{"id":28388,"date":"2026-05-08T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/?p=28388"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:49:08","slug":"the-open-university-celebrates-sir-david-attenboroughs-100th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/tv-radio\/the-open-university-celebrates-sir-david-attenboroughs-100th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"The Open University celebrates Sir David Attenborough\u2019s 100th birthday\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday today (Friday 08\/05\/2026), The Open University is proud to honour one of the world\u2019s most influential broadcasters,\u202fnaturalists\u202fand educators \u2014 and to celebrate a unique relationship that stretches back to the very origins of the University itself.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sir David has a special connection with The Open University dating back to its foundation. As Controller of BBC Two in the late 1960s, he played a pivotal role in supporting the launch of The Open University, championing the ambitious idea of using television broadcasting to widen access to higher education across the UK. BBC Two became the home of many of the University\u2019s earliest broadcasts, helping bring university-level teaching into homes nationwide and transforming opportunities for adult learners.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to broadcasting, science communication and education, Sir David Attenborough was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The Open University\u00a0in\u00a01980\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the decades, The Open University and the BBC have collaborated on a wide range of landmark science and natural history programmes associated with Sir David Attenborough, helping millions of viewers engage with the natural world and the environmental challenges facing the planet.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These collaborations have included major series such as\u202f<\/span>Planet Earth III<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>Frozen Planet II<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>The Green Planet<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>Blue Planet\u00a0II<\/span><\/i>\u202fand\u202f<\/span>Wild Isles<\/span><\/i>, all of which combined world-leading natural history filmmaking with scientific\u202fexpertise\u202fand public engagement from Open University academics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OU\u202facademics\u202fhave contributed specialist knowledge across areas including climate science, ecology, biodiversity, conservation, animal\u202fbehaviour\u202fand environmental change.\u00a0\u00a0Our academic experts also co-create engaging, online content to support all OU co-productions, published on our OU\/BBC partnership site\u00a0<\/span>OU Connect<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 helping\u202faudiences\u202fto\u202fexplore\u202fthe\u00a0topics\u00a0in greater depth.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Open University\u00a0is excited to be partnering\u00a0on the\u00a0BBC\u2019s\u202fspecial\u202fprogramme\u00a0marking Sir David\u2019s centenary,\u00a0<\/span>David Attenborough\u2019s 100 Years on Planet Earth<\/span><\/i><\/a>,\u00a0a major celebratory event from the Royal Albert Hall airing on BBC One and iPlayer on 8 May. Hosted by Kirsty Young, the programme reflects on Sir David\u2019s remarkable contribution to broadcasting,\u202fconservation\u202fand public understanding of science.\u202fTo mark\u202fthis\u202fspecial occasion\u202f<\/span>OU Connect\u00a0<\/span><\/a>is\u00a0looking\u00a0back over\u202f25\u00a0years\u202fof\u202flandmark\u00a0OU\/BBC\u00a0series\u00a0with Sir David.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor\u202fDave Phoenix, Vice Chancellor\u202fat The Open University, said:<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSir David Attenborough has inspired generations through his extraordinary ability to bring the wonders of the natural world into people\u2019s homes. His broadcasting has transformed public understanding of science,\u202fbiodiversity\u202fand climate change, while encouraging millions to care more deeply about the future of our planet.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe also occupies a unique place in The Open University\u2019s history. His support for educational broadcasting at the BBC helped make the University\u2019s original vision possible \u2014 opening higher education to people regardless of their background or circumstances. We are proud to celebrate his remarkable legacy and our long association with him through BBC and Open University co-productions.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Open University\u2019s continuing partnership with the BBC\u202freflects its\u00a0social\u00a0mission\u202fto\u202fextend reach and engagement to inspire learning\u00a0and connect people with world-leading research.\u202fThrough co-productions, citizen science initiatives and free educational resources, the University continues to help audiences better understand the environment and humanity\u2019s relationship with the natural world.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As audiences across the UK and around the world celebrate Sir David Attenborough\u2019s 100th birthday, The Open University joins in recognising a lifetime dedicated to discovery,\u202feducation\u202fand the protection of life on Earth.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Picture credit: BBC Studios<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday today (Friday 08\/05\/2026), The Open University is proud to honour one of the world\u2019s most influential broadcasters,\u202fnaturalists\u202fand educators \u2014 and to celebrate a unique relationship that stretches back to the very origins of the University itself.\u202f\u00a0 Sir David has a special connection with The Open University dating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":28392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[232,1525,1640],"class_list":["post-28388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-radio","tag-bbc","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28393,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388\/revisions\/28393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}