Introduction to the Celebration
Welcome one and all to ’s liveblog of David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth. You will be pleased to know, as I certainly am, that this is not a century-long liveblog. Instead it exists to cover the 90-minute Albert Hall spectacular that BBC One is airing tonight.
You may already be aware that today is Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and so this is an extremely fitting tribute. Our greatest living national treasure is the subject of what’s being billed as “a journey of exploration and discovery through the prism of Sir David’s extraordinary life and career.” In short, there will be music, there will be film, there will be recollections and, if we’re lucky, there will be cake.
The programme starts on BBC One at 8:30pm. Join me back here for the start or, if you happen to be unusually fond of preambles, stick around here. It should be a fitting celebration for such a universally beloved figure.
Early Career and Zoo Quest
We’re given a whistlestop tour of Attenborough’s early career. Sadly none of the knitting shows he apparently worked on have survived the ravages of time, but Zoo Quest has. This was Attenborough’s big breakthrough, and the BBC of 2026 does a very good job of minimising the weirdness of a show where a guy goes abroad to kidnap animals for a zoo.
Animal Mail Delivery
The dog passes it to an eagle, the eagle passes it to a hedgehog, who passes it to a swan and a fox and a seal and an owl and a deer. The message is clear: training and hiring an elaborate army of animals is quicker and more cost effective than the Royal Mail.
Also, let’s applaud the BBC for not making Paddington do any of that journey. The restraint!
King’s Birthday Note
Kirsty Young is explaining that people get a birthday card from the King on their 100th birthday. But this is, after all, a man who is several hundred times more beloved than anyone in the royal family. So instead he gets a handwritten note from the King, which the King narrates. It is put on a silver plate and carried to Attenborough in a dog’s mouth to the sound of Greatest Day by Take That.
Am I drunk?
Chat Show Segment and Musical Performance
We move onto a chat show segment, with Young hanging out on an armchair next to an empty sofa. Who’s on first? Nobody! Because here’s the guy from Bastille to sing Pompeii. This is either because it featured in Planet Earth III, or because according to Wikipedia ‘the song was used for an advert by EE in January 2020 as part of their 5G promotion.’ Who could possibly say which it is.
Recap of Attenborough’s Last Decade
We begin with a recap of Attenborough’s last decade, in which he has made 18 different shows. He’s been in a hot air balloon. He travelled around the world. He’s led the way against plastic pollution in the oceans. He’s grabbed onto cacti. He’s been bungee jumping. He poked a plant with a stick. One of these things is a lie.
Albert Hall and Standing Ovation
Kirsty Young has now safely made it inside the Albert Hall. It is packed with 5,000 people, who all give a standing ovation to Sir Attenborough. Attenborough is standing next to Prince William, and he honestly looks 30 years younger than he actually is. The standing ovation goes on forever, as it should.
Opening of the Show
Kirsty Young starts the show, standing outside the Albert Hall accompanied by giant animal puppets. For just a moment it looks like this might be some Cirque du Soleil nonsense, but then comes Sir David’s voice telling us what an honour his career has been and, well, this might be a bit of a weepy one.
Thank god that’s over. Now the real show can begin.
Reflection on Television and Attenborough’s Legacy
By the way, I take back everything I said about this being a celebration of television. This is because, while I wait for the show to start, I’m having to watch Question Time, and it’s making me want to kick a hole in my television.
While we wait for the show to begin, allow me to offer you some links to some of our recent coverage.
Here’s, hilariously including the insinuation that he probably would have just preferred to stay at home today.
Here’s, the documentary on Attenborough’s groundbreaking 1979 natural history series.
And finally, the article that has permanently altered my algorithm:
I’m sure the point will be made during the course of the next couple of hours, but it’s important to remember that Attenborough is more than just a television presenter. He is television. His first screen credit came in the mid-1950s, when the rules of the medium had yet to solidify, and is therefore responsible for a lot of the grammar the form still uses to this day.
As controller of BBC Two he was responsible for commissioning Monty Python, The Ascent of Man and The Old Grey Whistle Test. He spearheaded the introduction of colour television in the UK. He grew as television grew and, as it began to contract, he moved elsewhere; to satellite, to streaming, to cinema. As much as tonight is a celebration of a genuinely remarkable man, it should therefore also be a celebration of the medium he forged in his own image.
