David Attenborough’s memorable quotes as TV star turns 100

Over the years, his voice has become an iconic backing to some of the BBC’s most loved documentaries, from the Planet Earth series to Frozen Planet.

Both on and off screen, he has also shared his wisdom on how we can help the planet.

As the country celebrates the milestone day for the broadcaster and naturalist, here are some of his most memorable quotes.

David Attenborough’s career as TV star turns 100

Sir David was born on May 8 1926, in London, the son of an academic and principal of University College, Leicester.

Before joining the BBC in 1952, he studied geology at the University of Cambridge and served two years in the Royal Navy, before earning his reputation with the groundbreaking Zoo Quest series, which he hosted for 10 years on the BBC.

In 1965, he became controller of BBC Two, overseeing the advent of colour TV, and he later became BBC director of programming, but life as a broadcast executive did not appeal, and he returned to his passion for filming wildlife.

His recognisable whispering voice became a household sound in 1979 when he was seen mingling and bonding with a family of gorillas in Life On Earth and its sequel, The Living Planet, in 1984.

The following year, he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II before being awarded a Knight Grand Cross honour in 2022.

Sir David Attenborough was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2022 (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

The TV presenter has two children, Susan and Robert, with his late wife Jane, whom he married in 1950, while his late brother Richard was a well-known actor and film director, who starred in movies such as The Great Escape, Doctor Dolittle and Jurassic Park.

In recent years, Sir David, who resides in Richmond, has presented shows including Dynasties, Prehistoric Planet and Planet Earth III.

David Attenborough’s most memorable quotes

Sir David Attenborough’s hushed but excited tones have been heard in living rooms around the world for many years.

Here are just some of his most memorable quotes:

• “It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

• “The future of the natural world, on which we all depend, is in our hands”

• “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.

• “The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?”

• “It is vital that there is a narrator figure whom people believe. That’s why I never do commercials. If I started saying that margarine was the same as motherhood, people would think I was a liar.”

• “You know, it’s a terrible thing to appear on television, because people think you actually know what you’re talking about.”

• “I don’t run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving.”

• “If I can make programmes when I’m 95, that would be fine. But I would think I’ll have had enough by then.”

• “You have to steer a course between not appalling people, but at the same time not misleading them.”

• “I don’t think we are going to become extinct. We’re very clever and extremely resourceful – and we will find ways of preserving ourselves, of that I’m sure. But whether our lives will be as rich as they are now is another question.”

• “An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfilment.”

• “Our planet may be home to 30 million different kinds of animals and plants. Each individual locked in its own life-long fight for survival. Everywhere you look, on land or in the ocean, there are extraordinary examples of the lengths living things go to to stay alive.”

• “Ever since we arrived on this planet as a species, we’ve cut them down, dug them up, burnt them and poisoned them. Today we’re doing so on a greater scale than ever.”

Sir David Attenborough marks his 100th birthday today (May 8) (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

• “There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive.”

• “Reptiles and amphibians are sometimes seen as simple, primitive creatures. That’s a long way from the truth. The fact that they are solar-powered means that their bodies require only 10% of the energy that mammals of a similar size require. At a time when we ourselves are becoming increasingly concerned about the way in which we get our energy from the environment and the wasteful way in which we use it, maybe there are things that we can learn from Life In Cold Blood”.

Recommended reading:

• “A hundred years ago, there were one-and-a-half billion people on Earth. Now, over six billion crowd our fragile planet. But even so, there are still places barely touched by humanity.”

What is your favourite David Attenborough documentary series? Let us know in the comments (or in the poll above).