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It Took 50 Years For David Attenborough To Film Monkey In New BBC Series

It Took 50 Years For David Attenborough To Film Monkey In New BBC Series

Seven Worlds, One Planet airs next Sunday evening

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

David Attenborough has revealed that he waited half a century to film a rare monkey that features in his new BBC series.

The nature presenter and national treasure is to return to our screens shortly with a new programme called Seven Worlds, One Planet and in the lead up to it, Sir Dave has explained how it has taken him so long to finally film the golden snub nose monkey in China.

Attenborough has been in the nature documentary game for 67 years now, and his face and voice are pretty much synonymous with sweeping landscape drone shots and cute animals by now.

However, back when he first heard of the golden snub nosed monkey 50 years ago he couldn't get into China to actually film the adorable critters.

He explained: "It is a wonderful creature. I've never seen a film of it before.

"I always had it in the back of my mind and this lot (his crew) got it. The footage shows the monkeys have snubbed noses to stop them getting frostbitten."

BBC Studios

For Seven Worlds, One Planet, Attenborough's crack team of camera crews travelled to each of the seven continents to see what is going on.

The crew of more than 150 people went on 81 expeditions around 41 countries and returned with more than 2,000 hours of footage.

Don't worry, though - only seven hours made it into the actual show.

Sir David continued: "Each of these ­continents has a different ­geological issue.

"They have different ways on how life has ­arrived there and how they survive in isolation.

"Every one of our shows has one or two sequences that take my breath away and have never been seen before.

"I would like the audience to appreciate how beautiful these things are. But also how they integrate with others and how we are dependent on them."

BBC Studios

"Each continent has its own systems. Our influence is everywhere and we've made a tragic, desperate mess of it so far.

"But at last nations are coming together and recognising we all live on the same planet.

"All these seven worlds are one and we are dependent on it for every bit of food we eat and every breath we take."

The shows - like many before - also have a message about conservation and how to lessen our impact on the natural world.

Attenborough spoke about how the have to be careful when approaching animals in the wild.

BBC Studios

The 93-year-old said: "In some circumstances when the animal is in isolation, like a penguin, if it gets into trouble maybe you can help it and that's OK,

"But when you have a cheetah stalking a baby antelope, if you interfere with it you are likely to cause more trouble than not.

"If you frighten the cheetah away, you frighten the antelope. The cheetah will be without its food and it will go and find another one.

"So you end up causing more problems if you don't let nature takes its course. Those baby cheetahs have to feed so you have got to be careful that you know what you're doing."

Even at his age, David still managed to get out to Kenya and Iceland for this latest series. However, he admits that he is having to slow down a bit.

He explained: "I am reasonably active and I can walk around but I can't walk for five hours a day with a heavy rucksack.

"I don't think you should fly just for the hell of it. Apart from anything else the BBC would be absurd to spend money on unimportant air flights.

"I make television programmes. Before that I was a zoologist."

BBC NHU

"To be able to spend my life combining those two things has been great luck.

"I really wanted to see a jungle. I thought there'd be monkeys hanging from every tree but it was not like that.

"I don't have chemistry with animals particularly. It is easy to empathise with our closest relations but you can't empathise with a millipede or a bird."

Seven Worlds, One Planet starts next Sunday at 6:15pm on BBC One.

Featured Image Credit: BBC Studios

Topics: UK News, TV and Film, UK Entertainment, Animals