The following is a chronological list of television series and individual programmes in which Sir David Attenborough is credited as a writer, presenter, narrator, producer, interviewee, or other role. In a career spanning eight decades, Attenborough's name has become synonymous with the natural history programmes produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.
Major projects 1950s YearTitle DurationSubject Credit(s)1952 Coelacanth 1x10 min The rediscovery of the prehistoric coelacanth. Attenborough's first programme for the BBC (as producer). Presented by Julian Huxley. Producer Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? 4x30 min Quiz show based on the game Twenty Questions, which ran until 1959. Scientists would try to guess the origin of specimens from museum and university collections. Episodes: "Belfast Museum and Art Gallery", "Bankfield Museum", "The Royal Scottish Museum", "Royal Albert Memorial" (all 1953).1953 Song Hunter 6x20 min Folk music, presented by and featuring performances by Alan Lomax. Animal Patterns 3x30 min Animal camouflage, warning signals and courtship displays. Presented by Julian Huxley. Attenborough's first natural history series. Animal Disguises 4x40 min An expanded version of Animal Patterns for BBC Children's Television, this series brought Attenborough his first regular on-screen role, co-presenting with Julian Huxley. Presenter1954 It's a Small World 4x15 min Listed as a BBC series "giving a close-up view of tiny things". Producer Zoo Quest 6x30 min Documenting the wildlife of Sierra Leone, this was the first series fronted by Attenborough and the first to feature him filmed on location. It was re-edited and re-released in 1955 as the single documentary Zoo Quest to West Africa Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer 1955 Zoo Quest to Guiana 6x30 min Attenborough's second Zoo Quest series documents an expedition to Guyana in South America. 1956 Zoo Quest for a Dragon 6x30 min This Zoo Quest series on the wildlife of Indonesia features the first known footage of the Komodo dragon. 1957 Quest for the Paradise Birds 6x30 min Attenborough's first trip to the island of New Guinea in an attempt to film the courtship displays of the native birds of paradise. 1959 Zoo Quest in Paraguay 6x30 min Attenborough returned to South America and visited the grasslands and wetlands of Paraguay.
1960s YearTitle DurationSubject Credit(s)1960 The People of Paradise 6x30 min Anthropology and natural history of the South Pacific. Episode list: "The Land Divers of Pentecost", "Cargo Cult", "The Fire Walkers of Fiji", "Outer Islands of Fiji", "Royal Tonga". Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer Elsa the Lioness 1x30 min Following Joy and George Adamson as they search for Elsa the Lioness and her three cubs. Producer and presenterTravellers' Tales - Long-running series made by Attenborough's BBC Travel and Exploration Unit, which also featured Armand and Michaela Denis's on Safari programmes. Episodes associated with Attenborough: "Savage New Guinea", "Festival in Kano", "Hill Tribes of the Deccan", "White Elephant", "Men of the Dream Time", "Caribbean Expedition", "Hunters of Spitzbergen", "The Opium People", "The Leg Rowers of Burma", "Chop! Music and Zulu Dancing", "Adriatic Journey", "Antarctic Adventure", "Dancing Dervishes", "In Search of Stanley", "Overland to Singapore", "The Hidden Valley of Apa Tanis", "Pygmies of the Congo", "The Choco Indians of Colombia", "Head Hunters and Giraffe Women", "The Fur-trappers of Greenland", "Lapland Summer", "The Bird Cliffs of Lofoten", "The Strange Creatures of Galapagos", "Unknown India", "Chinese Journey", "The Ascent of Annapurna IV", "'Sherpa'; Land of the Lost", "The Land of the Gurkhas". Producer and narrator1961 Zoo Quest to Madagascar 6x30 min Filming and collecting animals in Madagascar. Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer Japan 8x30 min History and culture of the Japanese people. Producer 1962 Destruction of the Indian 3x30 min How contact with the modern world has affected remote Indian tribes of South America.1963 Attenborough and Animals 10x25 min First series for children. Comparing different species. Episodes: "Apes, Lemurs and Orang-utangs", "Armadilloes, Sloths and Anteaters", "Bird Architects – From the Argentine to Australia", "Bird Mysteries and Problems, Including the Rhea and the Birds of Paradise", "Lizards from Australia, South America and Malaya", "Crocodiles and Turtles – And How to Catch Them", "Ants from America, Australia and Africa", "Moths, Mud Wasps and Praying Mantises", "Clams and Crabs from the Pacific and Indian Oceans". Presenter Quest Under Capricorn 6x30 min Final Zoo Quest series, filmed in the Northern Territory of Australia, was also Attenborough's final natural history series before moving into BBC management. Episode list: "The Desert Gods", "Hermits of Borroloola", "Buffalo, Geese and Men", "The Artists of Arnhem Land", "Bush Walkabout", "The First Australians". Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer 1965 Zambezi 3x50 min A journey down the Zambezi. Episode list: "Lord of the Land", "The Ancient Highway", "Livingstone's River". Writer and presenter1967 Life: East Africa 3x40 min Series of interviews conducted by Attenborough with African conservationists, from the Serengeti Research Institute. The World About Us - Commissioned during his tenure as Controller of BBC Two, Attenborough narrated around 20 episodes of this long-running series between 1969 and 1982. Episode list: "Koko the Gorilla", "Unnatural History", "Asmat – Cannibal craftsmen of New Guinea", "The Predators", "Courtship", "Lions of Serengeti", "Extinction?", "Goblins of the Forest", "The Field – the Great Bustard", "Elephant Kingdom", "The Hyena Story", "Baboons of Gombe", "Baobab", "Geese are only Human", "Danger! Venomous Animals", "El Condor", "Yanomama – Sons of the Blood", "A Sheltered Existence", "The Discoverers: The 400th Edition of the World around Us", "Wild Dogs of Africa", "Woodpecker", "Voices in the Forest", "A Noble Savage", "Ascension Island", "The Underground Movement", "Lemurs – Ghosts at the End of the World", "Greenpeace Voyages to Save the Whale".Also presented at least one episode : The Mick Burke Award 1978 Narrator 1969 The Miracle of Bali 3x50 min The Indonesian island of Bali. Narrator and producer
1970s YearTitle DurationSubject Credit(s) 1971 A Blank on the Map 1x60 min Encounters with the Bikaru people in the New Guinea forest. Writer and presenter1973 Eastwards with Attenborough 6x30 min First natural history series after resigning as BBC Controller. Visit to South East Asia. Episode list: "The Strange Caves of Borneo", "Fire Giants of Sumatra", "Mudbuilders of Borneo", "Green Ceilings of Borneo", "Borneo's Cathedral of Trees", "Life and Death in Paradise". The Life Game 1x90 min Genetics and evolution, written by Nigel Calder and produced by Adrian Malone. Presenter Natural Break 15x10 min A series of short programmes based on archive footage, produced by John Sparks. Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 6x60 min Science lectures on the language of animals. Episodes: "The Languages of Animals: Beware", "The Languages of Animals: Be Mine", "The Language of Animals: Parents and Children", "The Language of Animals: Foreign Languages", "The Languages of Animals: Animal Language, Human Language". Writer and presenter Omnibus 1x60 min Wrote and presented one episode (Series 7, Episode 2, "The Savage Image"). Film about the ceremonies, paintings and sculptures of the people along the Sepik River in New Guinea. 1973–1975 The Explorers 10x50 min Recreating the voyages of famous explorers, at the time the most expensive series ever commissioned by the BBC. Episode list: "The Story of Roald Amundsen", "The Story of Charles Montagu Doughty", "The Story of Henry Morton Stanley", "The Story of Burke and Wills", "The Story of Mary Kingsley", "The Story of Jedediah Strong Smith", "The Story of Alexander von Humboldt", "The Story of Captain James Cook", "The Story of Francisco Pizarro", "The Story of Christopher Columbus". Introducer and narrator 1975 Fabulous Animals 6x25 min Children's television series which featured Attenborough reading books about mythological creatures. Episode list: "Here be Monsters", "Marvels of the Deep", "Dragons and Serpents", "Winged Creatures", "Horns of Magic", "Man or Beast". Presenter The Tribal Eye 7x50 min BBC documentary series on tribal art, of which Attenborough is a keen collector. Episode list: "Behind the Mask", "Crooked Beak of Heaven", "The Sweat of the Sun", "Kingdom of Bronze", "Woven Gardens", "Man Blong Custom", "Across the Frontiers". Writer and presenter Flying Prince of Wildlife 1x60 min The story of the conservation efforts of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1911–2004).1976 The Discoverers 6x30 min Pioneering explorers, discoverers and scientists in the field of natural history. Episode list: "The Bone Hunters", "The Bug Collectors", "The Wanderer and the Woodsman", "The Unknown Ocean", "The Rare and the Curious". Presenter Omnibus 1x60 min Attenborough introduces the episode "The Sound of Islam" (Series 9, Episode 31) 1977 Wildlife on One 253x30 min Half-hour natural history programmes for BBC One. Ran annually until 2005. 1979 Life on Earth 13x55 min The history of life on Earth. Took three years to make and was notable for its ground-breaking footage. Writer and presenter
1980s YearTitle DurationSubject Credit(s)1980 The Spirit of Asia 8x60 min The cultures and religions of the people of Asia. Episodes list: "The World of Shadows", "The Morning of the World", "Land of the Cosmic Mountain", "The Story of Rama", "The Haunted Land", "Artists in Exile", "God-Kings of Angkor", "Land of a Million Buddhas". Narrator Benjamin Britten – A Time There Was 1x103 min About composer Benjamin Britten. Aired as part of The South Bank Show. Archive director 1981 The Ark in South Kensington 1x40 min The Natural History Museum at South Kensington. Presenter 1984 The Living Planet 12x55 min How various living organisms have adapted to their surroundings. Writer and presenter 1985 The Million Pound Bird Book 1x60 min Biography of American naturalist John James Audubon. 1986 World Safari 1x90 min A live television event featuring broadcasts from across the world. Co-presenter 1987 The First Eden 4x60 min The Mediterranean. Writer and presenter 1989 Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives 4x40 min Fossils. Episodes: "Magic in the Rocks", "Putting Flesh on Bone", "Dinosaur", "The Rare Glimpses".
1990s