Editing David Attenborough (section)

===Beyond ''Life on Earth''===
[[File:David Attenborough NASA.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Attenborough filming commentary for a documentary at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida, with the [[Space Shuttle Columbia]] in the background]]
Alongside the ''Life'' series, Attenborough continued to work on other television documentaries, mainly in the natural history genre. He wrote and presented a series on man's influence on the natural history of the [[Mediterranean Basin]], ''[[The First Eden]]'', in 1987. Two years later, he demonstrated his passion for fossils in ''[[Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/lost-worlds-vanished-lives/ |title=Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives |via=topdocumentaryfilms.com |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823194655/https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/lost-worlds-vanished-lives/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1990, he worked on the BBC's ''Prisoners of Conscience'' series where he highlighted the case of the Sudanese poet [[Mahjoub Sharif]].<ref name="Amnesty2008">{{Cite journal |date=September–October 2008 |title=Solidarity and Return to Sender |journal=Amnesty Magazine |volume=0264-3278 |issue=151 |page=24}}</ref>

Attenborough narrated every episode of ''[[Wildlife on One]]'', a [[BBC One]] wildlife series that ran for 253 episodes between 1977 and 2005. At its peak, it drew a weekly audience of eight to ten million, while the 1987 episode "Meerkats United" was voted the best wildlife documentary of all time by BBC viewers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/151/Meerkats+United.html |title=Meerkats United |publisher=WildFilmistory.org |access-date=20 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204223809/http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/151/Meerkats+United.html |archive-date=4 February 2010 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> He has narrated over 50 episodes of ''[[Natural World (BBC TV series)|Natural World]]'', BBC Two's flagship wildlife series. Its forerunner, ''[[The World About Us]]'', was created by Attenborough in 1969, as a vehicle for colour television.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/madeintheuk/pdfs/5_david_attenborough_where_the_wild_things_are.pdf |title="Where the Wild Things Are" (Essay for BBC "Made in the Uk") |publisher=BBC |first=David |last=Attenborough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805031208/http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/policies/madeintheuk/pdfs/5_david_attenborough_where_the_wild_things_are.pdf |archive-date=5 August 2011 |access-date=20 January 2010}}</ref> In 1997, he narrated the ''[[BBC Wildlife Specials]]'', each focusing on a charismatic species and screened to mark the Natural History Unit's 40th anniversary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://realscreen.com/1998/01/01/20282-19980101/ |title=Tribute to BBC Natural History Unit: Bristol's Natural Wonder |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823194908/https://realscreen.com/1998/01/01/20282-19980101/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

As a writer and narrator, Attenborough continued to collaborate with the BBC Natural History Unit in the new millennium. [[Alastair Fothergill]], a senior producer with whom Attenborough had worked on ''The Trials of Life'' and ''Life in the Freezer'', was making ''[[The Blue Planet]]'' (2001), the Unit's first comprehensive series on [[marine life]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii|title=Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=20 February 2017|access-date=20 February 2017|archive-date=23 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223022123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii|url-status=live}}</ref> He decided not to use an on-screen presenter due to difficulties in speaking to a camera through diving apparatus, but asked Attenborough to narrate the films. The same team reunited for ''[[Planet Earth (2006 TV series)|Planet Earth]]'' (2006), the biggest nature documentary ever made for television and the first BBC wildlife series to be shot in [[high-definition video|high definition]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/arts/television/18slen.html|title=Alastair Fothergill – Planet Earth – TV|last=Slenske|first=Michael|date=18 March 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=20 October 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020140524/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/arts/television/18slen.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, Attenborough co-wrote and narrated ''[[Life (2009 TV series)|Life]]'', a ten-part series focussing on extraordinary animal behaviour,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/21/bbc.television1 |title=Attenborough is back – again |last=Holmwood |first=Leigh |date=21 September 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516181655/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/21/bbc.television1 |archive-date=16 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and narrated ''[[Nature's Great Events]]'', which showed how seasonal changes trigger major natural spectacles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/01_january/05/nature.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216032713/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/1_january/05/nature.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2009 |title=Nature's Great Events press pack: introduction |date=11 February 2009 |publisher=BBC Press Office |access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> In January 2009, the BBC commissioned Attenborough to provide a series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of nature. Entitled ''[[David Attenborough's Life Stories]]'', they were broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] on Friday nights.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2009 |title=Attenborough takes on Cooke's radio slot |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a145070/attenborough-takes-on-cookes-radio-slot.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609170435/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a145070/attenborough-takes-on-cookes-radio-slot.html |archive-date=9 June 2009 |access-date=4 November 2009 |work=Digital Spy |first=Sarah |last=Rollo}}</ref>

In 2011, Fothergill gave Attenborough a more prominent role in ''[[Frozen Planet]]'', a major series on the natural history of the [[Polar regions of Earth|polar regions]]; Attenborough appeared on screen and authored the final episode, in addition to performing [[Voice-over|voiceover]] duties. Attenborough introduced and narrated the Unit's first [[Ultra-high-definition television|4K]] production ''[[Life Story (TV series)|Life Story]].'' For ''[[Planet Earth II]]'' (2016), Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter, with the main theme music composed by [[Hans Zimmer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/planet-earth-two |title=Sir David Attenborough to present brand new landmark natural history series for BBC One |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223204759/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/planet-earth-two |archive-date=23 February 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td |title=Planet Earth II – BBC One |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312235701/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td |archive-date=12 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:David Attenborough Great Barrier Reef screening.jpg|thumb|right|Attenborough at a screening of ''[[Great Barrier Reef (2015 TV series)|Great Barrier Reef]]'', 2015]]
In October 2014, the corporation announced a trio of new one-off Attenborough documentaries as part of a raft of new natural history programmes. "Attenborough's Paradise Birds" and "Attenborough's Big Birds" was shown on BBC Two and "Waking Giants", which follows the discovery of giant dinosaur bones in South America, aired on BBC One.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29641107 |title=David Attenborough to examine ostriches and dinosaurs |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=17 October 2014 |date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016233543/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29641107 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The BBC also commissioned [[Atlantic Productions]] to make a three-part, Attenborough-fronted series ''[[Great Barrier Reef (2015 TV series)|Great Barrier Reef]]'' in 2015. The series marked the 10th project for Attenborough and Atlantic and saw him returning to a location he first filmed at in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/great-barrier-reef |title=David Attenborough to present new landmark series on the Great Barrier Reef for BBC One |publisher=BBC Media Centre |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001215646/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/great-barrier-reef |archive-date=1 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/sir-david-attenborough-heads-back-to-great-barrier-reef/5077382.article |title=Sir David Attenborough heads back to Great Barrier Reef |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024180056/http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/sir-david-attenborough-heads-back-to-great-barrier-reef/5077382.article |archive-date=24 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On radio, Attenborough has continued as one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's ''[[Tweet of the Day]]'', which began a second series in September 2014.<ref>{{cite web |date=23 June 2014 |title=Michael Palin to become Radio 4 Tweet of the Day presenter |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a579579/michael-palin-to-become-radio-4-tweet-of-the-day-presenter.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021132003/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a579579/michael-palin-to-become-radio-4-tweet-of-the-day-presenter.html |archive-date=21 October 2014 |access-date=17 October 2014 |work=Digital Spy}}</ref> Attenborough forged a partnership with [[Sky (United Kingdom)|Sky]], working on documentaries for the broadcaster's new 3D network, [[Sky 3D]]. Their first collaboration was ''[[Flying Monsters 3D]]'', a film about [[pterosaur]]s which debuted on Christmas Day of 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8606923.stm |title=Sir David Attenborough to front Sky 3D wildlife show |work=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]] |date=7 April 2010 |access-date=11 May 2010 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8606923.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> A second film, ''[[The Penguin King 3D]]'', followed a year later. His next 3D project, ''[[David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D|Conquest of the Skies]]'', made by the team behind the BAFTA award-winning ''[[David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive]]'', aired on [[Sky 3D]] during Christmas 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skymedia.co.uk/news/attenborough's-conquest-of-the-skies-3d.aspx |title=David Attenborough to explore the evolution of flight in Conquest of the Skies 3D, a 3 part series for broadcast on Sky 3D and in 2D on Sky 1 this Xmas. |publisher=Sky Media Centre |access-date=1 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102081420/http://www.skymedia.co.uk/news/attenborough%27s-conquest-of-the-skies-3d.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Attenborough has narrated three series of ''[[David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities]]'' for [[UKTV]] channel [[Watch (TV channel)|Watch]], with the third series showing in 2015. He has also narrated [[Wild Karnataka (2019 film)|''A majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka'']], India's first blue-chip natural history film, directed by [[Kalyan Varma]] and [[Amoghavarsha JS|Amoghavarsha]].<ref>[https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/a-majestic-celebration/article26429185.ece/ "Majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401001041/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/a-majestic-celebration/article26429185.ece |date=1 April 2019 }}. TheHindu.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019</ref> ''[[Blue Planet II]]'' was broadcast in 2017, with Attenborough returning as presenter.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 February 2017 |title=Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223022123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii |archive-date=23 February 2017 |access-date=20 February 2017 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> The series was critically acclaimed and gained the highest UK viewing figure for 2017 of 14.1&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 December 2017 |title=''Radio Times'' top 40 TV shows of 2017 |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-12-29/radio-times-top-40-tv-shows-of-2017-10-to-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122072115/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-12-29/radio-times-top-40-tv-shows-of-2017-10-to-1/ |archive-date=22 January 2018 |access-date=21 January 2018 |work=Radio Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ruddick |first1=Graham |date=6 November 2017 |title=Blue Planet II is year's most watched British TV show |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/06/blue-planet-ii-years-most-watched-tv-show-david-attenborough |url-status=live |access-date=21 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122001157/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/06/blue-planet-ii-years-most-watched-tv-show-david-attenborough |archive-date=22 January 2018}}</ref> The series is thought to have triggered a long-lasting increase in public, media and political attention to [[plastic pollution]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Males |first1=Jennifer |last2=Van Aelst |first2=Peter |date=2 January 2021 |title=Did the Blue Planet set the Agenda for Plastic Pollution? An Explorative Study on the Influence of a Documentary on the Public, Media and Political Agendas |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |journal=Environmental Communication |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=40–54 |doi=10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |bibcode=2021Ecomm..15...40M |hdl=10067/1703940151162165141 |s2cid=221492454 |issn=1752-4032 |hdl-access=free |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831232304/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Has Blue Planet II had an impact on plastic pollution? |url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/has-blue-planet-ii-had-an-impact-on-plastic-pollution/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=BBC Science Focus Magazine |date=12 April 2019 |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630004825/https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/has-blue-planet-ii-had-an-impact-on-plastic-pollution/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Attenborough narrated the 2018 five-part series ''[[Dynasties (2018 TV series)|Dynasties]]'', each episode dealing with one species in particular.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC – Sir David Attenborough to present BBC One's Dynasty – Media Centre |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/dynasty-david-attenborough |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112022513/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/dynasty-david-attenborough |archive-date=12 January 2019 |access-date=4 November 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=White |first=Peter |date=25 September 2018 |title=Sir David Attenborough's Wildlife Doc Series 'Dynasties' Goes Global Via BBC Studios |work=Deadline |url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/dynasties-david-attenborough-1202470705/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417002123/https://deadline.com/2018/09/dynasties-david-attenborough-1202470705/ |archive-date=17 April 2019}}</ref> In 2021, he presented the three-part series ''[[Life in Colour (miniseries)|Attenborough's Life in Colour]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Attenborough's Life in Colour Season 1|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-dj3d88/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-season-1/|access-date=15 November 2021|website=[[Radio Times]]|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115205203/https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-dj3d88/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-season-1/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''The Mating Game'', a five-part series.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC One – The Mating Game|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010bc1|access-date=15 November 2021|website=BBC|language=en-GB|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115205202/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010bc1|url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough returned to prehistoric life with ''[[Dinosaurs: The Final Day]]'' and ''[[Prehistoric Planet (2022 TV series)|Prehistoric Planet]]'', aired in April and May 2022 respectively.