Sir David Attenborough looks totally unrecognisable in his first ever TV appearance for the BBC back in the 1950s.
The star, who is known for his close relationship with the Royal Family, appeared on the series Zoo Quest back in 1954 – and was snapped topless on a boat looking rather dishy indeed.
He originally stepped in for zoologist presenter Jack Lester, who fell ill while filming, so David instead headed out to meet the residents of a village in Sierra Leone.
Lester sadly died of his tropical illness two years later.
The programme’s concept was simple – to travel around the world to collect animals for London Zoo.
It came in the 1956 series that a 30-year-old Sir David was spotted shirtless on a sailboat, holding a bottle of beer in his hand while fronting the nature programme.
The star looked totally different from his typical self wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and little else, with his blonde hair ruffled in the sea breeze and toned chest on display.
His tanned legs were also on display in the Zoo Quest episode, set in Borneo.
The episodes for Zoo Quest were originally broadcast in black and white, but were actually filmed in colour, meaning the footage can today be seen in full technicolour after being discovered by the BBC in 2015.
Sir David admitted he was “astonished” by the existence of the colour film, having believed the discovery “impossible” before.
In other episodes, the Zoo Quest team headed out to Paraguay, Madagascar and Guyana, with footage shot by cameraman Charles Lagus.
After his stint, he went on to land the role of controller at BBC2, helping to shift the channel into full colour, and began making his own nature documentaries including the Life on Earth series in 1979.
Sir David was eventually knighted in 1985, and has since fronted countless documentaries including Planet Earth, Natural World and Blue Planet.
Earlier this week, he was honoured with the UN’s most distinguished environmental award – the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award, for his “dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
