Image copyright Chris Jackson / Getty Images Botanist and broadcaster David Bellamy has died aged (**********************************************, the Conservation Foundation he formed has said.
London-born Bellamy, who became a household name as a TV personality, scientist and conservationist, died on Wednesday, according to the foundation.
His colleague, David Shreeve, described him as a “larger-than-life character” who “inspired a whole generation.”
In later life Bellamy, who lived in County Durham, attracted criticism for dismissing global warming.
InHe described it as “poppycock” – a stance which he later said cost him his TV career.
Bellamy worked in a sweet factory and as a plumber before embarking on his broadcasting career.
********
Media playback is unsupported on your device
his scientific career began when he got a job in the biology department of a technical college in Surrey, he toldBBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs program in
)
It was there that he met his future wife, Rosemary.
But it was on a trip to Scotland where he discovered his love for plants, he told the program.
“I got really turned on by plants and I found out that if somebody told me what a plant was, I just couldn’t forget it, “he said.
He gained public recognition for his work as an environmental consultant over the Torrey Canyon oil spill, when a tanker was shipwrecked off the coast of Cornwall in 1979.
He went on to present programs such as Don’t Ask Me, Bellamy On Botany, Bellamy’s Britain, Bellamy’s Europe and Bellamy’s Backyard Safari.
And in he won Bafta’s Richard Dimbleby Award, for best presenter of factual programs.
His Distinguished voice also inspired comedian Sir Lenny Henry’s catchphrase “grapple me grapenuts”.
BBC arts correspondent David Sillito described Bellamy as “the enthusiastic face of botany” on television “for more than 27 years.
In 2009, Bellamy told BBC News that he wasskeptical about mankind being responsible for rising temperaturesand suggested that they might be part of the Earth’s natural cycles.
He said: “We have got to get this thing argued out in public properly and not just take one opinion.”
Ten years later, he told the Independent newspaper: “It (global warming) is not happening at all, but if you get the idea that people children will die because of CO2 they fall for it.”
‘Canny broadcaster’.
Well-known figures have paid tribute to Bellamy, including fellow naturalist and broadcaster Bill Oddie who described him as a “first-class naturalist, with boundless skills to convey his enthusiasm”.
Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan said Bellamy was a “brilliant naturalist, broadcaster and character”, in a tribute posted on Twitter.
Comedy writer and broadcaster Danny Baker described him as a “truly brilliant and canny broadcaster”.
The Walking Dead actor David Morrissey tweeted that Bellamy “cared about nature and our environment deeply.”
And former England footballer Stan Collymore called him a “childhood icon”, adding that he “learnt about botany and shrubs and trees as a kid because of this man’s love and infectious enthusiasm. “
Bellamy’s wife Rosemary died last year.
Read More****************
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings