Sir David Attenborough to front ‘mind-blowing’ look at world of plants

Sir David Attenborough will present The Green Planet – a “mind-blowing” look at the “unseen” world of plants.

The veteran broadcaster, 93, will front the landmark BBC One series, which will track “remarkable new behaviour” and even “emotional stories”.

Sir David recently filmed Seven Worlds, One Planet, which was four years in the making and featured wildlife firsts.

This time, and despite his advancing years, he will be doing even more, travelling to the US, Costa Rica, northern Europe and Croatia to turn his attention to the plant world.

The five-part series, from BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU), will look at the planet “from the perspective of plants”.

Airing in 2021, it will go “beyond the human eye” by using technological advances in robotics, moving time-lapse and super-detail thermal cameras to uncover the “hidden life of the green planet”.

Sir David said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to explore a neglected yet truly remarkable part of the natural world.

“Once again, the innovative approach of the NHU and groundbreaking technology will reveal new and surprising wonders to the audiences on BBC One and around the world.”

The programme will feature deserts, mountains, rainforests and the frozen north.

Executive producer Mike Gunton said: “This series will take viewers into a world beyond their imagination – see things no eye has ever seen.

“The world of plants is a mind-blowing parallel universe, one that we can now bring to life using a whole range of exciting new camera technology.

“This is Planet Earth for plants!”

Highlights will include seeds that can outlive civilisations, the “largest living things that have ever existed, trees that care for each other, and plants that breed so fast they could cover the planet in a matter of months”.

BBC Content director Charlotte Moore said: “Following the success of Seven Worlds, One Planet, which is the most watched factual programme of this year, Sir David Attenborough will turn his attention to the remarkable world of flora, looking at the planet through the perspective of plants in ways that have never been seen before.”

The Green Planet will feature “remarkable new behaviour, emotional stories and surprising heroes in the plant world”, the BBC said.

“Sir David discovers that plants are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as animals, locked in desperate battles for food, for light, to reproduce and to scatter their young.

“They are social – they communicate with each other, they care for their young, they help their weak and injured. They can plan, they can count, they can remember.”

Seven Worlds, One Planet put a conservation message “at the heart” of each episode.

Blue Planet II raised awareness around the world of the environmental damage caused by plastic pollution.

The Green Planet was previously announced as one of several new series from the BBC but with no presenter attached.