Climate change claim edited out of BBC doco

David Attenborough in The Life of Mammals. Photo/supplied

The BBC has re-edited an episode of Sir David Attenborough's Africa series to remove a disputed claim over climate change.

In the episode, broadcast in the UK last week, Sir David told viewers that "some parts of the continent have become 3.5C hotter in the past 20 years", but the BBC has since admitted that is "disputable".

The line was removed from the repeat episode and the re-edited version has replaced the original show on the iPlayer.

"There is widespread acknowledgement within the scientific community that the climate of Africa has been changing. We accept the detail is disputable and the commentary should have reflected that, therefore the line of commentary has been edited out of Sunday's repeat and iPlayer version removed.''

It is not the first time Sir David's award-winning natural history shows have run into trouble in recent years.

In 2011, the veteran broadcaster had to defend using footage in his Frozen Planet series of a polar bear tending her newborn cubs that was shot in a zoo.

The BBC denied misleading viewers over the footage and said the way it had been captured was "clearly explained" in the program website.

The footage, narrated by Sir David, was made in a German zoo and was mixed with real wild scenes.

- PAA