Sir David Attenborough May Stop Going on Location for Documentaries

Change is coming to a long career

David Attenborough portrait
Sir David Attenborough talks with portrait artist Rosalie Watkins (right) after they unveiled a new portrait of him by the artist at Fauna and Flora International (FFI) in London.
Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images

If you enjoy watching nature documentaries, odds are good that you’re very familiar with Sir David Attenborough’s name. For decades, Attenborough has hosted and narrated programs about nearly every aspect of life on planet Earth — making him a ubiquitous presence in the pursuit of knowledge. His first work as a producer came in 1951, and his first high-profile project as host, Zoo Quest, debuted in 1954.

A recent article at The Observer has bittersweet news about Attenborough’s next project, Wild Isles — as of now, it looks like it’ll be the last time he’ll take part in documentary shoots in the field. To be fair, Attenborough is also 96 years old, and it doesn’t seem all that strange to hear that he might prefer working from a studio rather than being out in the field.

This doesn’t mean that Attenborough won’t continue to be involved in future documentary projects — just that he’s reportedly opting out of doing any more shoots on location.

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Wild Isles is a BBC production focusing on the landscape and wildlife of Britain and Ireland. The series was filmed over the course of several years, with the presence of Attenborough adding to the scope of the project. As producer Nick Gates told The Observer, “If you look at the natural history of Britain and Ireland, it has changed enormously over [Attenborough’s] lifetime and so it’s very powerful when he talks about that.”

As for whether or not Attenborough will record another song with Brian May and Slash — well, that remains to be seen.

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