Sir David was the narrator for Wildlife on One, which was the BBC’s flagship natural history programme, first broadcast in January 1977. The programme ran for a total of 33 seasons, 253 episodes of half an hour each and counting. The programme took a break in 2005 before returning in 2007. The following scene shows a group of sunbathing otters.
Sir David was also the narrator for The Blue Planet (2001), which sought to document the natural history of oceans. The series took almost 5 years to make, as most of the ocean environment was unknown to both the production team and marine experts. Much of the time was spent in often unsuccessful filming trips, but the team still managed to capture rare footages of marine activity, such as how sharks and dolphins hunt by forcing shoals of fish into ‘bait balls’ for ease of feeding. Advanced equipment such as submersibles was used for deep water filming. The following scene shows how deep ocean predators attract prey with their bright lures.
Following the success of The Blue Planet, the BBC Natural History Unit decided to embark on another large scale project to give a global overview of a different biome on our planet. Planet Earth (2006) was the most expensive documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, with co-financing arrangements made with Discovery Channel and NHK. The investment was well spent as the team managed to capture much unique footages using High Definition cameras, such as the highest ever aerial footage of Mount Everest and the rare oceanic whitetip shark. Sir David narrated for the BBC Worldwide version. The following scene shows a territorial dispute between chimpanzees.
Another major project embarked by the BBC Natural History Unit was the Frozen Planet (2011), which focused on life and environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Climate change is affecting the landforms in these areas, thus the production team was keen in obtaining a comprehensive survey of the natural history of Polar regions. The team utilised aerial photography with stable equipment so as to not disturb the animals during filming. Again, Sir David narrated for the BBC Worldwide version. Rare scenes such as migrating eider ducks and thieving penguins were captured on film. The following scene shows how a penguin stole nest materials for its neighbour.