David Attenborough tells Prince William he just about drowned whilst scuba-diving in 1950s

Sir David Attenborough nearly drowned when checking out a scuba-diving helmet for his 1957 dive at the Great Barrier Reef, the broadcasting veteran has printed in a dialogue with Prince William.

Discussing his newest documentary, Ocean, the pioneering film-maker described the incident to the Prince of Wales.

“It’s certainly a strange thing to do,” mentioned the 99-year-old Attenborough, as he nostalgically fitted an unique model of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s open-circuit scuba helmet over his head.

“Don’t do that, David,” laughed the prince. “You won’t get it off.”

Successfully wriggling out of the helmet, Attenborough reminisced. “When I put mine on for the first time, I suddenly felt water coming around [my chin and up over my mouth]” he mentioned. “I thought, ‘This can’t be right’. And by the time [the water rose to my nose], I thought, ‘I’m sure this is not right’.

“But then, of course, if you got this thing screwed on top of you, you can’t breathe. You can’t even make yourself heard, you know: ‘Get it off me!’” he added.

Attenborough similar how a testy director of operations refused to consider the apparatus had a fault. “So he put it on and I’m happy to say he went under the water and came up even quicker than I did (“Blimey”, interjected the prince), as a result of there used to be in reality a fault.”

Ocean, Attenborough’s new National Geographic documentary particular, confronts the enormity of the loss in ocean existence. It will grow to be to be had for streaming globally on Saturday 8 June, World Ocean’s Day.

In the movie with the prince, publicising the documentary’s unencumber, Sir David describes how the arena knew little or no concerning the intricacies of existence in our oceans when he took his first dive.

Attenborough spoke of ways the enjoy used to be a “sensory overload”. But now, he mentioned, the similar dive in Australia’s shallow heat water cay is prone to glance disastrously worse: globally, corals have suffered super loss on account of human-caused ocean warming.

“Dave, from what you’ve obviously seen over the years, what states would you say the oceans were in right now?” requested the prince within the movie, which can in a while be posted on Kensington Palace social media platforms.

“The awful thing is that it’s hidden from you and from me and most people,” answered Attenborough. “The thing which I was appalled by when I first saw the shots taken for this film, is that what we have done to the deep ocean floor is just unspeakably awful.

“I mean, if you did anything remotely like it on land, everybody would be up in arms,” he mentioned. “If this film does anything – if it just shifts public awareness – it’ll be very, very important, and I only hope that people who see it will recognise that something must be done before we destroy this great treasure.”

Attenborough mentioned he was hoping that by way of confronting the destruction of the sea, the following era will likely be impressed to put it aside.

He instructed the prince: “What is heartening, really, is that we have the entrée to people’s front rooms – whole families, sitting at home in comfort – can actually suddenly see this coming up. Films like this can expose something new.”

Prince William agreed that we will have to stay constructive about ocean restoration: it is crucial, he mentioned, for stabilising the local weather and securing a more fit long run for us all.

“I wonder whether this should be a moment for optimistic excitement for the next generation,” he requested Attenborough. “They can become bigger explorers and find more data. The next 50 years will be incredible.”

Attenborough agreed. “Yes. Very much so.”