Michael Gunton

Mike Gunton is a British television producer and a senior executive at the BBC Natural History Unit, the world's largest production unit dedicated to wildlife film-making. In November 2009 he became the Unit's first Creative Director. As Creative Director of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, he is responsible for bringing new and pioneering stories about the natural world to global audiences, including the BAFTA and Emmy winning Planet Earth II, which was viewed by millions worldwide. In 2018, his ground-breaking animal behaviours series, Dynasties, won a number of awards and was acclaimed by Sir David Attenborough as inventing a new genre in natural history film making. A fellow of the Royal Television Society, he also speaks internationally and is an ambassador for natural history making, BBC Studios and the natural world. He was the executive producer of Life, a nature documentary series which revealed the adaptive survival strategies of animals around the world, and as the co-author (with Martha Holmes) of the accompanying book. He co-directed (with Holmes) a feature film version of Life, and was the executive producer of a major BBC One series on African wildlife, broadcast in 2013. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mike Gunton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Works

The Americas

A showcase of the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks.

Release Date:2025-02-23

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:1

Planet Earth: Hostile Paradise or Perfect Hell?

The production team spent 1,904 days visiting 43 countries and regions on six continents, exploring many amazing habitats on Earth with advanced filming equipment such as light drones, high-speed cameras and long-range deep-sea submersibles, presenting the most magnificent wonders of the natural world and the incredible survival legends of wildlife, revealing the amazing changes and far-reaching impacts of nature, and experiencing the continuation and reincarnation of life. The Continuity and Reincarnation of Life.

Release Date:2024-07-27

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster

Sir David Attenborough investigates the discovery of a lifetime: the giant skull of a prehistoric sea monster, known as a pliosaur – the Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas!

Release Date:2024-03-14

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:5

Planet Earth III

Journeying to the far reaches of our planet, this eight part series follows some of the world's most amazing species, telling extraordinary stories that are dramatic, thrilling, funny and sometimes heart-breaking, but always full of hope.

Release Date:2023-10-22

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:46

Prehistoric Planet

Experience the wonders of our world like never before in this epic series from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas, and skies.

Release Date:2022-05-23

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:10

Vote Count:421

Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History

Stephen Fry embarks on a journey to discover the stories behind some of the world's most fantastic beasts that have inspired myths and legends in history, story-telling and film.

Release Date:2022-02-27

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:37

The Green Planet

This documentary series about plants is the first immersive portrayal of an unseen, inter-connected world, full of remarkable new behaviour, emotional stories and surprising heroes in the plant world. Planet Earth from the perspective of plants.

Release Date:2022-01-09

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:5

Vote Count:52

The Year Earth Changed

Never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop.

Release Date:2021-04-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:106

Dynasties

Follow the true stories of five of the world's most celebrated, yet endangered animals; penguins, chimpanzees, lions, painted wolves and tigers. Each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, these families fight for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.

Release Date:2018-11-11

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:9

Vote Count:81

Big Cats

Documentary series uncovering the secret lives of big cats, using the latest technology and scientific research to bring these animal superstars out of the shadows.

Release Date:2018-01-11

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:27

Attenborough and the Sea Dragon

Sir David Attenborough investigates the discovery of a 200 million year old Ichthyosaur on the Jurassic Coast in southern England. Using state of the art technology and CGI David brings the story of the fossilised ichthyosaur out of the rock and shows us what this creature was really like as it lived during the Jurassic time period.

Release Date:2018-01-07

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:13

The Lake District: A Wild Year

The Lake District, nearly all a national park, covers a mountainous region in NW England's Cumbria county, and contains Windemere and other lakes, England's largest and deepest. The seasons dominate tourism, the dominant modern sector as it is the most popular domestic destination, with walks, aquatic fun and lake tours, as well as traditional rural life, including old-fashioned games and competitions at Rusland. While the varied environment is home to many wildlife species, some rare or even unique, the agricultural pride is the local Herdwick sheep, which produces fine wool and survives outdoors on high slopes even in harsh winters.

Release Date:2017-02-17

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:1

Wild Tales From The Village

A year in the life of an extraordinary village hidden away in the French countryside.

Release Date:2016-12-23

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

Planet Earth II

David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.

Release Date:2016-11-06

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:798

Zoo Quest in Colour

Thanks to a remarkable discovery in the BBC's film vaults, the best of David Attenborough's early Zoo Quest adventures can now be seen as never before - in colour - and with it the remarkable story of how this pioneering television series was made. First broadcast in December 1954, Zoo Quest was one of the most popular television series of its time and launched the career of the young David Attenborough as a wildlife presenter. Zoo Quest completely changed how viewers saw the world - revealing wildlife and tribal communities that had never been filmed or even seen before. Broadcast 10 years before colour television was seen in the UK, Zoo Quest was thought to have been filmed in black and white, until now. Using this extraordinary new-found colour film, together with new behind-the-scenes stories from David Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus, this special showcases the very best of Zoo Quest to West Africa, Zoo Quest to Guiana and Zoo Quest for a Dragon in stunning HD colour.

Release Date:2016-05-17

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:10

Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur

David Attenborough tells the story of the discovery and reconstruction in Argentina of the world's largest-known dinosaur, a brand new species of titanosaur.

Release Date:2016-01-24

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:15

Attenborough's Paradise Birds

David Attenborough tells the remarkable story of how these " birds of paradise " have captivated explorers , naturalists, artists, filmmakers and even royalty.

Release Date:2015-01-29

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:14

Life Story

The remarkable and often perilous story of the journey through life. It is a story that unites each of us with every animal on the planet, because we all set out on this journey from the moment we are born. For animals there is just one goal in life – to continue their bloodline in the form of offspring. This series follows that journey through its six crucial stages: first steps, growing up, finding a home, gaining power, winning a mate and succeeding as a parent.

Release Date:2014-10-23

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Episode Count:7

Vote Count:35

Tiny Giants 3D

A short about what happens under and around us. A chipmunk and a small mouse go on an adventure; they grow and learn about life and its obstacles.

Release Date:2014-05-24

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:24

Hidden Kingdoms

Immerse yourself in the lives of extraordinary characters that stand a few inches tall. From chipmunks to mice, be entertained and spellbound by the creatures that call the Hidden Kingdoms home.

Release Date:2014-01-16

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:10

The Great British Year

The range of seasons in Britain are as extraordinary as the climate is unique. The splendour of the autumn colour change is as magnificent as anywhere on earth, while the animal migration is of planet-wide importance. For the first time, the BBC Natural History Unit's filming techniques and expertise are focused on Britain.

Release Date:2013-10-02

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:4

Africa

Africa, the world's wildest continent. David Attenborough takes us on an awe-inspiring journey through one of the most diverse places in the world. We visit deserts, savannas, and jungles and meet up with some of Africa's amazing wildlife.

Release Date:2013-01-02

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:101

One Life

One Life captures unprecedented and beautiful sequences of animal behaviour guaranteed to bring you closer to nature than ever before, as well as a second disc packed full of never before seen extras including an exclusive making of featurette narrated by Daniel Craig.

Release Date:2011-07-19

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:81

Attenborough and the Giant Egg

David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest. In 1960 he visited the island to film one of his first ever wildlife series, Zoo Quest. Whilst he was there, he acquired a giant egg. It was the egg of an extinct bird known as the 'elephant bird' - the largest bird that ever lived. It has been one of his most treasured possessions ever since. Fifty years older, he now returns to the island to find out more about this amazing creature and to see how the island has changed. Could the elephant bird's fate provide lessons that may help protect Madagascar's remaining wildlife? Using Zoo Quest archive and specially shot location footage, this film follows David as he revisits scenes from his youth and meets people at the front line of wildlife protection. On his return, scientists at Oxford University are able to reveal for the first time how old David's egg actually is - and what that might tell us about the legendary elephant bird.

Release Date:2011-03-02

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:4

Madagascar

Over 80 per cent of Madagascar's animals and plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Discover what made Madagascar so different from the rest of the world, and how evolution ran wild here.

Release Date:2011-02-09

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:36

Life

David Attenborough looks at the extraordinary ends to which animals and plants go in order to survive. Featuring epic spectacles, amazing TV firsts and examples of new wildlife behaviour.

Release Date:2009-10-11

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:10

Vote Count:356

Yellowstone

A natural history portrait of a year in Yellowstone, following the fortunes of America's wildlife icons as they face the challenges of one of the most extraordinary wildernesses on Earth.

Release Date:2009-03-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:27

Galapagos

The history of these beautiful Islands from their creation as uprising lava to their being studied by Darwin to their modern day inhabitants.

Release Date:2006-09-29

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:26

Planet Earth

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

Release Date:2006-03-05

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:11

Vote Count:1102

Europe: A Natural History

A series chronicling the events which shaped the continent of Europe as we now know it.

Release Date:2005-02-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:2

Wild Europe

A stunning four-part series, charting the dramatic events which have shaped the ever-changing landscapes and wildlife of Europe.

Release Date:2005-02-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:4

Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television

Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television is a BBC documentary film that recounts David Attenborough's television career. It is presented by Michael Palin and produced by Brian Leith. The BBC first transmitted the documentary in 2002 and is part of the Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages collection of 7 documentaries. It includes interviews with Attenborough and several of his former colleagues, along with archival footage.

Release Date:2002-11-20

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:3

The Making Of The Trials Of Life - Once More Into The Termite Mound

Behind the scenes of the documentary series The Trials Of Life showing how some of the footage was captured and interviews with the experts that informed them.

Release Date:1990-12-24

Department:Production

Job:Producer

The Trials of Life

Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.

Release Date:1990-10-03

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Vote Count:5

Lion

Brings unrivaled experience, an innate passion for emotional storytelling and a deep love of lions to this television event.

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:1

Trials of Life

Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.

Release Date:1990-10-04

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:12

Vote Count:21

Hidden Planet

Dive into the secret world of the most successful and important animals on Earth – Insects. Building on the remarkable advances in camera technology pioneered by The Green Planet, this series reveals the beautiful and dramatic lives of insects in unprecedented detail.

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer