Women and younger Britons more likely to nominate him

Today marks David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and the broadcaster and naturalist remains extraordinarily popular with the British public as he enters into his second century.

Fully 87% of Britons have a favourable view of the presenter, including 63% with a “very” favourable opinion. However, our survey finds Attenborough’s fame starting to wane among the younger generation, with 15% of 18-24 year olds saying they “don’t know” what they think of him, compared to just 3% of the over-50s.

Previous YouGov surveys have similarly highlighted the popularity of the centenarian, with a 2021 showing him as the non-royal Britons would be most likely to want to see as an elected head of state, as well as being the public’s favourite TV personality of 2017 and 2019.

Separately, a new YouGov survey finds that the conservationist tops the list of people that the British public consider to be national treasures.

We asked to write down up to five people they considered to be national treasures. Fully 36% of the public wrote down David Attenborough's name, by far the highest number.

In a distant second place is Judi Dench, on 17%, followed by Stephen Fry in third on 7%.

null

Looking further down the list of national treasures shows the royals represented near the top, with the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, Kate Middleton and Prince William all being nominated by 4-6% of the public. Wartime prime minister Winston Churchill also falls in this range, at 5%.

Actors Joanna Lumley (4%), David Jason (3%) and Helen Mirren (3%) also feature, as does former Great British Bake Off host Mary Berry (4%).

A clutch of figures took 2%, including Ant and Dec (as a duo), Ian McKellen, David Beckham, Princess Anne, Miriam Margoyles, Paul McCartney, Billy Connolly, and the deceased Maggie Smith, while a further 21 individuals received enough backing to represent 1% of the public nominating them.

A further 23% of Britons rejected the premise, saying they don’t think any Britons are a national treasure.

See the David Attenborough favourability results here

See the national treasure results here

Interested in taking YouGov surveys? What do you think about David Attenborough, who the UK's national treasures are, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.

Interested in commissioning YouGov research? We connect in real-time with real people around the world to gather their thoughts, behaviours, and opinions, to ensure that our research data is powered by reality. Explore our survey services here.

Photo: Getty

Subscribe to the YouGov newsletter