The day I met my idol, Sir David Attenborough: "I'm an impostor"

Imagine meeting the one person you looked up to practically your whole life, the one person who inspired you to be who you are today; it's a week later and I still can't believe I met my idol, Sir David Attenborough.

It was pouring down with rain and I made one of the worst choices in my life by wearing ballet pumps, they were soaked. Me and my group huddled together, waiting, under a sheltered band stand, where we were told to meet up for the brief. I was at the Cheltenham Literature Festival doing live coverage for the day.

Once everyone arrived, I was pulled to the side by the Event's Officer, he said: "So, you're going to meet Sir David Attenborough, you'll have your photo taken and a copy of his book signed."

There weren't butterflies in my stomach they were more like bats; I couldn't make any words come out of my mouth, so I just kept nodding my head. Rushing back to my group I blurted out "you guys are going to hate me," and told them everything. We got given our press wristbands, sorted out our roles for the day and then we were sent off to do what we do best - being journalists. Of course that meant the first thing I did was get a hot cup of coffee to warm me up.

Soon enough the time came where I was being rushed to a room filled with journalists, publicists and publishers. Sir David Attenborough was sat not very far from me in a navy blue suit chatting away to Emma Freud, the journalist. I couldn't believe I was in the same room as the man I watched on TV since I was a child, and everyone was just casually eating their lunch, as if this was a normal day!

From this point time flew by; I was taken to another tent where I was handed the Life on Earth book and before I knew it the national treasure was in front of me. The whole room falls silent and what Emma Freud says in the interview later that day, echo's in my mind now: "It's like Jesus is here!". He was the first to break the silence making jokes which made the whole room burst into laughter.

A few of us were told to stand in front of a blue backdrop and I was side-by-side to David having my photo snapped, it felt so surreal. I gushed out: "Hi it's really nice to meet you." before we were ushered to sit down so he could sign our books. Nobody could think of anything to say to him, we were in awe and how do you tell someone who doesn't know who you are how inspiring they are to you?

It was over before I knew it, but the best part was to come: the interview with Emma Freud; as soon as he walked in the room it was filled with cheers and claps. Even unscripted he was the most knowledgeable person I've ever met, an encyclopedia of the planet, animals and the environment; describing slugs as the most sexual, sensual creatures on the planet. On the topic of him being a national treasure he said: "I'm an impostor, I mean in all kinds of ways. In the presence of a scientist i'm not a scientist I'm someone who takes their discoveries and makes them accessible to others."

But the one thing that will stay with me and make me a better, more passionate advocate for the planet's environment and creatures is when he said: "It was such a tragedy when Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement." and "What is going on around us is deeply terrifying." When the interview finished he got nothing less than what he deserved, a standing ovation; this was easily one of the best days of my life.