Page 128 - EarthHeroes

hoping to travel around the world, but only got as far as Wales and Scotland. When he returned to civilian life, he got married and started working for a publisher of science books. He found this boring, so he applied for a job making radio programmes for the BBC. He was turned down, but offered a position as a producer making TV programmes instead. Most people then, including David, did not even own a TV set, but he accepted the job.
As a producer, David made all sorts of programmes, from dramas to quiz shows.
Inspired by his love of wildlife, he created a series called Zoo Quest, where he travelled around the world with experts to film and
capture animals for London Zoo, an idea that feels shocking today but which was very
popular at that time. David’s on-screen career
began when the presenter of the programme fell ill and he stepped in. By this time, David
and his wife, Jane, had a son and daughter. David’s work sometimes made things hard for the
family as he spent a lot of time away filming.
In 1962, inspired by the places he had been and the people he had met, David returned to university to study social anthropology. He learned about human societies, what people believe and how they live together. But in 1965, before he had finished his studies, he was offered a job running a new TV channel, BBC Two, and soon he was in charge of all BBC programmes. Although he was good at his job he was no longer doing what he loved best, so in 1972 he returned to making wildlife films.
For a long time, David had dreamed of making a series about how life developed on our planet. And in 1979, after three years of filming, Life on Earth was screened. 500 million people around the world watched its 13 episodes. Attitudes had changed to wildlife programmes and instead of capturing animals they were now filmed in their natural environments. One of the most memorable moments was when David sat amongst a group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The female gorilla put her hands on his head and opened his mouth
to look inside. Meanwhile, one of her baby gorillas sat on his lap while another tried to take off his boots. As David looked into the female gorilla’s eyes, he felt a deep connection with her and sensed how similar these wonderful animals are to humans. It was one of the most important moments of his life.
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