BBC celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 97th birthday
17 years after he first hosted Planet Earth, Sir David Attenborough will be back to present the third season of the popular show.
This is the third time the 97-year-old has presented the series, which is expected to air in the autumn.
Sir David is reported to have already started filming his introductory scenes and the narration of the episodes.
Fans of the beloved BBC series will remember he first hosted Planet Earth in 2006 before reprising his role as host for the sequel in 2016.
The new series is said to be five years in the making after it was commissioned in 2019.
However, like many other TV programmes, filming was delayed by the pandemic.
Executive producer Mike Gunton told the Daily Mirror it was only right that Sir David returned to host.
"Planet Earth wouldn’t be Planet Earth without David, so I’m delighted he is presenting the third series," he explained.
"The opening of the series with David was filmed in the beautiful British countryside in exactly the location where Charles Darwin used to walk whilst thinking over his Earth-shaking ideas about evolution.
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"It seemed the perfect place for David to introduce Planet Earth III and remind us of both the wonders and the fragility of our planet."
The new series will be eight episodes with the final instalment a celebration of human heroes who have dedicated their lives to saving endangered species.
Elsewhere, Sir David will present a "ground-breaking" series on animal sounds for rival channel Sky.
Secret World of Sound will be a three-part series will will see him learn more about animals using “cutting-edge recording technology”.
Planet Earth is expected to return to BBC One later this year.
