David Attenborough is British public's top choice for a movie biopic

Sir David Attenborough is top of the British public’s wish list of famous faces to get a movie biopic, a new survey reveals.

The TV presenter and environmental campaigner beat out Barack Obama and George Michael to nab the top spot in a study carried out by Showcase Cinemas.

Attenborough, who has presented wildlife documentaries including Planet Earth for more than 60 years, earned 19% of the vote.

Read more: Planet Earth II knocked off IMDb top spot

Former US president Obama landed in second place with 13%, while musical icon George Michael got 11% and came in third.

Reggae pioneer Bob Marley and scientist Albert Einstein rounded out the top five, each gaining 10% of the vote.

The survey was commissioned by Showcase in the wake of recent musical biopic successes, including Freddie Mercury story Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, following the life of Elton John.

Brits were also asked to name their favourite biopic of all time and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the blockbuster Queen movie that took top spot ahead of Schindler’s List and The King’s Speech.

Bohemian Rhapsody made more than $900m (£710m) at the worldwide box office and won four Oscars, including Best Actor for leading man Rami Malek.

Read more: Bohemian Rhapsody sequel considered

Mark Barlow, UK general manager for Showcase Cinemas, said: "We weren’t surprised to see national treasure Sir David Attenborough pick up the most votes for a would-be biopic.

“He’s arguably the most liked and trusted man in Britain and, with his on-screen experience, we’re confident he’d give Freddie a run for his money at the box office."

Attenborough’s new eight-part documentary series Our Planet is available now on Netflix.

Read more: Our Planet viewers traumatised by walrus scene

The streaming service reported that 25 million people were expected to watch the series during its first month on the platform.