One Planet, Seven Worlds: Sir David Attenborough to return with new natural history series

SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH is returning to BBC One to present a new natural history series.

It will explore how the world’s “seven extraordinary” continents “shaped the unique animal life found there”.

One Planet, Seven Worlds, described as an “ambitious, landmark series”, will air later this year.

“Each one-hour episode will transport viewers to a single continent and tell the story of its spectacular wildlife and iconic landscapes,” the BBC said.

“We will discover why Australasia is full of peculiar and venomous wildlife, why North America is a land of opportunity where pioneers succeed and what the consequences are for life racing to compete on the richest of all continents, South America.”

Viewers will see what is described as “remarkable, new animal behaviour from all the continents including the baking plains of Africa and the frozen waters off Antarctica.”

The BBC said the latest filming techniques will allow “audiences to experience each continent like never before” in the series, presented by Sir David, who recently narrated Blue Planet II and Dynasties.

Other shows announced by the BBC include Green Planet, described as “Planet Earth from the perspective of plants”.

Robotics, time-lapse and super-detail thermal cameras will be used as “we discover that plants are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as animals – locked in desperate battles for food, for light, to reproduce and to scatter their young”, the BBC said.

“They are social – they communicate with each other, they care for their young, they help their weak and injured. They can plan, they can count, they can remember.”

Liz Bonnin will look at the impact of meat on the planet in another film, while Springwatch will ask viewers to collect data from woodland walks, coastal breaks and the doorstep in a series of “weekend watches” to assess the state of British wildlife.

The project will culminate in 2020 with a giant Garden Watch.

A new documentary, My Family, The Holocaust And Me, will feature Robert Rinder helping people to find out what happened to their families in the Holocaust.

In another documentary, Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain will research the source of her anxiety and look at the help available.

Alison Kirkham, BBC controller, factual commissioning, said the broadcaster was “not motivated by commercial imperatives or what’s in fashion”.

“The BBC has a unique commitment to factual programming,” she said.

“I don’t believe any other broadcaster in British television has such an extraordinary breath of output in factual.

“Plenty of other broadcasters are now following our lead but we’re determined to keep moving the conversation forwards.”