World-renowned natural historian and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has been forced to cancel his Australian tour to undergo emergency heart surgery.

The 87-year-old Briton will have a pacemaker inserted during surgery in London on Tuesday (local time).

As a result, Sir David's sell-out tour of Australia, which had been due to begin in Brisbane next week, has been cancelled.

Tour organiser Simon Baggs has released a statement saying Sir David hopes the live Life On Earth shows can be rescheduled

"Sir David expressed his extreme disappointment as he said he was very much looking forward to coming back to Australia and he hopes to reschedule his tour in the near future," the statement said.

Mr Baggs says ticket holders will be refunded and should contact venues for details.

Sir David's career has spanned six decades and includes recent productions such as Planet Earth, Africa and The Blue Planet.

He was knighted by the Queen in 1985 and in 2005 he was awarded the Order of Merit.