'I will not see how planet's story ends' – Sir David Attenborough turns 100

Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday today, with events in New Zealand and in many other countries marking the achievements of the world's most famous naturalist.

Sir David has shown hundreds of millions of people some of the world's rarest creatures and inspired generations through his unique broadcasts about planet Earth.

“I will not see how that story ends but, after a lifetime of exploring our planet, I remain convinced that the more people enjoy and understand the natural world, the greater our hope of saving both it and ourselves becomes," he wrote around the release of his 2025 film Ocean with David Attenborough.

Sir David has released more than 100 documentaries, according to Penguin Books Australia, and continues to produce television series.

Schools, universities, zoos, museums, environment groups, the BBC – where he began his broadcasting career – libraries and New Zealand's Department of Conservation are among the organisations paying tribute to the legendary broadcaster.

Department of Conservation Operations Manager for kākāpō Deidre Vercoe first met Sir David in 2016 with her colleague scientist Andrew Digby to talk about their efforts to boost the survival of the critically endangered native bird.

"I just remember when we got to his house and he opened the door and he was like, 'Hello!' and welcomed us in so it was just fantastic. It felt like you were meeting an old friend," she said.

"It was really inspiring and uplifting to think that he was a man of his calibre who has seen what he's seen, he's done so much around the world and has so much experience with conservation programmes, that he had glowing praise for what we're doing here in New Zealand. Particularly he was really interested around conservation technology and how we're applying that."

They also spoke to him backstage at his stage show in Auckland in 2017.

"To hear his message, such an important message and such an urgent message about nature and about how we're all part of it, we're incredibly reliant on it and we'd better give it some serious respect," Vercoe said.

"I hope he feels that he has been heard."

On his 100th birthday, Vercoe wanted to share with Sir David "a heartfelt thank you".

"On behalf of everybody who's working hard to make their little piece of the natural world, their corner of the natural world a better place, a more resilient place. Thank you for the inspiration and thank you for that really important message."

The kākāpō chick named Attenborough in the naturalist's honour in 2016 by DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Team lives on Te Kākahu-o-Tamatea in Fiordland National Park. Vercoe hopes he'll live to an old age like his namesake.

Back then, Vercoe informed Sir David of the population reaching the milestone of just over 150 birds. Now the population's grown to just over 250 birds with more than 90 chicks still alive from the latest breeding season yet to be added to the total.

"That's really exciting, gives us a lot of hope. We've still got a long way to go though, one of our biggest problems here in Aotearoa is where to put kākāpō and other species that really need that predator-free safe habitat. So we've got a big challenge ahead of us."

Back in the UK, a celebration organised by the BBC will take place on the evening of his birthday (Saturday morning, New Zealand time) at Royal Albert Hall in London. Some of Sir David's memorable TV moments will be played and reflections will be shared from people who have worked with him over the decades including fellow conservationists. Music from his iconic series over the years will be performed live.

Fifty years after embarking on the revolutionary series Life on Earth, and to mark Sir David's centenary, a film has also been released in the UK. Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure features interviews with Sir David and his original production team.

He calls it "the series that changed everything".

Sir David was born on May 8, 1926 in the west London suburb of Isleworth around a fortnight after the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 in 2022.

He was raised in the English city of Leicester on the former campus of the University of Leicester, where his dad was principal. As a child, his fascination with science and nature began. An early memory is collecting fossils.

Sir David's older brother was the late director and actor Lord Richard Attenborough – well known for his role as Jurassic Park creator John Hammond.

Sir David graduated in 1947 from Clare College in Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences, going on to serve in the Royal Navy for two years before his first job with an educational publisher.

He has delivered many firsts in broadcasting, particularly pioneering wildlife programming, and his career is a journey through technological developments in the world such as air travel.

He married Jane Ebsworth Oriel in 1950 and had two children, Robert and Susan.

Like most people at the time, he didn't own a TV in 1952 when he began a trainee role at the BBC.

His first TV appearance was in 1954, filling in for a sick presenter on groundbreaking natural history programme Zoo Quest. The programme went on to show animals in the wild, a first for TV and the audience was hooked.

By 1965, he had risen to be controller of the BBC's new second channel, BBC Two.

One notable moment was introducing Europe's first colour television broadcast on July 1, 1967. He wanted to be ahead of West Germany, as the state was known, who were also in the race. The first broadcast was four and a half hours of Wimbledon Championships tennis.

Sir David returned to film making in 1973, after four years as the BBC Director of Programmes.

In 1979, the Life on Earth series aired in the UK after three years of filming – kicking off the natural history documentary genre as its known today.

The BBC estimates up to 500 million people have seen the series.

The 2006 Planet Earth series went further, in sharper focus filmed in high definition over four years in 64 countries. Other popular series included Plant Earth II, Africa and Frozen Planet.

In 1985, he was knighted for his services to television broadcasting.

In 1997, wife Jane died aged 70 after a brain haemorrhage. “In moments of grief – deep grief – the only consolation you can find is in the natural world," Sir David has been quoted as saying.

In 2022, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George for TV, broadcasting and conservation.

The same year, he was awarded the United Nations Environment Programme Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award, the global organisation's highest environmental honour.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said, “You spoke for the planet long before anyone else did and you continue to hold our feet to the fire.”

Over the decades, Sir David's programmes shifted from exploration to sharing knowledge about endangered animals and climate change.

In the 2020 film David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet he highlighted the changes he'd seen over his lifetime and offered a prescription for living in balance with nature.

Sir David was 99 when Ocean with David Attenborough was released, urging ocean restoration and explaining how recovery could happen faster than previously thought.

"After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.

"The ocean can bounce back to life," he said.

"If left alone it may not just recover but thrive beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen."

Sir David continues to produce documentaries, although, now closer to home.

Secret Garden was released last month, a series showcasing wildlife in British backyards.

He's lived in the London suburb of Richmond for 75 years and has said – after all his travels – it's his favourite place in the world.

– Several of Sir David Attenborough's series can be viewed on TVNZ+