EXCLUSIVE: Sir David Attenborough’s greatest tragedy as he celebrates his 100th birthday
EXCLUSIVE: Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries made him a beloved TV icon, but behind the scenes his career came at a personal cost – here’s the story of his life, including marriage to wife Jane and her death in 1997
David and his late wife, Jane Oriel, were married for nearly 50 years
The unmistakable voice of Sir David Attenborough has been a constant source of inspiration and wonder to millions during his eight decades of natural history programming. And as he celebrates his 100th birthday on Friday, 8 May, OK ! looks back on Sir David’s extraordinary life and career.
From Zoo Quest in 1954, through his countless TV programmes, many of us feel like we know the broadcaster, who has touched all our lives with his remarkable and fascinating documentaries.
His 1979 series, Life On Earth , marked a turning point, not just for David’s career, but for TV itself. When it was first screened on 16 January 1979, it captured the imagination of the nation. Not only did it pull in an astonishing 15 million viewers per episode in the UK, it was also a huge hit overseas, watched by a reported 500 million people worldwide and earning its presenter global recognition.
As well as celebrating the natural world, he also showed he was decades ahead of his time in terms of environmental issues, warning viewers they had “an awesome responsibility” to protect the planet.
Over the years, Sir David has thrilled audiences with a succession of jaw-dropping documentary programmes including, in 1984, The Living Planet , which examined how animals – including humans – have adapted to extreme and hostile living environments around the globe.
Six years later, The Trials Of Life delved deeper into animal behaviour, capturing the sheer drama of survival, reproduction and adaptation.
In the 2000s, when most people his age would have been considering retirement, Sir David only seemed to pick up the pace, creating one hit after another, including The Blue Planet , The Life Of Mammals , Planet Earth (then the most expensive nature documentary series ever made), and Life In Cold Blood , which centred on reptiles and amphibians.
While the scale of his productions grew ever more breathtaking, at their core was always Sir David’s engaging, reassuring narration, guiding the viewer calmly as spectacular images flashed before their eyes.
Aside from his work, Sir David’s greatest love story unfolded away from the cameras. He and his late wife, Jane Oriel, were married for nearly 50 years until she tragically died following a brain haemorrhage in 1997.
It was a marriage built on security and a deep, long-held affection, but it also involved a significant degree of personal sacrifice, with Jane raising their two children single-handedly as her husband explored some of the most far-flung corners of the world.
Interviewed by Louis Theroux in 2017, Sir David admitted his only real regret is missing out on time with his two children, Susan and Robert, while away filming. “If I do have regrets, it is that when my children were the same age as your children, I was away for three months at a time,” he said. “If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable. You miss something.”
Although he said Jane was “very understanding” about his long absences, milestones were missed and he later revealed how his children would joke about the gaps in his knowledge of family life, saying, “you were never there”.
Despite those pangs of sadness at missing out on some of their early years, it sounds like the broadcaster wouldn’t have had it any other way. “I mean, I’m not complaining,” he said. “I really shouldn’t regret anything, because I’ve been just so unbelievably lucky.”
In 1997, Sir David was in New Zealand filming The Life Of The Birds when Jane fell into a coma following a brain haemorrhage. He quickly returned home and, thankfully, was at her side during her final hours. Recalling her passing at the age of 70, he said she “gave [his] hand a squeeze” shortly before she slipped away.
After Jane died, the naturalist threw himself into his work as a means of coping with his profound loss. “In moments of grief – deep grief – the only consolation you can find is in the natural world,” he said.
While some struggle to remain in the place where they spent so many happy years with a loved one, Sir David – who in his 2002 memoir, Life On Air , described Jane as his “focus” and “anchor” – has said he couldn’t contemplate moving from the home they shared for nearly half a century.
“What would be the point? I would be leaving the home we made together, the garden we built up,” he has reasoned. “I think it’s probably sentimental. This house is all bound up with her. I feel her here as much as anywhere.”
Knighted for services to broadcasting in 1985, Sir David has long-held connections with the royal family, even sharing his birth year with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2018, the pair joined forces for TV documentary The Queen’s Green Planet , exploring her initiative, The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. Following her death in 2022, Sir David spoke of his “great privilege” to know the monarch, saying, “If there was something funny she laughed in a genuine way… she wasn’t putting it on and that made it very easy.”
With a shared passion for conservation, he has also forged a strong bond with King Charles. They first met in 1958, when the then-prince and his sister, Princess Anne, were taken on a tour of the BBC studios, where David was an up-and-coming presenter and documentary producer. More than 60 years on, King Charles still holds Sir David in the highest esteem.
In 2022, he awarded him an even superior honour to his earlier knighthood – the Knight Grand Cross – in recognition of his global services to television broadcasting and conservation, and last year he attended the premiere of his 2025 film, Ocean With David Attenborough .
In recent years, Sir David has added his considerable influence to Prince William ’s pioneering Earthshot Prize, which aims to find 50 solutions to the world’s biggest environmental challenges by 2030.
Sadly, Sir David’s later years have been overshadowed by significant personal loss. In 2004, his niece Jane – the daughter of his actor brother Lord Richard Attenborough – was tragically killed aged 49 in Thailand’s Boxing Day tsunami. Her 15-year-old daughter, Lucy, also died.
David has also outlived both of his siblings. In 2012, his younger brother, motor industry executive John, died aged 84 following a battle with the degenerative disease progressive supranuclear palsy, while Lord Richard passed away two years later, aged 90.
While age may not have dimmed Sir David’s enthusiasm for the world around us, it has made it harder for him to travel. In 2013, he had a pacemaker fitted and, two years later, he underwent a double knee replacement.
But promoting Ocean – in which he still took an active part in filming – last year, he said, “After a lifetime recording the natural world, I can’t recall a more exciting time.”
To mark his extraordinary life and career, David Attenborough’s 100 Years On Planet Earth will air on BBC One on Sir David’s birthday and features wildlife stories and reflections, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra. The show takes place alongside a host of Sir David’s finest natural history programmes being shown on the BBC to mark his centenary.
From bonding with gorillas to inviting us to the depths of the oceans, Sir David has truly opened our eyes to the wonders of nature. Happy birthday!
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