LONDON: Veteran nature show presenter David Attenborough said on Thursday he had recovered sufficiently from heart surgery to reschedule a sell-out tour of Australia for next month.

Attenborough, 87, known for his wildlife documentaries, earlier this month cancelled his speaking tour "A Life On Earth" to Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne to undergo emergency surgery.

Less than two weeks after having a pacemaker inserted, Attenborough said he was on the mend and ready to reschedule his Australian trip.

"Thank you everyone for all your wonderful and kind messages. Everything went well. I will see you in Australia very soon," Attenborough said in a statement.

A spokesman for Lateral Events, promoter of the tour, said Attenborough had received the all-clear to travel to Australia and would start a three-week tour of six cities from July 11.

The BBC presenter, who was knighted in 1985, is best known for his documentary series including "Life on Earth", "Frozen Planet" and most recently "Africa".

Asked earlier this year if he was ready to retire, Attenborough told the UK's Daily Express newspaper: "I don't want to slow down. Retirement would be so boring."