david attenborough to be honoured with week-long programming for his 100th birthday
Sir David Attenborough’s centenary will be marked with a concentrated celebration of new commissions and classic natural history titles around his 100th birthday on Friday, May 8, 2026 (ET). The programming block brings fresh material alongside restored and curated highlights from a seven-decade career that transformed how millions see the natural world.
New commissions and behind-the-scenes features
The centerpiece of the new slate is a one-hour behind-the-scenes feature exploring the making of the landmark series Life on Earth. Titled Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, the programme revisits the three-year global production that filmed more than 600 species across 40 countries. New interviews with Attenborough and members of the original crew reveal the logistical hazards and historic moments that accompanied the shoot — from a coup in the Comoros to being fired upon in Rwanda and tense encounters during filming in Iraq. The feature revisits the famous gorilla sequence that helped cement Attenborough’s place in television history.
Alongside that film comes a brand-new five-part series in which Attenborough turns his attention to the wildlife hiding in Britain’s gardens. Secret Garden follows distinct garden habitats across the UK, from pine marten activity in the Western Highlands and dormice in South Wales to swallows in the Lake District and otters in Oxfordshire. The series aims to reveal the fierce, sometimes precarious lives of creatures living at the edges of towns and cities, and to show how ordinary green spaces can be vital refuges for biodiversity.
Producers have also scheduled a special live centenary event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, billed as an evening that will pair orchestral performance with on-stage conversation and film highlights. The event aims to bring together music, archive footage and guests to reflect on a career that has influenced scientists, filmmakers and millions of viewers worldwide.
Retrospectives, restored favourites and what to expect
The centenary week will also present curated selections from Attenborough’s most influential series. The schedule includes restored episodes and specially chosen moments from landmark titles spanning decades of work — a concentrated reminder of how natural history filmmaking evolved alongside changes in technology and travel. Viewers can expect sequences from seminal works that demonstrated new filming techniques and narrative approaches to the natural world.
Commissioning executives framed the celebration as both a tribute and a public reminder of the impact one presenter has had on global awareness of nature and conservation. They highlight that the forthcoming programming is intended to inspire curiosity while acknowledging the production teams and innovators who made ambitious natural history television possible in the pre-digital era.
For audiences, the week will offer two clear ways to engage: new material that unpacks the making of landmark programmes and a chance to revisit the programmes that shaped modern natural history broadcasting. The mix of fresh interviews, restored footage and location-driven new work aims to appeal to long-term fans and newcomers alike.
Legacy and cultural impact
Attenborough’s storytelling helped redefine science and natural history broadcasting and introduced millions to the idea that television could carry both spectacle and serious environmental messaging. The centenary celebration is being positioned as a moment to reflect on that legacy — celebrating the craft of wildlife filmmaking, the risks taken by early crews, and the series of moments that entered the public imagination.
Across the week beginning Monday, May 4, 2026 (ET), audiences will get a concentrated look at the arc of a career that has spanned continents and decades, and that continues to shape conversations about conservation. The programming promises both archival depth and newly commissioned perspectives, offering a comprehensive portrait of a broadcaster whose voice has become synonymous with the natural world.
