David Attenborough: 'My plants wither and die'

David Attenborough: 'My plants wither and die'
David Attenborough: 'My plants wither and die' (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Sir David Attenborough has admitted he's a terrible gardener despite his reputation as a legendary naturalist. The broadcaster is celebrating 60 years in television with a new series on plants, filmed in London's Kew Gardens. But asked whether he is green-fingered, Sir David said that most of his plants died. "Anything green is likely to wither and die under my fingers within a very short period," he said. Sir David's new three-part series for Sky employs the latest in cutting edge 3D and time-lapse camera technology to show plants in new detail. But the 86-year-old said he'd enjoyed success with only one plant, a specimen which was named after him. "Nepenthes attenboroughii and I have a close relationship... It's in my front room and I say good morning to it every day and ask how it's getting on, would it like a fly or something, because they're carnivorous, you see. "Fortunately it's only a little baby at the moment, so all it will take is little fruit flies." Kingdom Of Plants will screen on Sky 3D and Sky Atlantic from Thursday, May 31.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.