions. "Having spent a lifetime showing us nature in all its glory, he has joined the struggle to protect it."

Attenborough built his career at the BBC but, at streaming platforms like Disney+, he has found not only a "bigger budget" and a whopping global reach, but also freedom from the BBC's impartiality guidelines, said The i Paper. No longer forbidden from endorsing campaigns or advocating for changes to public policy, he "can be more direct in urging specific intergovernmental action to tackle issues like climate change". "Ocean", with its strong call to halt the destruction caused by industrial over-fishing, was "conceived in order to influence the UN Ocean Conference" this June.

Even with his centenary on the horizon, Attenborough has no plans to retire. This summer, he will introduce "Our Story", an "immersive experience", at London's National History Museum, and he's agreed to narrate "Parenthood", a new BBC series showcasing the parents of the animal world and the strategies they employ to protect their young.