Life class

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH has been doing it long enough to be an icon of the small screen. Different people remember him for different things. Perhaps narrating many BBC wildlife documentaries, or for his celebrated “love-in”

with a bunch of hairy mountain gorillas.

He was also the man who introduced colour TV to Britain during his stint as the controller of BBC2 during the Sixties.

But his ever-growing love of film-making eventually prompted Attenborough to ditch his desk job.

Within a matter of weeks he went from being knee-deep in paperwork to being knee-deep in bat droppings in a dank Borneo cave.

“I found that much preferable,” he chuckles. “I have a great time. I have a ball. The fact is, I enjoy doing it. I’m just relieved other people enjoy it as well.”

Life, his latest project, is likely to win many admirers. Attenborough freely admits that he is not a man with a mission.

But each episode of his programmes can stimulate the interest of more people than an entire series of lectures on global warming.

He’s also keen to stress that nobody involved with making his shows cheats to get the perfect shot. “There is no technique that we use that I am not totally happy to explain,” he reveals.

“There are ways of manipulating animals and forcing animals to do things, which I wouldn’t be responsible for, partly because some of them are very cruel.

You could use live bait – or give an injection to an animal so it can’t run. There are no rules –you just have to use your own conscience.”

Attenborough, who turned 83 earlier this year, isn’t quite as hands-on as he once was. Instead of rubbing shoulders with weird, yet wonderful members of the animal kingdom, he now merely narrates Life. Not that that’s a bad thing, any Attenborough being better than none.

The ten-part documentary series, filmed in high definition using state-ofthe- art techniques, focuses on extreme behaviour carried out by our four-legged or feathered friends from acRoss the globe, beginning with an insight into feeding.

If you caught Attenborough on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross recently, you’ll already have seen some footage from episode one, in which a capuchin monkey uses tools to break open a pine nut.

Another animal featured is the cheetah, caught working in threes to bring down an ostrich. These are amazing sights that prove we’re closer to our animal cousins than we thought.

Does Attenborough have another series in him, or will he be hanging up his safari suit for good, having completed his exploration of natural history? “One is always learning more things about the animal world,” he says.

“The things you are learning are not the sort of facts that make the whole world suddenly say, ‘My God, that’s a major discovery’.

“They are all tiny details that add up like a police detective’s dossier. You slot more facts in, which makes the picture more and more complete. As long as there are people out there who want them doing, that’s fine.”

IF you enjoy watching stressed medical staff rush around in scrubs while jumping into bed with each other in their spare time, then All Saints may be for you.

This medical series is one of Australia’s top television dramas and, with its twists and turns, it will almost certainly be enjoyed by serious fans of the genre.

In the opening episode, it’s the day of Ben and Bron’s wedding, but Mitch misses the ceremony because the new intern misdiagnoses a patient. Despite Bron’s nerves and the unwelcome arrival of her father, the couple finally make it to the altar.