Wild Isles (BBC One)
The most famous sequence in wildlife documentary history features Sir David Attenborough talking to the camera as a family of gorillas huddle around him.
More than 40 years later, he recreated this famous Life On Earth scene for his latest wildlife series – except this time the 96-year-old broadcaster is sprawled out on a cliff with a colony of puffins.
Wild Isles celebrates the epic scale of its inimitable animal adventures, but limits its travels to the UK for the first time. The result is a cross between Life On Earth and The Wind In The Willows.
It combined the heart-wrenching drama we’ve come to expect from Attenborough with the gentle charm of our familiar countryside. On the one hand, there is a hunt as relentless as anything on the savannah, like a white-tailed eagle chasing and killing an exhausted fire goose in the Hebrides.
Wild Isles celebrates David Attenborough’s epic scale of his inimitable animal adventures, but limits his travels to Britain for the first time. The result is a cross between Life On Earth and The Wind In The Willows. In the photo: Attenborough now 96 years old
The most famous sequence in wildlife documentary history features Sir David Attenborough talking to the camera as a family of gorillas huddle around him. Pictured: Attenborough in 1979
On the other hand, we see a mother mouse climbing an acorn tree to feed on honeysuckle nectar while her babies peek out of the nest like adorable extras in a Walt Disney animation.
Series producer Alastair Fothergill, who has worked with the veteran host since 1987, told me last month that the bald eagle’s images are one of a kind.
The hunt has never been captured on film before – one of the criteria for Sir David, who enjoys capturing and sharing new animal behaviour. “We had a budget to make the impossible possible,” said Fothergill. “It took us 70 days to film the behavior of the bald eagle. There is hardly a county in the British Isles in which we have not filmed and then we have chosen the very best moments.
“I’m convinced that the biggest series in every episode of Wild Isles would easily earn a place in one of Sir David’s world series like Planet Earth. We show things you wouldn’t believe could happen in the UK, like killer whales hunting seals.”
This footage shot off the coast of Shetland that opened and ended the first episode was truly spectacular, as impressive as anything filmed in Antarctica for Frozen Planet II in the past year. Using underwater lenses, drones and a stabilized camera on a boat, the crew was able to track a pod of killer whales, or killer whales, hunting for prey.
Filmed over a period of three years in 145 locations using state-of-the-art technology, this incredible five-part series explores four habitats
Now that Sir David has turned to his homeland, he is more of a national treasure than ever
One slipped through an underwater trench like a robber roaming the streets on a Saturday night. He swam on his side so his dorsal fin wouldn’t break the surface and give him away.
READ MORE: Sir David’s spectacular celebration of our WILD Islands: carnivorous leeches, amorous vipers, ruthless eagles… David Attenborough’s new series shows that British wildlife is as fascinating as anything the Serengeti has to offer
When the whales spotted a seal sleeping in the water, they pounced – only to switch attacks at the last second and snatch a terrified pup.
The adult seals crouched on the rocks, visibly frightened as the killers dragged their half-dead catch into the sea and tossed it around before tearing it to shreds. This bloody drama was mirrored on a smaller scale in a wildflower meadow where a fox taught her cubs to hunt voles.
It used to be a common sight in Britain, but it’s much more common these days to see a fox knock over a plastic bin and rob recycling on a street.
Sir David’s tone warned that 97 per cent of the hayfields that dotted the landscape when he was a boy before the Second World War were gone. Even more worryingly, 60 per cent of Britain’s insects have been wiped out in the last 20 years.
In a weekend of unprecedented PR disaster for the Beeb, it emerged that five episodes of Wild Isles will be broadcast on BBC1, while a sixth examines the decline of Britain’s natural life – entitled Saving Our Wild Isles and part-funded by Wildlife – Charities WWF and RSPB – is only available via iPlayer.
The BBC claimed it was never intended for regular broadcast. True or not, this is ridiculous: the whole point of an impartial public broadcaster is not to destroy opinions, but to air all sides of the argument.
Who better to do something to protect the landscape than Attenborough? It is up to those who disagree with his analysis to make their own arguments – not the BBC’s job to hide opinions on iPlayer and hope no one notices.
Anyone who listens to Sir David will find he is as passionate about the natural world as ever. “He took the opportunity to go to beautiful places with both hands,” said Fothergill. “He’s in good shape.”
Wild Isles launches on BBC One on Sunday, showcasing the natural wonders of Britain and Ireland
He certainly had fire in his eyes as he sat back in the grass of Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast to watch the puffins a few meters from his face.
“While Britain as a whole is rich in places, it is one of the most emaciated countries in the world,” he concluded. “Investing in our own wildlife, trying to set an example for the rest of the world and restoring our once wild islands for future generations has never been more important.”
Now that Sir David has turned to his homeland, he is more of a national treasure than ever.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
