The series that launched David Attenborough’s career in front of the camera
Year: 1954-1963
Certificate: pg
David Attenborough’s first major foray into presenting wildlife documentaries began when he took over from original Zoo Quest presenter Jack Lester, after Lester fell ill and couldn’t record the studio portions of the show upon the team’s return from their expeditions. The show not only set Attenborough on the path to being the face of natural history TV in Britain and around the world, but pioneered the kind of location filming we have come to expect of nature programmes today.
The first expedition was to Sierra Leone where cameras followed efforts to catch a white-necked Rockfowl for public exhibition. They also travelled to Borneo, Bali and Madagascar, while the Komodo dragon quest was a memorable highlight, as Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus trekked 3,000 miles through Indonesia. In addition to classic episodes in black and white, there’s a feature-length compilation in colour. (12 episodes)
