David Attenborough’s Seven Worlds, One Planet: Everything you need to know about the groundbreaking new series

The all-new show arrives on BBC1 this Sunday 

Sir David Attenborough’s latest nature series will air this weekend and promises to have “unknown, unseen and unexpected wildlife stories.”

Seven Worlds, One Planet covers each of the world’s seven continents, revealing “new species and behaviours” from across more than 40 countries.

But the seven-part documentary offers more than colourful creatures and breathtaking views – it also holds a strong conservational message “at its heart.”

As the nation gears up for its latest Sir David fix, here’s everything you need to know about the broadcaster’s most ambitious project to date.

Seven Worlds, One Planet - In Pictures

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When’s it on?

The first episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet will air on BBC One on Sunday, October 26 at 6.15pm.

Viewers will also be able to watch each instalment in Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) on BBC iPlayer after it has aired.

How many episodes are there?

In keeping with the title, there are seven episodes in total.

Each new instalment will focus on a different continent, starting with the freezing Antarctic.

Is there a trailer?

Yes. The BBC released this preview back in June:

What’s it about? And how does it differ from Sir David’s other projects?

Seven Worlds, One Planet is a two-pronged project, according to Sir David.

Not only does it celebrate the “biodiversity and variety of life on our planet”, but it also shines a spotlight on the challenges the Earth now faces.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the new series, Sir David lamented the “tragic, desperate mess” humans have made of their home, emphasising our collective duty to look after the natural world.

But the series is not about doom and gloom – it also showcases extraordinary “animal dramas” including a giant gathering of great whales in Antarctica, dancing spiders and “the world’s most bizarre predator.”

Seven Worlds, One Planet is the biggest series on biodiversity ever produced
PA

In the words of executive producer Jonny Keeling, Seven Worlds, One Planet is “the biggest series on biodiversity ever produced.”

“The variety of life on earth is at risk so we’ve taken a big step forward in featuring these threats to our planet,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

“You will see how climate change is impacting animals and it is intended to be visual and emotional.”

A grey-headed albatross chick cowers during a brutal storm in Episode One of the series
BBC NHU

While the series contains echoes of predecessors Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, it is different in several ways.

It is the first time a BBC natural history series has broken the planet down by continents, rather than habitat, and introduces “new species, new behaviours and new animals,” Keeling explained.

“We have animals that you might have seen before, like a polar bear, but they're doing things you've never seen them do or they are in places that they've never been seen before,” he said.

“I'm a biologist by training and I have worked making TV shows for 25 years - my team have come to me with animals in this series that I’ve never even heard of, let alone, seen or known what they do.”

How was it filmed?

The film took a staggering four years to shoot, or 1,794 filming days.

An international team of more than 1,500 people worked on the project which spanned 41 countries and 92 separate film shoots.

Thanks to boundary-defying drone techniques they were able to capture the world from unique perspectives, and gain insight into animal behaviours that couldn’t be captured any other way.

What’s in episode one?

The series begins in Antarctica: “The coldest, windiest, most hostile continent,” as described by the BBC.

The episode’s synopsis reads: “Penguin chicks run the gauntlet of orca and leopard seals, colourful starfish and gigantic worms carpet the seabed whilst on the surface - one of the world’s greatest feeding spectacles.”

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