Building a legend
Sir David joined the BBC in 1952 as a lowly trainee, although he was to make his on-screen debut in September the following year with Animal Disguises, which explored how colour and markings help animals to camouflage themselves, warn off predators and attract mates. But his career began in earnest with Zoo Quest, first broadcast in Dec 1954, which combined studio presentations with footage shot in the field, an unprecedented approach at the time.
He visited various tropical countries, accompanied by staff from London Zoo. The show enabled viewers to see exotic animals such as pythons, Komodo dragons and birds of paradise on their televisions for the first time. It proved hugely popular and the series ran for seven years.
He rose steadily through the ranks of the BBC in the 1960s, taking on executive roles – including Controller of the fledgling BBC2 channel – that largely took him away from the wildlife programmes that he loved making. But during that time, he was instrumental in creating a string of legendary TV series, including the landmark documentaries Civilisation and The Ascent of Man, both pioneering in their approach to presenting culture and ideas to viewers at home.
During his tenure, he also commissioned a heady cross-cultural range of series, including the anarchic comedy of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, sports staple Match of the Day and the much-loved music series The Old Grey Whistle Test. But he didn’t altogether abandon his role of roving naturalist/explorer and 1971 found him in the highlands of New Guinea in search of a lost tribe, filmed for A Blank on the Map.