A MULTI award-winning wildlife cameraman, cited by Sir David Attenborough as one of the best in the world, be talking about his life and career at Northallerton Forum.

Doug Allan, whose credits include Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Brian Cox’s Forces of Nature, will share behind the scenes stories, with highlights from the most challenging assignments of his 35-years filming in the remotest places on Earth.

He will also be tracing his personal journey as he discusses how he has seen pollution and climate change affect the natural world.

The Northern Echo:

He said: "I’d like my audience to feel they’ve been entertained, and that I’ve offered some fresh insights into how and why we film wildlife."

Sharing some of his hairiest moments whilst out filming, Mr Allan said that a close encounter with a walrus was probably the scariest.

He said: "A walrus once grabbed me as I was snorkelling off an ice edge in Canada when I was making a National Geographic programme.

"I was filming, treading water and looking around when something suddenly grabbed me from behind.

"It was a walrus, which was tucked underneath my elbow, flippers locked round my thighs."

He added: "Luckily, it grabbed me around the legs, but its reaction could have been to hold me tighter and take me down and drowned me. The attack was a total surprise, it was just pure instinct on my part to push it away.

The Northern Echo:

"We looked at each other in bewilderment for a second, and then I struck out for the ice about 15 m away.

"Normally I’d need someone to help pull me and the camera out on to the solid ice, that time it was totally unassisted.

"I was fortunate to escape."

Whilst presenting a nature programme in Scotland, Sir David Attenborough said that 'wildlife cameramen don’t come much more special than Doug Allan' and Mr Allan joked that it should be his epitaph.

The Northern Echo:

"He often tweaked his commentaries, and he must have put that in to make it personal," said Mr Allan.

"That's very typical of him.

"People still latch onto that quote.

"It’ll be the one on my gravestone, in fact maybe I could imbed a motion detector, microchip and speaker in the granite so out comes the actual spoken words whenever anyone approaches!"

Doug Allan will be at The Forum on November 4. Tickets are £20 online or on 01609-776230.