
Alastair Fothergill
Directing
Biography
Alastair Fothergill (born 10 April 1960 in London the United Kingdom) is a producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the executive producer of the multi-award winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006) and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth. Fothergill attended Harrow. He studied zoology at St Cuthbert's Society in the University of Durham and made his first film, On the Okavango, while still a student. Fothergill joined the BBC Natural History Unit in 1983, working on The Really Wild Show, Wildlife on One and David Attenborough's The Trials of Life. He was appointed head of the Unit in 1992, and during his tenure he produced Attenborough's award-winning series Life in the Freezer. In June 1998, he stood down as head of the Unit to concentrate on his work on The Blue Planet. He has also presented several television programmes, including The Abyss and is the author of three books. He was awarded the "Clean Energy Award" by BMW during the Cinema for Peace award ceremony on 11 February 2008. In 2008, he signed a multi-picture deal with newly formed Disneynature, and now spends six months each year on sabbatical from the BBC developing feature documentaries as an independent producer. The first two titles under the Disneynature deal will be Big Cats and Chimpanzee, which he is co-directing with Keith Scholey and Mark Linfield respectively. He is also producing a new seven-part natural history series for the BBC called Frozen Planet, due for completion in 2011. The series will feature the struggles of charismatic animals during a time of rapid climate change in the polar regions. David Attenborough will again narrate. Fothergill currently lives in Bristol with his wife Melinda and his two sons, Hamish and William.
Known For

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.
Natural World

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.
Planet Earth

David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.
Planet Earth II

From the first dinosaurs to the last, this epic documentary series examines their 165 million years on Earth and the forces that shaped their evolution.
The Dinosaurs

The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

Life's extraordinary journey to conquer, adapt and survive on Earth across billions of years comes alive in this groundbreaking nature docuseries.
Life on Our Planet

Experience our planet's natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope.
Our Planet

Sir David Attenborough narrates this critically acclaimed series that dives deep into the marine environment of Planet Earth. Although two-thirds of the world's surface is covered with water, scientists know less about the oceans than they do about the surface of the moon. This limited series travels from various coasts to the poles to examine watery denizens ranging from the gigantic blue whale to microscopic coral polyps.
The Blue Planet

Veteran naturalist Sir David Attenborough tells the story of a remarkable group of gorillas, from his first encounter in the '70s to the present day.
A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough

There is nowhere more powerful and unforgiving yet more beautiful and compelling than the ocean. Join us and explore the greatest yet least known parts of our planet.
Blue Planet II

With the expertise of entomologist and fellow National Geographic Explorer Dr. Samuel Ramsey, the series uses groundbreaking filming technology to reveal the extraordinary world of bees; and uncover their astonishing architecture and intelligence, unlocking their secrets and featuring never-before-filmed moments.
Secrets of the Bees

David Attenborough travels to the end of the earth, taking viewers on an extraordinary journey across the polar regions of our planet.
Frozen Planet

This major landmark series looks in detail at the fascinating relationship between predators and their prey. Rather than concentrating on ‘the blood and guts’ of predation, the series looks in unprecedented detail at the strategies predators use to catch their food and prey use to escape death. Sir David Attenborough narrates.
The Hunt

A unique fusion of blue chip natural history and earth science that explains how our living planet operates. This five-part series shows how the forces of nature drive, shape and support Earth’s great diversity of wildlife.
A Perfect Planet

This nature documentary introduces viewers to the fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland across four main areas: woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.
Wild Isles

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales.
Earth

Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
Deep Blue

Filmmakers Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey chronicle a year in the lives of an Alaskan brown bear named Sky and her cubs, Scout and Amber. Their saga begins as the bears emerge from hibernation at the end of winter. As time passes, the bear family must work together to find food and stay safe from other predators, especially other bears. Although their world is exciting, it is also risky, and the cubs' survival hinges on family togetherness.
Bears

David Attenborough and scientist Johan Rockström examine Earth's biodiversity collapse and how this crisis can still be averted.
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet

Sir David Attenborough looks at the natural history of the Antarctic continent