The man.. sorry, the legend that is Sir David Attenborough has a new series out next week and it’s likely to be his very last on home soil.
The 96-year-old’s new five-part BBC series, ‘Wild Isles’, takes the broadcaster and natural historian from one end of the British isles and Ireland to another to showcase the islands’ abundance of wildlife in their natural habitats. Turns out we’ve got more than just a smattering of hedgehogs and a barn owl or two.
The series will be significant in two ways: firstly, it’s the first time that the stellar production values of ‘Blue Planet’, ‘Frozen Planet’ and ‘Planet Earth’ have been brought to bear on Britain and Ireland’s ecosystems and wildlife.
But even more significantly, it’s likely to be Attenborough’s final time fronting a TV series on location.
The Observer reports that while the great man isn’t retiring, his travelling days are winding down. The show, therefore, represents a coup for the show’s producers, with Attenborough agreeing to present it as well as narrate the footage.
‘He introduces every episode and closes the opening and last episode with very powerful pieces about the fact that, as this is our home, it is our responsibility to try to restore nature,’ Silverback Films producer Alastair Fothergill told The Observer.
‘We felt he had a unique perspective because of his age, on how the British countryside has changed in his lifetime.’
When is Wild Isles on BBC One?
‘Wild Isles’ will air every Sunday evening from March 12, 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Co-produced with the RSPB and WFF, ‘Wild Isles’ showcases the four countries’ wildlife, from Skomer Island in Wales to Bass Rock in Scotland.
‘There’s something very special about having David Attenborough present a series about the wildlife of Britain and Ireland,’ said producer Nick Gates,’because it is personal. It has to be personal. It’s his home. It’s our home. If David Attenborough tells us to protect it, it’s very powerful.’
Dream job alert: you could run this very, very remote Scottish island.
A huge walrus has been spotted sunbathing on the Scottish coast.