A producer from Sir David Attenborough’s new series has revealed the broadcasting legend’s one golden rule when it comes to nature documentaries — and how the crew broke it.
The 92-year-old naturalist will return to screens this Sunday (November 11) with his new BBC One show Dynasties. The series follows five extraordinary animals and documents their struggle for survival against rivals and the forces of nature.
Speaking at the launch of the new series, executive producer Michael Gunton revealed the crew broke Attenborough’s very strict rule of not interfering with their filmed subjects when a family of newly-hatched penguins in Antarctica were in need of assistance.
Instead of letting nature take its course, in an exceptional case of bending the rules, the BBC crew helped the penguins to safety.
“We have a rule that interfering is a very dangerous thing to do. But these penguins were going to die through a freak act of nature if nothing happened,” Gunton explained (via Stylist).
“How would this conversation be going if you said you saw them there and did nothing? I think you have to do it,” he added to The Sun.
To save the newly-hatched Emperor Penguin chicks, the crew decided to cut stairs into the ravine so that the mother could haul herself and her babies to safety.
Nonetheless, Attenborough wasn’t best pleased, recalling past experiences where he realised that you have to let nature play its hand.
“All you’re doing is prolonging the death. So you make things infinitely worse,” he said. “Tragedy is part of life and you have to show it. You can’t have sunshine throughout your life. To have done anything else would only make matters worse and distort the truth.”
Speaking of not interfering… we’re staying out of this one.
Dynasties starts on Sunday, November 11 at 8.30pm on BBC One.
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