Summary

There are few individuals who are as popular, charismatic and well loved as David Attenborough. He has that unique attribute that only few presenters have – everybody feels they know him. Yet David has had an extraordinary professional history off screen too – and that history provides an insight into not only the man himself, but also the story of television.

This film is a celebration of David’s career, and it also shows how television moved from its ‘Stone Age’ image in the 1950s, viewed by a few thousand, to a medium that now enters everyone’s life and profoundly influences our view of the world.

David Attenborough’s career began in 1952 when he joined BBC Television Talks Department at Alexandra Palace. In 1954 he launched the first of his famous Zoo Quest series which, over the next 10 years, took him to the wilder parts of the world.

In 1965, David became Controller of BBC2 and was responsible for the introduction of colour television into Britain. He also invented the one-day cricket match – just for television.

In January 1969, he was appointed Director of Programmes with editorial responsibility for both the BBC’s television networks. Then, in 1973, he resigned to return to his first love – programme-making. First came Eastwards with Attenborough, a natural history series set in South East Asia, then The Tribal Eye, examining tribal art.

In 1979, he wrote and presented the 13-part series Life on Earth – at the time the most ambitious series ever produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. In 1984 came its sequel, The Living Planet, and in 1990 followed the final part of the trilogy, The Trials of Life.

In 1993, he presented the spectacular Life in the Freezer, a celebration of Antarctica and in 1995, he wrote and presented the epic The Private Life of Plants. The list is almost endless and spans a period of incredible change, from the first colour television to today’s interactive multi-media broadcasts.

Through the use of archive material from some of his most unforgettable moments plus interviews with David himself and key figures in his career, Life On Air reveals an extraordinary half decade.