Sir David Attenborough stabbed on set by ‘dangerous cactus'

He's a true national treasure, so any news surrounding Sir David Attenborough makes you sit up and listen, but the latest story about the legendary broadcaster could have ended a lot worse!

With award-winning shows such as Life, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet over the last few decades, 95-year-old David has certainly been up close and personal with some of the most dangerous and fascinating creatures on earth, but it was a cholla cactus which has caused some damage.

Whilst filming for his latest BBC series The Green Planet, David was stabbed by a cactus with 'needles like glass', despite wearing the appropriate protective clothing, which led to a hand injury.

Speaking about the danger, David said: "The cholla really is a physical danger. It has these very dense spines in rosettes, so they point in all directions.

“And if you just brush against it, the spines are like spicules of glass, I mean they are that sharp and they go into you and you really have trouble getting them out.

“So that is a really dangerous plant. The cholla is an active aggressor. I mean, you feel you better stand back and you better watch out.”

Michael Gunton, Executive Producer of The Green Planet, then added: “One of the joys of going on location is thinking up horrible things to get (David) to do.

“So what we did, because it was so dangerous, was we got a Kevlar under-glove, and then on top of that, a welding glove.

“So you can imagine that’s about as good protection as you could possibly get.

“So, David bravely put his hand inside this cholla cactus, as requested. And halfway through it, these spikes still managed to get through those two bits of protection.

“And it’s quite painful, isn’t it?”

See which other TV shows we can't wait for the return of:

The Green Planet was filmed around the world and will be the first immersive portrayal of an unseen, interconnected world.

The new series begins on BBC One on Sunday 9th January, at 7pm.

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• Sir David Attenborough
• the green planet