Sir David Attenborough is a national treasure and, aged 99, he’s had his fair share of health challenges.
For more than 70 years, Sir David has entertained and educated the nation, thanks to his award-winning nature documentaries – including Planet Earth III, which is on today (May 11).
Recently though, he sparked concern following a heartbreaking “end of life” statement. So, here, ED! is taking a look inside Sir David’s health woes.
Sir David Attenborough’s health struggles – memory loss
In 2016, David Attenborough admitted he was “coming to terms” with the memory loss that comes with old age. The TV icon explained it was taking him longer to write scripts because the “proper names” of things were getting harder to remember.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, David confessed he slowed down production on Blue Planet II because of his forgetfulness.
The BBC star noticed his memory lapse while he was trying to recall the name of a flower. This was during a trip to Jura Mountains in Switzerland.
“There were these searing yellow fields, and I can’t think of the damn name,” he said.
David, who at the time of the interview was 90, added: “I wanted to say something about it, but I couldn’t, and it wasn’t until we got quite close to Geneva that I thought, of course, oil seed rape.”
Sir David Attenborough’s ‘nasty’ knee surgery
David ended up having to have knee surgery in 2015 after only being able to hobble around for a few yards.
The surgery – which he described as “nasty” – later enabled David to “walk for an hour” and continue making his nature programmes.
“I had one done. They [the doctors] weren’t keen on doing both at the same time, which I would have liked because I was in my eighties,” the presenter told MailOnline.
He added: “They don’t want to keep you on anaesthetic for that long. It was a nasty business.”
Sir David had urgent heart surgery
Sir David was admitted to hospital for urgent heart surgery in 2013. He was fitted with a pacemaker, which is used to correct an abnormal heartbeat. Due to the ordeal, David had to pull out of a sold-out speaking tour of Australia.
As MailOnline reports, his spokesman said his cardiologist had told Sir David he needed a pacemaker fitted urgently. They added: “Obviously after that you can’t take a long-haul flight.”
The BBC also released a brief statement. Director of television Danny Cohen said: “We all wish Sir David a full and strong recovery.”
Sir David’s ‘end of life’ statement
In David’s new Disney+ documentary Ocean – released on May 8 to coincide with his 99th birthday – he made a sobering admission about mortality as he looked at how important aquatic life is to sustaining our planet.
That’s because, Sir David mentions he is “nearing the end of his life”.
At one point, Sir David tells viewers: “When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.
“After living for nearly 100 years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.”
But despite reflecting on how humans are “almost out of time”, Sir David maintains that creating protected marine reserves where fishing is banned could allow the ocean to recover.
Planet Earth III airs on Sunday (May 11) at 2:30pm on BBC One.
Read more: BBC steps in to clear up concerns over Sir David Attenborough’s new series Asia
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