Sir David’s accidental big break as a TV presenterpublished at 21:22 BST
21:22 BST
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment reporter at the Royal Albert Hall
Image caption,
Sir David pictured with his daughter Susan in 1957 on the set of Zoo Quest
David Attenborough’s big break as a TV presenter came in 1954 – by accident – when the BBC launched its groundbreaking Zoo Quest series.
The show followed expeditions around the world to film and collect animals for London Zoo’s collection – a concept that sounds antiquated and even cruel now, but was commonplace in the 1950s for scientific study.
Sir David was a producer on the series rather than a presenter. But, when the original presenter became ill ahead of broadcast, he was asked to step in.
“My boss said, ‘well Attenborough, you’re the only other person who was there, you’ll go and do it,” Sir David recalls. “So quite unintentionally, I appeared on television.”
Showbiz is littered with stories like this – many of today’s best known TV presenters got their big break thanks to a chance opportunity. Graham Norton, for example, became a chat show host after standing in for another presenter on Channel 5 in the 1990s.
But Sir David is perhaps the most notable example, with his turn on Zoo Quest leading to a seven-decade career. As broadcaster Liz Bonnin has just said “Just imagine, if that presenter hadn’t been ill, we may never have had David – the broadcaster.”