david attenborough celebrated with a week of special programmes and new series for his 100th
The nation’s long-running nature presenter will reach his centenary on 8 May, and a major broadcaster has scheduled a dedicated week of programming to mark the milestone. The season blends new commissions, archival retrospectives and a live celebration from the Royal Albert Hall, aiming to showcase both the scale of his career and the conservation messages that have defined it.
New films revisit landmark series and probe hidden garden life
One of the headline commissions, Making Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure, will go behind the scenes of the influential 1979 series Life on Earth. The original series took the presenter and crew to roughly 40 countries to film about 600 species; the new programme reunites surviving members of the production team and includes fresh interviews with the presenter reflecting on the logistical and personal challenges the team faced — from political upheaval in the Comoros to being caught in hostile encounters, and the now-famous gorilla encounter in Rwanda.
Alongside that retrospective sits a new five-part series that brings the presenter closer to home by lifting the lid on Britain’s gardens. Titled Secret Garden, the series explores the teeming life in ordinary back gardens across the UK and highlights small-scale actions the public can take to help struggling species. Filmed at locations around the country, the episodes aim to make biodiversity and conservation feel tangible for viewers, emphasising how local choices add up.
Live centenary celebration and a roll-call of classics
The presenter will also appear at a live event on 8 May from the Royal Albert Hall, billed as David Attenborough's 100 Years on Planet Earth. The evening will feature the Concert Orchestra and a roster of special guests in a programme designed to reflect his life’s work in natural history broadcasting and conservation advocacy.
Across the commemorative week, the schedule will revisit defining moments from the presenter’s output, featuring episodes drawn from landmark series such as Planet Earth, One Planet, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet, as well as his more recent special Wild London. The curated run is framed as both a celebration and a reminder of the themes that have run through his career: wonder at the natural world, the fragility of ecosystems and a repeated call for public stewardship.
Legacy framed as inspiration and a call to action
Jack Bootle, head of commissioning for specialist factual, spoke of the presenter’s impact in personal terms, saying it is impossible to overstate what he has given viewers: a redefinition of natural history broadcasting and a profound shift in how audiences see the planet and their place within it. The special week is presented as a thank-you for a lifetime of bringing the natural world into homes, and as an invitation to viewers to carry forward the curiosity and concern his programmes have inspired.
Organisers say the mix of new material, archival reflection and live celebration is intended to appeal to long-time followers and new audiences alike, offering both spectacle and practical guidance on conservation. With the centenary falling on 8 May (Eastern Time), the programming aims to create a concentrated moment of national and international attention on a career that has shaped public understanding of nature for generations.
