BBC One is to air a 60-minute Planet Earth special featuring “some of nature’s most extraordinary creatures from Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II.”
Titled Planet Earth: A Celebration, the one-off special features new narration by Sir David Attenborough recorded during lockdown at his home in London, and a new score composed by Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and the team at Bleeding Fingers.
The score was performed by Brit and Mercury award winner Dave on the piano and the BBC Concert Orchestra on strings and was recorded in the Lyndhurst Hall at Air Studios, London within strict social distancing and Covid-19 guidelines.
Hans Zimmer said: “Working with David on so many of his magnificent programs celebrating nature and our planet has been a joy for me.
“I am constantly inspired by what he is able to capture, and the collection of sequences featured in Planet Earth: A Celebration is truly special. It was an honor to once again work with David, Jacob Shea and the BBC Concert Orchestra to highlight these incredible stories once again.”
Dave said: “I’ve always been a fan of powerful natural history documentaries, this is a programme where nature and music come together, so it was only right that I lent my talent, my time, and my attention to this project.
“It was a pleasure to work alongside Sir David Attenborough and Hans Zimmer.”
Jo Shinner, Executive Producer of BBC Studios Natural History Unit said: “From Sir David right through to the crew – we all had to push ourselves creatively and technically under strict Covid social distancing guidelines to bring the magic and scale of this ambitious production to life.
“In times of crisis, nature can be a real healer, and we hope that this programme will provide inspiration and comfort.”
Julian Hector, Head of BBC Natural History Unit added: “I’m so pleased we can celebrate Planet Earth at this time of great anxiety. I feel sure our audience will feel joy and exhilaration seeing the work of this remarkable team creating natural history through lockdown.”
Planet Earth: A Celebration will air on BBC One, BBC America and on Tencent in China this summer.