David Attenborough speaks of horrible toilet incident which left him ...

A BBC documentary celebrating the career of David Attenborough on his 97th Birthday has reminded us all about his least favourite animal.

It is hard to believe that the broadcaster, who is famed for his enthusiasm for the natural world, would have a dislike of any part of nature. However, Sir David has told on several occasions that he is not a fan of rats.

He said his fear of the rodents began after a sleepless night in a hut on the Solomon Islands. Sir David said his experinces since have only confirmed his dislike, including one horrible incident on a toilet in India.

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Speaking on David Attenborough: A Life on Air which aired again on BBC Four on Monday (May 8), he said: "I'm afraid I've never made a secret of the fact I'm not in love with rats. And I've had many good reasons for not being in love with rats.

"But I had the best reason for not being in love with rats only a few weeks ago. I've been reckless enough to boast over the years that I haven't had a stomach upset for 25 years.

"I was in India, and I got one. And I ran for the loo and I got rid of my problems and I was was sitting there, in extremis, a rat emerged from the depths of the loo and jumped out from between my legs. I reckon that was not an endearing act."

Wales Online reported previously that Sir David said: "I really, really hate rats. I’ve handled deadly spiders, snakes and scorpions without batting an eyelid, but if I see a rat I’ll be the first to run.

"I don’t mean that I mildly dislike them as I dislike, let us say, maggots. I mean that if a rat appears in a room, I have to work hard to prevent myself from jumping on the nearest table!

"It all started when I was staying in a thatched hut in a village in the Solomon Islands. I was out there filming, when a thunderstorm broke out one night. As I lay with my eyes closed, trying to sleep, I felt a movement on the sheet around my feet.

"I flicked on my torch and there was a rat running across me. I looked around. There were rats everywhere. Needless to say, I abandoned the hut."

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