Sir David Attenborough said he finds it “odd” that he is an environmental inspiration for young people.

But he relented that his shows have helped the public open their eyes to “the facts” of climate change, even if he has been dismissed as a “crank” over the years.

“It’s very odd,” the 93-year-old admitted in an interview with the BBC. “But the fact remains I’ve been at it 60 years.”

“You can say nobody under the age of 75 can have been without my voice coming from the corner of the room at various times and that must have an effect.”

Sir David added: “It’s a huge advantage for me because you go there with some sort of reputation and people are aware of you, and in a sense you’ve been part of the family for quite a long time, which is an extraordinary obligation really and a privilege.

“I’m sure there’s a hell of a lot of young people saying ‘for God’s sake why don’t they move over, give the others a chance.’”

However he admitted his shows may have helped viewers the world over to open their eyes to “the facts”.

“I don’t think I’ve made a series in the last 40 years where I haven’t made the end an appeal about caring for the natural world,” he said.

“It’s an extraordinary thing. At the time I daresay people thought we were sort of cranks or something.

“But as it’s gone on and on and on and we’ve repeated it on and on and on - ‘not wasting things, not polluting things’ and so on - suddenly you hit the right note.”

The latest scientific research revealed the effects of climate change are speeding up, as world leaders met to discuss it in New York last month.

“At last nations are coming together and recognising we all live on the same planet,” Sir David explained. 

“All these seven worlds are actually one and we are dependent on it for every mouthful of food we eat and every breath of air we take.

“We have it in our hands and we’ve made a tragic, desperate mess of it so far.”

He added: “It’s a huge cliché but there are seven billion people on earth and if seven billion all start doing the right thing.”

Asked what individuals can do to help save the planet, he said: “The best motto to think about is to not waste things like food. “Live the way you want to live but just don’t waste. Look after the natural world and the animals in it and the plants in it too, this is their planet as well as ours.”