On May 8, 2026, Sir David Attenborough will celebrate his 100th birthday. The British biologist, writer, natural historian, and broadcaster has inspired audiences around the world with his deep passion and knowledge of nature. He now has more than 40 animal and plant species and a constellation named after him and a knighthood, BAFTA Film Award, Emmys®, and more.
Public media viewers have benefitted from his groundbreaking work in ways that are unlikely to ever be replicated.
An understanding of the natural world is a source of not only great curiosity, but great fulfillment.
Sir David Attenborough
A graduate of Cambridge University’s Clare College, he began his career working in educational publishing. But in 1952, one of the most fortuitous hires in history occurred when he joined the BBC as a trainee, even though he had only ever seen one television program in his life. His contributions to the BBC were broad, including overseeing the first-ever color broadcasts in Europe, helping to launch The Forsyte Saga, and commissioning the production of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. However, natural history programming was his first love and he developed myriad series that brought viewers into nature in new ways.
After leaving the BBC to become a freelance broadcaster, he continued to create and contribute to some of the best known natural history programs ever produced for the BBC, NATURE, and NOVA, including Life on Earth, The Living Planet, and The Blue Planet. His work helped pioneer technologies including super slow motion, infrared filming, and underwater photography.
GBH Passport has a deep collection of films hosted by Sir David that viewers can enjoy, including a new film in celebration of his birthday.
For more than 45 years, Sir David Attenborough has taken us by the hand and walked us through the natural world with an ease and grace that we will probably never see again. Life On Earth was the first of the many big, glossy series that come around every few years to remind us how much wonder our planet has to offer. The ambition of each series [he has created] increased dramatically, but Sir David’s role was essentially unchanged. He became our most beloved and trusted guide, a comforting presence we’ve come to expect.NATURE Executive Producer, Fred Kaufman
Check out these films that are currently available to watch now.
Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure (2026)
Sir David and his team traveled to 40 countries to document 600 species for the groundbreaking Life on Earth series. Fifty years later, viewers get rare, behind-the-scenes insights into the film and its extraordinary moments.
Though David Attenborough had been fronting natural history series for the BBC since the 1950s, his breakout series Life on Earth — which aired on the BBC in 1979 and on PBS in 1982 — turned him into a star, whose enthusiasm, erudition, and good humor have entertained and enlightened viewers around the world. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, we’re proud to present a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of his landmark series, as well as a variety of other documentaries he’s produced over the years. It’s a fitting celebration of the extraordinary life and career of someone who has brought the wonders of the natural world into our living rooms—and our hearts.GBH Senior Director of Programming, Ron Bachman
This five-part series is narrated by Attenborough, exploring the strategies and adaptability animal parents must employ to help their young survive and thrive.
NATURE: Museum Alive with David Attenborough (2025)
Attenborough explores London’s Natural History Museum, meeting extraordinary creatures from the past. Advanced computer-generated imaging lets him “meet” a saber-toothed tiger, a giant eagle, and a colossal snake face-to-face.
NATURE: Attenborough and the Jurassic Sea Monster (2024)
Sir David helps unearth a startling discovery: a fossil of the largest Jurassic predator ever known, the Pliosaur. A team of forensic experts embark on a perilous expedition to uncover the secrets deep inside this fossil.
NATURE: Attenborough’s Life Journey (2024)
This film shares the story of Sir David’s life, from a childhood hunting fossils to his early career at the BBC to becoming one of the most legendary natural history presenters to have ever lived.
NATURE: Attenborough’s Wonder of Song (2023)
Hear seven of the most remarkable animal songs found in nature and learn why they are significant. Listen to the sounds of the largest lemur, the humpback whale, and the lyrebird among others.
This five-part series reveals the secret lives of plants around the globe. Visit rainforests, plants in the water, deserts, and more.
NOVA Great Mammoth Mystery (2022)
Amateur fossil hunters uncovered giant mammoth bones and evidence of Neanderthals in southern England. Sir David and a team of paleontologists and archaeologists discover that the site preserves evidence of inhabitants dating to more than 200,000 years ago.
Attenborough explores the crisis of biodiversity as a million species face potential extinction. The ramifications of these mass extinctions could threaten food and water security and could increase risk of pandemic diseases for humans.
David Attenborough’s impact is what we as science storytellers aspire to. The passion and outright joy he’s displayed as he’s taken viewers on hundreds of amazing adventures of discovery is contagious and transformative. No one has done more to inspire audiences to care deeply about how the planet and the life on it works.
NOVA Co-Executive Producer, Julia Cort
Happy birthday, Sir David! And thank you for filling our lives with wonder and curiosity.
