Broadcast icon Attenborough gives backing to environmental protesters

At the age of 93, after innumerable international trips alerting millions of viewers across the generations and continents to the wonders and frailties of the natural world, and inspiring them to appreciate it, value it and protect it, Attenborough shows no sign of slowing down or slackening the pace of his work.

His next two series after Seven Worlds One Planet, called Extinction: The Facts and Life in Colour, are already lined up. And given his enthusiasm for the fighting spirit of the young, it was fitting that at a preview screening of Seven Worlds One Planet, a five-year-old boy in the audience asked him what he could do to save the planet.

"You can do more and more and more the longer you live," said Attenborough. "But the best motto to think about is to not waste things. Don't waste electric, don't waste paper, don't waste food. Live the way you want to live but just don't waste. Look after the natural world, the animals and plants — this is their planet as well as ours. Don't waste."