The BBC have paid tribute to broadcasting icon, Sir David Attenborough, as the presenter turns 99.
In tribute to the legend, the BBC executive have said that Attenborough, who has been on our TV screens for more than 70 years, has "one of the greatest legacies of any human being ever".
Speaking on Attenborough, Mike Gunton who is creative director at BBC Studios Natural History Unit and first began working with Attenborough when he was 29, said: "Each generation has its own kind of personal legacy from him, and I think that’s remarkable".
He continued: "But also, there’s a broader, I suppose, global legacy, which I think is that he has shown us wonders, he’s helped us understand wonders, and he’s encouraged us to protect these wonders. If you could do that in a lifetime, and speak to hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people and inspire them to do all that, that’s got to be one of the greatest legacies of any human being ever".
"And I think he’s aware of that, and the responsibility of that, and he often talks about the privilege of being able to do that, and it’s a privilege for those of us who have worked with him to have".
Mr Gunton also said that working with Attenborough has been a "real life defining experience" for him.
"Every programme I have made with him has been a remarkable experience which the audience have always found completely memorable and worthwhile and that’s a joy for anybody, to make things that are remembered, you know, they’re historic, they’re part of human history", he stated.
To celebrate his 99th birthday, a new documentary about the health of the ocean will be shown in cinemas today, while a new book Ocean: Earth's Last Wilderness will also be published, with John Murray Press offering at least 1,000 copies to UK schools and libraries.
Mr Attenborough had attended a premiere of Ocean With David Attenborough with Britain's King Charles on Tuesday.
