In the 1970s and 80s Mabey wrote and presented several television documentaries. He appeared in the 1975 BBC programme "In Deepest Britain", with John Gooders and other naturalists, giving an unscripted narration of the wildlife observed during a country walk. He wrote and narrated the 1996 BBC television series "Postcards from the Country", for whose eight, 40-minute episodes he was series producer, as well as being the producer- director on four. The book of the series "Postcards from the Country: living memories of the British countryside" (by Peter Marren & Mike Birkhead) includes a foreword by him. He made a film for the BBC on Kew Gardens. His "Unofficial Countryside" and "The Flowering of Britain" were based on his books of the same names. "White Rock, Black Water" was a specially-written film about the limestone country of the Yorkshire Dales, and a Channel 4 8-part series - "Back to the Roots" – explored the role of plants in Britain's contemporary culture . In the 1990s he often appeared on the BBC's "Country File".