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2nd May 2023
07:32am BST
Sir David Attenborough is the person most people would want to represent Earth if we ever make contact with aliens.
A study of 2,000 adults found the popular naturalist would be selected to join the Galactic Federation on behalf of Planet Earth to discuss the planet's interests with an alliance of extra-terrestrial civilisations within the Milky Way.
Second on the list was Professor Brian Cox, with Barack Obama placing third, according to the OnePoll.com data.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk is humanity's fourth pick, with Boris Johnson in fifth place.
The research was commissioned by National Geographic, ahead of the launch of new documentary series UFO’s: Investigating the Unknown, which airs on the channel from Tuesday 2nd May at 8pm.
Viewers will be taken on a journey to uncover the truth behind the mysterious UFO phenomena that has captivated humanity for generations, as the top-secret Pentagon programme on UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) of the US government is exposed.
Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the Ministry of Defence, said: “UFOs are big news now, and a lot of people are reporting - and sometimes filming - extraordinary things.
“While many people are convinced these sightings involve alien life, most cases turn out to be misidentifications.
“The chances are that there's intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and even though the vast distances make direct contact a challenge, encountering an alien civilization would be the biggest story in human history.”
Commenting on Sir David being selected to represent Earth, Pope added: “Once again, Sir David Attenborough has been selected as representing the very best of humanity.
“He’s spent his life exploring and showcasing the furthest reaches of Planet Earth, so it’s no surprise he’s topped the poll for who’d be best to make first contact with ETs.
"Maybe he should move to Edinburgh, where the most people claim to have seen a UFO – he might just get his chance.”
The poll also revealed that Edinburgh, London and Leicester are the UK’s official UFO hotspots.
Eighteen per cent of residents in the Scottish city are convinced they’ve had a legitimate sighting.
They are also most likely to believe aliens exist somewhere in the universe, even if they’ve never spotted one.
Nationally, almost half (48 per cent) believe aliens exist and 10 per cent think they’ve witnessed something out of the ordinary, with six in 10 (59 per cent) of these believing it was alien in origin.
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