David Attenborough reveals his one regret
Sir David Attenborough has had an unmatched and storied career as a naturalist and presenter, spanning 65 of his 91 years. And while his work has made him a household name, it’s come at a devastating cost. In a candid interview with the Radio Times, the British national treasure revealed his one regret was spending so much time away from his family.
“If you have a child of six or eight and you miss three months of his or her life, it’s irreplaceable,” Attenborough confessed. “You miss something. Perhaps you can’t have your cake and eat it.”
Despite having to spend months at a time away from his family, he praised his wife Jane, who passed away in 1997, for her “understanding” when it came to his work commitments.
During the interview with fellow documentarian Louis Theroux, Attenborough also revealed that he thinks about his mortality “all the time,” worrying that “it’s more and more likely that I’m going to die tomorrow.”
The nonagenarian also voiced his concerns about humanity’s treatment of the planet, fearing we could be pushing ourselves closer and closer to the point of no return. “We should be very, very worried about it,” he warned. “The land is being scorched, deserts are spreading, and the seas are warming – all those factors cause great changes in our fortunes.