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​Sir David Attenborough Once Almost Died During Filming

​Sir David Attenborough Once Almost Died During Filming

The team were apparently filming dolphins in the Bahamas for The Trials Of Life back in 1990 when it happened

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Having enjoyed a lifetime of getting up close and personal with some of the world's most exciting creatures, you'd have assumed that Sir David Attenborough has found himself in some fairly hairy situations in his time.

But you're probably thinking of comedy moments like being slapped by a bat (true story) - not moments that left him unconscious with 'blood everywhere' - (also a true story, according to a former collaborator).

Alistair Fothergill, a producer for shows including Planet Earth and Blue Planet has revealed a particularly scary incident for the team, in which the British national treasure almost died.

The team were apparently filming dolphins in the Bahamas for The Trials Of Life back in 1990 when it happened.

"We were filming David from the top of a boat that had a wooden platform on the back for people to dive off," Fothergill told the Radio Times.

"Never forgotten it.

PA

"We had just done a wonderful piece and David was about to go under the water again and a great wave washed him under the dive platform, which then came smashing down.

"I've never forgotten it because David was unconscious and there was blood everywhere and I remember thinking: 'The one thing you don't want on your CV is you're the man who killed David Attenborough'."

Yeah, you definitely wouldn't make yourself popular with the UK that was listed as one of your credentials - killing off a veteran BBC broadcaster who's such an icon in these parts that he's even got rain forest-themed 'Jungle Boogie' raves dedicated to him.

But thankfully Attenborough pulled through and not only lived to tell the tale, but to also share a few jokes with the Queen on forthcoming environmental doc, The Queen's Green Planet, which airs on Sunday evening on ITV.

Intended to celebrate a Commonwealth environmental project called The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, which is aimed at planting more trees and creating forests around the world, the programme shows the two strolling through the gardens of Buckingham Palace - only to have their serene quality time spoiled by the sounds of a large aeroplane flying overhead.

The Queen remarks: "Sounds like President Trump, or President Obama".

In another clip, they also joke about a sundial that has been cunningly placed directly in the shade, out of direct sunlight. That's right, literally throwing shade at a sundial.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: uk tv, TV and Film, Blue Planet, UK Celebrity, Planet Earth, david attenborough, UK Entertainment, TV