Sir David Attenborough to front new landmark BBC series weeks after 99th birthday
The much-loved presenter has alluded to approaching 'the end' of his long life, but shows little sign of slowing down
Sir David Attenborough is to mark his birthday this week by announcing that he will present the BBC 's next landmark natural history series later this summer. The veteran broadcaster, who turns 99 on Thursday, is the expert narrator for Parenthood, a blue-chip five-parter which examines the extreme lengths different species will employ to ensure the survival of their offspring.
BBC specialist factual commissioning boss Jack Bootle told The Mirror that Sir David has already recorded his carefully-worded scripts for all five episodes. "This is a wonderful, warm, engaging and surprising series, made by some of the very best wildlife filmmakers in the world, and I'm thrilled Sir David is joining us again to narrate it,' he said.
The series, from the makers of Wild Isles, The Hunt and The Mating Game, highlights how parenthood in the animal kingdom is a high stakes game in which some animal parents must come up with extraordinary strategies and tricks to give their young a head start.
Series producer and director, Jeff Wilson, said the series would be 'the ultimate celebration of the joys and challenges of raising offspring in the natural world'. He explained: 'Silverback Films did a deep dive into the subject over 2.5 years, uncovering extraordinary new behaviours and jaw-dropping dramas using the world's best wildlife cinematographers and directors.
'We are incredibly proud that Sir David was on board with us to bring to the screen a landmark series that has something for everyone – moments of heart warming tenderness, high stakes narrative , and a timely guide from a huge cast of unbelievably engaging cast of characters on how to navigate the complex world of Parenthood.'
From orca teaching their offspring to hunt blue whales, orangutan showing their young how to make their beds and hippo families navigating the terrifying African night, the cameras have captured many gripping moments.
Stories also include dedicated elephant mothers showing their calves where to find water, cardinalfish fathers who house their fry inside their own mouths, and a lion pride which adopts the cubs of a recently killed matriarch and raise them to become giant hunters.
One insider said: 'Everyone is thrilled to have David on board. It's what was hoped for when production on this series started three years ago but seeing the scripts and hearing his narration is always so exciting. It's such a privilege to have him.'
The new project has emerged a few days after the celebrated TV presenter made headlines by referencing that he was approaching 'the end of my life' - saying that, when it comes to restoring our oceans over the coming decades, he will 'not see how that story ends'.
Launching his new book and TV series Ocean last week, for National Geographic, Sir David explained: 'When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.'
BBC bosses have high hopes that Sir David will front the third of the award-winning Blue Planet series next year, once he has turned 100 next May. A source told the i paper: 'Blue Planet III isn't due to transmit until the end of 2026. As David no longer travels the globe filming, there is less need to get him on board early in the production stages - as long as David wishes to continue doing narrations, we are of course delighted to have his brilliant contributions.'
In 2018 the award-winning presenter admitted he would only quit making documentaries about the natural world if he felt the quality of his work was slipping. 'If I think I'm not producing commentary with any freshness, I hope I would be able to recognise it before someone else told me,' he mused.
But Sir David said there were plenty of ways to make the job less physical, which he has since put into action. 'I do dread not working, although there are things I can do without running up steps six times – books to be written, things I've never got round to.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Race Across The World winners revealed as pair admit they failed to keep BBC show victory secret
IT was a tense sprint to the finish line in tonight's finale of Race Across The World. The final episode followed the pairs travelling from Goa, India, to the southernmost tip of India, Kanniyakumari, 1000km away. 3 The final four pairs were whittled down to one Credit: BBC 3 Caroline and Tom were crowned winners of the show Credit: BBC But after a 51-day cross-continent race, it was mother and son duo Caroline and Tom who took home the £20,000 prize. The pair, who were leading the race from its fifth episode earlier this month, beat brothers Melvyn and Brian, sisters Elizabeth and Letitia and young couple Fin and Sioned to the finish point. And it was an emotional moment for the duo, as mum Caroline broke down in tears on the big reveal that the all-important guest book was empty on their arrival. Celebrating their win, Caroline broke down in tears in emotional scenes, telling her son: 'We must never doubt ourselves, ever, ever, ever again.' Tom added: "I'm lost for words, I can't believe it. "Fifty one days racing through countries I never thought I'd go to. "I never thought we'd come this far, I never thought we'd achieve so much, and I've never been prouder of my mum – she got me through it.' Caroline and Tom were closely followed by sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, who arrived at the finish line just shy of 20 minutes later. Forty five minutes behind the winners, Fin and Sioned arrived in third place, while brothers Brian and Melvyn took a further three hours to reach the end. On their way home from the series, the duo revealed that while they had sworn themselves to secrecy about winning the cash, it didn't take long to spill the beans. Race Across The World pays heartbreaking tribute to show star Sam Gardiner after tragic death age 24 Caroline revealed: '[We told] my husband, in the car on the way home - we couldn't hide it!' Tom added: 'We had made a pact on the plane not to tell anybody, but within minutes of seeing him we let that one go, it was so hard to keep it in.' However, the mother and son duo still haven't decided what they're going to do with the cash. Tom concluded: "I haven't really thought about what I'm doing with the money yet. "I don't want to be stupid and waste it. Mum and I want to go backpacking again, so some of it will be used for that." The reunion episode of Race Across The World airs June 18 at 9pm on BBC One and you can catch up on all episodes on BBC iPlayer.
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Who won Race Across the World today? BBC final recap
See which of the four teams managed to win Race Across the World series 5 🏃♂️ Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Race Across the World has crowned the winners for series 5. The winning pair walks away with the grand prize after the final leg. But which team made it to the last checkpoint first? The fifth winners of Race Across the World have been crowned after a rollercoaster final on the BBC. The remaining teams faced one last dash to reach the last checkpoint on a truly mammoth journey. After eight weeks - and around 14,000km - four pairs successfully completed the journey from the Great Wall of China to Kanyakumari in India. It is an incredible journey that has taken them across two of the most populous countries in the world - via Nepal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, all good things must come to an end, as they say. The final of Race Across the World's fifth series took place tonight (June 11) and just over seven hours separated the top three teams heading into the last leg. But which of the pairs managed to run out as victors at the end of the race? Here's all you need to know: Who won Race Across the World series 5? Race Across the World series 5 finalists | BBC Heading into the final leg of the mammoth race from China to the bottom of India, mother and son duo Caroline and Tom were in the lead. They reclaimed the top spot at the end of last week's seventh leg - as then-leaders Brian and Melvyn saw themselves tumble to the bottom of the leader board after opting for the rural route and avoiding Mumbai and falling 17 hours behind. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Caroline and Tom had a nearly seven hour lead over sisters Elizabeth and Letita. Young Welsh couple Fin and Sioned were ever so slightly further behind at seven hours and 48 minutes - having clawed back from a 33 hour deficit earlier in the season. It set things up for a dramatic final dash across the southern states of India. But who made it to Kanyakumari first? Caroline and Tom were the first to reach the last checkpoint and thus were crowned winners of Race Across the World series five. What does the winner of Race Across the World get? The winning couple walk away with a £20,000 jackpot - as well as bragging rights of course. It has been the same prize since the show began back in 2019. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fortunately for fans, the show is not completely over as there is still one episode left in the season. Race Across the World will be back next week (June 18) with a reunion special that will reunite the five teams six months after the end of the race. It promises unseen footage, behind-the-scenes insights and plenty more. Find out how to watch it here.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Race Across The World pair win with 19 minutes spare in closest final ever
Race Across The World has come to a dramatic end as one pair have cinched victory with just 19 minutes to spare as the teams raced across China, Nepal and India Caroline and Tom Bridge became the first mother and son to win Race Across the World last night, with a margin of just 19 minutes - making it the closest final in the BBC show's history. After 51 days of racing on land across China, Nepal and India, covering a distance of 14,000km for the equivalent price of the air fare, and without bank cards or smartphones, the pair were hugely emotional when they came first. Turning the page to discover they'd clinched the £20k prize, an emotional Caroline cried: 'We must never doubt ourselves again. Ever, ever, ever.' Writing their names in the book, Tom said: 'That's a really good feeling, I'm lost for words, I can't believe it, 51 days racing through countries I never thought I'd go to, I never thought we'd come this far, I never thought we'd achieve so much and I've never been prouder of my mum – she got me through it.' The winners had started the final leg, from Panaji in Goa, nearly seven hours ahead of Letitia and Elizabeth. Sprinting to the finish line in Kanniyakumari - India's most southerly point - the sisters came in second place, having remained consistently strong competitors throughout the contest. They were followed by teenage couple Fin Gough and Sioned Clay, from Wales, while brothers Brian and Melvyn Mole finished fourth after leaving on the final leg 17 hours after race leaders Caroline and Tom. The show's 8million viewers have learned that housewife Caroline, 60, applied to take part after feeling she'd missed out on life by being a housewife, while Tom, 21, revealed he'd been expelled from school for smoking marijuana, which resulted in him missing his GCSEs. In recent years, he has worked as a labourer on a building site. After their win, Caroline declared: 'My God, this race has meant so much. We've learnt so much, we've enjoyed it, and to actually win it as well as to have the experience is the best thing that could have happened to us.' Tom agreed: 'Doing the experience in itself is winning but to actually get to that book first and open it and to see that it was empty was something that I'll remember for the rest of my life.' Having vowed to keep the secret of their win to themselves, Caroline admitted she'd told her husband, Christian, a barrister, within minutes of getting in the car on the way home to Bury St Edmunds from the airport. Calling the trip her 'lifetime achievement', Caroline said that the prize money would go towards Tom setting himself up as a handyman. 'Thomas is starting up a business and it's been inspired by India and I'd like to help him with that,' she said. Tom, an only child, added: 'I don't want to be stupid and waste it. Mum and I want to go backpacking again so some of it will go towards that.' During the series it also emerged that Tom has cerebral palsy, which affects his right side. 'I feel like my left hand just does what it's told, whereas my right hand feels like it's disconnected from my brain, but it's something I don't really talk about,' he told viewers. At the end of the race Letitia and Elizabeth were disappointed not to have won but still 'proud of us' for coming such a close second. Sioned and Fin arrived 26 minutes later and agreed they had 'done well' with Fin reasoning: 'It would have been incredible - but we can't all come first.' Brothers Brian and Melvyn, in their 60s, made up huge time on the final leg, finishing just over three hours behind the leaders. 'We've done very well actually,' they agreed. 'Really pleased for the guys that have won it. Beer? Desperately, and definitely.'
