David Attenborough previously admitted he’s “coming to terms” with the memory loss that comes with old age.
The TV icon – on screen in Planet Earth III this weekend (May 11) – explained it was taking him longer to write scripts because the “proper names” of things were getting harder to remember.
David Attenborough ‘coming to terms’ with memory loss
Sir David Attenborough, who turned 99 this month, has hosted programmes such as Blue Planet, Life In Colour and new series Ocean.
His impeccable knowledge and passion have kept viewers enthralled for decades.
However, Sir David revealed he was “running into a few problems” trying to remember the names of plants for the show Blue Planet II.
David admitted he kept forgetting the names of plants
Speaking to James Dunn at The Sunday Telegraph back in 2016, 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 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.”
There were these searing yellow fields, and I can’t think of the damn name.
Approaching ‘the end of his life’
During a clip from Ocean, David also addressed ageing and coming towards the end of his life. Speaking to camera, he said: “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 a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.”
Who was David Attenborough’s wife, Jane Oriel?
The legendary broadcaster is notoriously private about his personal life.
But in his 2010 memoir Life on Air David gave a heartbreaking insight into the death of his beloved wife, Jane.
The wildlife filmmaker tied the knot with his wife Jane in 1950 when he was 24, and they lived together in the London borough of Richmond Upon Thames.
The couple soon welcomed two children Robert and Susan, who are now in their fifties and live their lives away from the spotlight
After spending 47 years married, Jane sadly passed away in 1997 at the age of 70 from a brain haemorrhage.
At the time, David was filming The Life of the Birds documentary for the BBC in New Zealand and, while he was away, he received the sad news that his beloved wife had collapsed.
He flew straight home to be by her side and thankfully arrived just before she passed away.
David mentioned holding her hand in his book and wondering if she would respond.
He wrote: “She did and gave my hand a squeeze.”
He also admitted he was lost without her, writing: “The focus of my life, the anchor, had gone. Now I was lost.”
Blue Planet III is on BBC One Sunday May 11 at 2.30pm.
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