THE team behind pioneering natural history television series Life On Earth have revealed one of the key ­challenges was keeping presenter Sir David ­Attenborough looking well-groomed.

In a BBC Radio 4 programme reuniting those involved in the shows - first screened 35 years ago - they revealed they were forever having to ensure he looked tidy on screen.

Jane Wales, who worked as a producer's assistant on the TV wildlife series, said they would have to quickly run a comb through the hair of the reluctant host.

Speaking on The Reunion, to be broadcast today at 11.15am, she said: "The very nature of the work David was doing means he is climbing through undergrowth and jungle conditions.

"They were mucky places we were going to so we had to keep him looking fairly neat and tidy and also his hair did have a tendency to stand on end at times so we used to carry a comb.

"But we had to be terribly tactful about how we approached him over it - just a little quick comb and then out of shot, before he had a chance to have a go at us."

Sir David became noted for the safari suits he wore on screen - and he has told in the past how he travelled with identical sets of outfits to ensure he maintained a similar look throughout the series he made.