The BBC executive has worked with David for nearly 40 years, travelling the world with him, filming in jungles, boats, balloons and freezing landscapes, and witnessing first-hand the remarkable energy that has carried the natural history icon all the way to his 100th birthday.
Incredibly, Mike first began working with David in 1987 believing he was about to catch the final chapter of a career already considered historic. At the time, Mike was a junior producer joining the BBC’s Natural History Unit, and David was filming The Trials Of Life, which many believed would complete the great “Life” trilogy that had begun with Life On Earth in 1979.
Like millions of viewers, Mike had watched Life On Earth as a teenager and been completely overwhelmed by its scale, beauty and ambition. So when he had the chance to work with David, he grabbed it — convinced it might be his last opportunity before the great man retired. 
Back then, David was around 66, the age many people might think about stepping away. Even he seemed open to the idea, according to Mike, who recalls long conversations in cars, boats and planes while travelling the world together. David had done so much, seen so much and achieved so much that retirement seemed entirely possible.
But, of course, it never happened.
Instead, David went on to create an astonishing second, third and fourth act in broadcasting, fronting landmark series including Life Of Birds, Life Of Mammals, Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Green Planet, Prehistoric Planet and many more. Mike jokes that he has probably said “Action” to David around 500 times since the moment he thought it was all coming to an end.
So what is the secret to David’s astonishing stamina?
Mike admits that if he knew the answer, he would bottle it as the “elixir of life.” But he believes part of the reason lies in David’s natural physical strength. He recalls moments in the field when younger crew members would struggle with heavy equipment, only for David, then in his sixties, to take a corner of a generator and help carry it through the jungle. 
Mike describes him as “strong as an ox” — not just physically, but constitutionally. That toughness has helped him keep going through decades of demanding shoots in remote, uncomfortable and often unpredictable conditions.
There have also been moments that made production teams nervous. One of the most dramatic came during filming for Planet Earth II in 2016, when David, then 90, went up in a hot air balloon over the Alps for the show’s opening sequence. The idea was spectacular: David looking down on the planet from above, almost like a guardian eye over the natural world. 
But it was not without risk. The balloon would rise two miles into the air, and the landing could be bumpy. Producers were worried enough to send a doctor up with him, just in case the strain proved too much for a 90-year-old heart and lungs.
Thankfully, the weather was perfect, the shoot worked beautifully, and the team got what they needed. But when they briefly considered sending David up again for extra shots, the pilot warned them not to tempt fate. They wisely stopped while luck was still on their side.
Another unforgettable moment came while filming Green Planet in Croatia, when David, then around 94, insisted on rowing himself and Mike back across a lake. Mike had rowed them out for the scene and expected to take over again afterwards. But David, competitive as ever, refused to surrender the oars. 
The broadcaster reminded Mike that he had once played rugby and claimed rugby players used to beat the university rowers. Determined to prove the point, David rowed the pair a mile back to shore — while Mike quietly prayed he would not become the man responsible for exhausting a national treasure mid-lake.
That story perfectly captures the David Attenborough Mike knows: determined, quietly competitive, funny, stubborn, energetic and utterly committed.
But beyond the adventurous spirit, Mike says David’s true magic is his authenticity. Viewers trust him because he believes deeply in what he is saying. He is not simply reading words. He is communicating wonder, urgency and meaning. 
Mike also reveals that David still improves scripts before delivering them, giving them what the team jokingly calls the “Attenborough-ised” touch. Even writers who know his voice well find that he somehow makes the words sharper, warmer and more unmistakably his own.
That may be why audiences across the world feel as though David is speaking directly to them. Despite his old-school formality, he creates intimacy. He makes viewers feel present, involved and changed by what they have seen.
After four decades of working together, Mike has no doubt David’s story is not finished yet. Asked whether they will continue making programmes after the centenary celebrations, his answer is beautifully simple: absolutely. 
