The BBC Unveils Huge Plans To Celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th Birthday

National treasures don’t come much bigger than Sir David Attenborough, so the BBC is making sure it pulls out all the stops to help the country celebrate the legendary broadcaster’s upcoming 100th birthday.

Over the course of the beloved naturalist and environmentalist’s birthday week, the BBC will be airing three new documentaries, including an hour-long behind-the-scenes exploration of his landmark series Life On Earth.

Also airing on the BBC in May will be Secret Garden, in which Sir David talks viewers through the hidden worlds to be found in their own back gardens, and the one-off live event David Attenborough’s 100 Years On Planet Earth, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall.

BBC One will also air old episodes of some of Sir David’s most revered programmes, including Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet II and Planet Earth III, while iPlayer will be curating new collections based on his best and most popular work.

Here’s what you need to know about each of the new shows…

Making Life On Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure

This hour-long documentary will take viewers behind the scenes of Life On Earth, almost 50 years after it first aired on the BBC.

A press release explains: “Making Life On Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure goes behind the scenes on this ground-breaking landmark series, featuring exclusive interviews with David Attenborough and other members of the original crew.

“With fascinating insights, they reveal the highs and lows of filming the series during a truly exciting moment in television history, when global jet travel and colour filming were still in their infancy.

“Along the way, the crew encountered multiple challenges, including a coup in the Comoros, being shot at in Rwanda and threats from Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq.”

Secret Garden

After the success of Wild Isles and Wild London, Secret Garden sees Sir David exploring wildlife a little closer to home than some of his most popular past docs.

“From pine martens in the Western Highlands to dormice in South Wales, swallows in the Lake District to otters in Oxfordshire and blue tits in Bristol, the series reveals not just a rich and surprising diversity of life but also how each species finds its own way to live alongside us,” the BBC teases in a press release.

“Through meeting the gardeners that have created these wild oases, we discover how our nation of animal lovers and gardeners can do their bit to save struggling species. Eighty per cent of Britons have access to a garden, and together they cover an area greater than all of our national nature reserves combined – so what we do in our own backyards has an impact not only on the animals that live there, but also on whole populations.”

“You’ll never look at your garden in the same way again,” they add.

David Attenborough’s 100 Years On Planet Earth

This special broadcast will air on BBC One on Friday 8 May, which happens to be Sir David’s 100th birthday.

“Held on his birthday at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the event will take audiences on a journey through a century of exploration and discovery in the natural world, seen through the prism of David’s extraordinary life,” the BBC says.

“It will feature dramatic wildlife stories, accompanied by live music from his programmes, alongside spoken reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.

“Accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, it will feature original compositions from some of David’s best-known landmark series. Alongside the music, guests will include some of those he has collaborated with from the world of conservation and wildlife filmmaking.”

What has Sir David Attenborough said about turning 100?

Almost a decade ago, Sir David told the Daily Mail he saw no reason “whatsoever” that he shouldn’t be celebrating his 100th birthday in 2026.

He also pledged in the same interview that he’d continue broadcasting as long as he’s still “producing commentary” that has “freshness” and a “point” to it.