 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
Douglas Botting | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 February 1934 Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England |
| Died | 6 February 2018 (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | St Edmund Hall, Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Explorer, author, biographer and TV presenter and producer |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Botting, m. 1964, diss. mid-1980s |
| Children | 2, including Anna Botting |
Douglas Scott Botting (22 February 1934 – 6 February 2018)[1] was an English explorer, author, biographer and TV presenter and producer. He wrote biographies of naturalists Gavin Maxwell and Gerald Durrell (the former also being a personal friend). Botting was the inspiration behind and writer of the 1972 film The Black Safari,[2] a role-reversal parody of English explorers, with Africans touring England, shown in the BBC 2 documentary series The World About Us. He also featured in much other BBC programming, including Under London Expedition exploring the London sewerage system, as part of the BBC2 nature series The World About Us. He wrote numerous Second World War and early aviation books for Time Life Books. Botting took part, with Anthony Smith, in the first balloon flight over Africa.
- ^ "Douglas Botting, explorer and biographer – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 9 February 2018.
- ^ The Black Safari (1972) at IMDb