David Attenborough says he is ‘overwhelmed’ by 100th birthday messages
Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter
Getty ImagesSir David Attenborough has said he has been “completely overwhelmed” by the messages he has received ahead of his 100th birthday.
The veteran broadcaster and environmentalist celebrates the milestone on Friday, with a special concert planned in the evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In an audio message released on Thursday, Sir David said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.
“I have been completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings, from pre-school groups to care home residents, and countless individuals and families of all ages.”
He added: “I simply can’t reply to each of you separately, but I’d like to thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages, and wish those of you who have planned your own local events: Have a very happy day.”
Friday evening’s show at the Royal Albert Hall is the climax of a week of special events and broadcast programming in honour of Sir David, who was born in 1926 and joined the BBC in 1952.
Presenter Kirsty Young will host the special 90-minute concert celebrating Sir David’s life, which will air on BBC One and iPlayer from 20:30 BST on Friday.
Special guests including Sir Michael Palin, Steve Backshall, Liz Bonnin and Chris Packham will appear at the event to reflect on Sir David’s life and legacy.
Ahead of the concert, Young said: “Sir David’s gift to the world has been a life spent exquisitely revealing Earth’s wonders to us all.
“The very least he deserves is a big 100th birthday bash at the Royal Albert Hall. I’m very happy indeed, as the host, to be able to invite everyone to the party.”
The event will remember some of the most memorable wildlife moments from Sir David’s career and the BBC’s natural history archive.
Live music from the BBC Concert Orchestra will include pieces associated with his most famous television series, including the snakes and iguanas chase from Planet Earth II, and the wave-washing orcas sequence from Frozen Planet II.
The concert will also feature performances from Bastille frontman Dan Smith, who will join the orchestra for a rendition of the band’s hit Pompeii, which featured in Planet Earth III.
Elsewhere, Sigur Rós will perform Hoppípolla, which was used in the promotion of Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, while other musical guests will include singer Sienna Spiro and harpist Francisco Yglesia.
The BBC has been celebrating Sir David’s centenary with special programming throughout the week.
Sir David and members of his former production team reflected on the making of their groundbreaking 1979 series Life on Earth for a documentary broadcast last weekend.
Meanwhile, recent BBC One series Secret Garden saw Sir David examine the hidden worlds and wildlife thriving in British gardens. Many of his other programmes have also been made available as part of a dedicated collection on iPlayer.
The BBC’s chief content officer Kate Philips said Sir David’s 100th birthday marked an “extraordinary” moment, describing him as a “truly remarkable individual”.
Newly named Attenborough wasp
Sir David was born in west London on 8 May 1926, and has also fronted pioneering natural history series including his Life Collection, The Trials of Life and The Blue Planet.
He has two children with wife Jane, who died in 1997. His brother Richard was an Oscar-winning actor and director, and died in 2014.
On Thursday, the National History Museum paid tribute to Sir David by naming a species of parasitic wasp after him.
The Attenboroughnculus tau is native to the Patagonian lakes of Chile, and a specimen was recently found in the museum’s collection, four decades after it was collected.
Other species to have been named after the broadcaster in the past include a wildflower, butterfly, grasshopper, dinosaur and ghost shrimp.