Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sir David Attenborough 'almost died' during documentary filming

One of the beloved nature broadcaster's longtime collaborators recalled the incident in a recent interview

Roisin O'Connor

Saturday 14 April 2018 08:54 BST

Blue Planet shows mourning whales whose newborn may have been killed by plastic

Sir David Attenborough had a nasty accident while shooting one of his acclaimed documentaries, a close friend and collaborator has revealed.

Alastair Fothergill, who produced shows including Planet Earth and Blue Planet, said Attenborough and the team were filming dolphins in the Bahamas for The Trials of Life in 1990.

“We were filming David from the top of a boat that had a wooden platform on the back for people to dive off,” Fothergill told the Radio Times.

“We had just done a wonderful piece and David was about to go under the water again and a great wave washed him under the dive platform, which then came smashing down.

“I’ve never forgotten it because David was unconscious and there was blood everywhere and I remember thinking: ‘The one thing you don’t want on your CV is you’re the man who killed David Attenborough’.”

Fortunately Attenborough recovered and continued his work as one of the most respected and beloved TV presenters in the UK.

His most recent series, Blue Planet II, showed the devastating impact of plastics to marine life, and inspired worldwide calls for action.

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Show all 10

1/10Blue Planet II – in pictures

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Broadclub cuttlefish

"A broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) in Indonesia. Its skin contains millions of pigment cells with which it can create ever-changing colours and patterns to apparently mesmerise their prey."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

"Once a year, responding to cues from the cycle of the moon and the temperature of the water, corals simultaneously release their eggs and sperm into the ocean. Tiny coral larvae drift in the ocean currents, some for days, some for weeks, before sinking back down to the ocean floor and settling to become new corals."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

An aggregation of marbled grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion), French Polynesia

"Thousands of groupers gather here in one of the few pristine spawning aggregations for this species remaining in the world. By taking up the position closest to a female, the male stands the best chance of fertilising her eggs."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Saddleback clownfish (Amphiprion polymnus)

"A male saddleback clownfish uses all the strength it can muster to push a coconut shell to its anemone in Borneo. Unlike their reef relatives, saddleback clownfish live around anemones that are found in the sand, far away from the solid structure of the coral reef. Male saddleback clownfish must use their ingenuity to find a hard substrate upon which the females can lay their eggs."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Peters' monocle breams (Scolopsis affinis)

"A group of Peters' monocle breams blow water-jets onto a hiding bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) to expose its ferocious jaws. In so doing, they alert other fish to the worm's location, ruining the predator’s chance of a surprise attack. This new behaviour was published for the first time by Jose Lachat and Daniel Haag-Wackernagel in 2016."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Green turtles (Chelonia mydas)

Green turtles in Sipadan, Borneo, jostling for their place at a cleaning station. Here, turtles are serviced by blennies and surgeonfish who rid them of algal growth, parasites and dead skin. In return, these fish receive a nutritious meal.

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)

"Bumphead parrotfish feeding on coral and algae in Borneo. These parrotfish use their large forehead to ram corals, thereby breaking them into pieces that are more easily ingested. Each fish ingests over 5 tons of structural reef carbonates per year and after they digest the edible portions from the rock, they excrete it as sand, helping to create small islands and the sandy beaches."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Coral garden

"A fish's-eye view of a coral garden on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. New underwater probe lenses, developed for Blue Planet II, allow the viewer to immerse themselves into the coral reef city like never before."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

A coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus)

"A coral grouper on the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Australia. Groupers use a gesture dubbed the ‘headstand signal’ to reach across the vertebrate-invertebrate divide and encourage another species to help it hunt. Gestures such as this are thought to only occur in the largest-brained species. The discovery of this behaviour in groupers indicates that some fish are able to think flexibly to achieve their goals."

BBC

Blue Planet II – in pictures

Bigeye trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus)

"A school of Bigeye trevally gather at the outer edge of the reef wall in Sipadan, Borneo. These trevally are a schooling species, widespread in the tropics and usually found in large- slow moving schools during the day. They eat a variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and marine invertebrates."

BBC

Attenborough warned our oceans were “could be at crisis point” due to issues caused by climate change, pollution and overfishing.

The series was named the most watched show of 2017, with one episode attracting an official rating of 17m.

On 16 April, ITV will air a one-off special documentary following "Her Majesty the Queen and an ambitious legacy project to create a global network of protected forests".

Focusing on the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy and highlighting her little-known love of trees,The Queen’s Green Planet, will have at its heart a conversation between the Queen and the beloved nature broadcaster.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies