A life on screen. A world explored. An audience enchanted. Happy birthday, David Attenborough!
Sir David Frederick Attenborough – a true legend if there ever was one – celebrates his 100th birthday on May 8, 2026.
The great English broadcaster, natural historian and author has had a long and illustrious career. So long and so brilliant, in fact, that there are plenty of fascinating stories out there that you probably didn’t know about the man.
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Of course, we all know his perhaps even more famous older brother, the actor and director Richard. We also know of his invaluable work on nature documentaries such as Planet Earth and Blue Planet.
But we suspect there’s a lot about the life and career of this renowned gentleman that would surprise you. After all, you don’t go through a TV career for eight decades without picking up some strange and wonderful details along the way.
So here are ten things you probably didn’t know about David Attenborough.
1. He has over 40 species named after him
Being a true national treasure who has been working at the forefront of public education about nature since the early 1950s, you can swear that you attract a lot of love from zoologists and ecologists. And dear friend, that is what Mr. Attenborough has done. In fact, more than 40 species have been named after him – ranging from Oedura attenboroughi (an Australian gecko) in 1985 to Gibellula attenboroughii (a parasitic fungus) in 2025.
2. He can’t drive a car
For a man who has traveled around the world and has never hesitated to throw himself into wild situations, it may come as a surprise that David Attenborough can’t drive. He never learned to drive, does not have a driver’s license and does not own a car. One might think that this was due to the man’s principled attitude to green measures, but that is not the case. Attenborough has admitted that he simply hates driving. After being driven around for much of his career, he never felt that he needed to learn.
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3. He helped popularise colour TV – and snooker
We think of Attenborough as a presenter and narrator of fantastic nature documentaries, but the truth is that he has had an impressively rich and varied career. In the late 1960s, for example, he was the head of BBC Two. During his time there, he was a strong proponent of the new colour TV technology, and he deliberately chose snooker to show off how great the colours could be. It’s safe to say that his efforts helped turn what used to be a fairly niche pub sport into a national obsession.
4. He also commissioned Monty Python
Attenborough also commissioned another British institution during his time as head of BBC Two. As part of his mission to get experimental TV programs on screen, in 1969 he approved a program from a special group of comedians with a penchant for the surreal. We’re talking, of course, about Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It is not an exaggeration to say that British comedy would hardly be the force it is today without David Attenborough’s input.
5. He is the man who crosses TV generations
David Attenborough can be described in many ways – from the distinctive voice to the tireless climate fighter. But one thing stands out in particular: he has stayed at the top of his game for an incredibly long time. Nothing says this better than the fact that he is the only person to have won BAFTA awards for TV shows in black and white, color, HD, 3D, and 4K. He will probably also be the last, given that some of these formats are almost extinct today.
6. He once met cannibals
Back in 1967, relatively early in his career, Attenborough was exploring Papua New Guinea in search of birds of paradise when he suddenly came face to face with the Biami tribe. This remote group was perhaps best known for its reputation for practicing cannibalism. Fortunately, Attenborough’s calm and friendly nature ensured that the meeting proceeded peacefully. He even tried to trade a little with the isolated tribe.
7. His teeth almost cost him his career
A TV world without David Attenborough is more or less unthinkable for us in 2026, but the presenter was close to missing out on his big break – due to a deeply strange personal criticism. At the very start of his career, a producer told him that he shouldn’t be in front of the camera, because his teeth were too big. He only got the chance when the first chosen host of Zoo Quest fell ill, and Attenborough had to step in.
8. He has 32 honorary degrees from universities
Sir David Attenborough has received countless accolades during his outstanding career – including the honorable title of knighthood that put “Sir” in front of his name. But perhaps the most telling tribute is the huge number of academic institutions that have awarded him honorary doctorates. It is believed that he has over 32 of these, including from renowned educational institutions such as Trinity College in Dublin and the University of Cambridge.
9. He is afraid of rats
One would think that such a well-traveled animal lover would not share the common people’s dislike of small, furry creatures. But Attenborough is just as sceptical about rats as the rest of us. In fact, he has admitted that he is irrationally “terrified” of the ubiquitous rodents, and he has stated that they are the only animals in the world he dislikes so much. Supposedly, the fear stems from an incident in the Solomon Islands, when a rat ran over him while he was lying in bed.
10. He is in favor of cloning
The renowned naturalist has fought for a wide range of environmental issues and has often criticized human interference in nature. Therefore, it may come as a surprise that he is all for cloning. “I actually agree with cloning a species if you’re down to the very last one,” he once said, though he added that it would be better to clone one male and one female of the endangered species and then let things develop more naturally from there.
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