David Attenborough at 90: BBC to air his first wildlife documentary in colour for the first time

Zoo Quest screened in black and white in 1954 but will get a colour broadcast to celebrate the presenter's birthday

David Attenborough feeding Benjamin the Zoo Quest Bear (Malaysian Sun Bear) in Borneo, 1956 (BBC)

David Attenborough’s first wildlife documentary is to air in colour for the first time in celebration of his 90th birthday next month.

Popular Fifties TV series Zoo Quest launched Attenborough’s career as a presenter but has only ever been seen in black and white. Footage was unearthed from the BBC’s vaults last year, with the veteran presenter “astonished” to discover that it had actually been shot in colour.

“When someone said we've got nearly all the film of the first three expeditions you did in colour, I said, ‘It’s impossible, we shot in black and white’” he said.

Zoo Quest in Colour will be screened on BBC Four as part of a week of programming to mark the legendary naturalist’s milestone birthday on 8 May. The series was originally broadcast ten years before colour television was seen in the UK.

Using the newly-discovered colour 16mm film, together with behind the scenes stories from Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus, the special will showcase the best of Zoo Quest to West Africa, Zoo Quest to Guiana and Zoo Quest for a Dragon in HD colour.

Lagus said: “At its best it’s as good as any colour you see now, quite staggering for the period that it was filmed in. I was astonished.”

Other programmes to be screened as part of the week include Attenborough At 90 on 8 May on BBC One, in which presenter Kirsty Young will interview the broadcaster about his career and animal encounters around the world.

BBC Two will screen Life That Glows on 9 May, in which Attenborough looks at creatures such as glow worms, fireflies and luminous plankton to guide viewers through the world of bioluminescence.

David Attenborough on a quest for the Komodo dragon in Komodo, 1956 (BBC)

Attenborough has also chosen four films from his rich back catalogue of more than 60 years of filmmaking for Passion Projects on BBC Two. A Blank on the Map follows Attenborough to New Guinea and The Lost Gods of Easter Island sees him embark on a personal quest, both on 7 May, while Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives about the world’s most famous fossil sites and Darwin’s Tree of Life about the history of genetics both air on 14 May.

Additional reporting by Press Association