Patrick Barkham joins Anushka Asthana to chart the rise of one of Britain’s best-loved personalities: the natural history broadcaster David Attenborough. Plus: Gaby Hinsliff on women and the myth of ‘likability’

At a BBC editorial meeting in the 1980s, managers discussed how to approach the subject of David Attenborough’s retirement. How would they replace the presenter who had become synonymous with their natural history programmes but who was now in his 60s? They never found an answer and Attenborough has proved irreplaceable.

The Guardian’s Patrick Barkham spoke to Attenborough before his major new series Seven Worlds, One Planet, and tells Anushka Asthana how he became such a cherished national icon.

Also today: Gaby Hinsliff on women and the myth of ‘likability’.