David Attenborough birthday: How and where to watch best documentaries including Wild Isles and Planet Earth

Whenever his name circulates the mainstream the world fears the worst, but fans of David Attenborough will be relieved to know that it is instead the veteran historian's birthday.

The 8th May is a day that many claim should be established as a national holiday, and in 2023 Attenborough has turned the remarkable age of 97. After a 60-year broadcasting career, Attenborough has been involved in more than 100 documentaries covering every single aspect of the natural world.

From the deep dark and mysterious oceans of the Arctic, Earth's wildest species of wildlife and their habitats, as well as the battle between predator and prey and much more. Even though one day has passed since the coronation of King Charles III, this does not mean the celebration of royalty should come to an end.

Let's take a look back at some of David Attenborough's best documentaries and television shows, as well as how and where to watch them to mark his birthday.

How to watch David Attenborough's best documentaries

Life on Earth

• Release date: 1979
• Duration: 13 episodes (11 hours, 24 minutes total)
• Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Widely regarded as as the documentary that established David Attenborough among the British television elite, Life on Earth is a 13-episode-long series that explores the evolution of life on Earth. Filmed in the most exotic and wonderful locations, the documentary was filmed over three years and is best known for the moment Attenborough managed to get up close and personal, as well as interact with a group of gorillas.

The Private Life of Plants

• Release date: 1995
• Duration: 6 episodes (4 hours and 51 minutes total)
• Where to watch: BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video

One of David Attenborough's greatest and highest-rated documentaries is his 1995 release The Private Life of Plants. A deep-dive into the growth, reproduction and survival of the world's plants. This six-episode mini-series is shot at a number of mouth-watering locations including Brazil and Venezuela, as Attenborough explains how plants navigate hostile and challenging environments, as well as threats from animals and humans.

The Blue Planet

• Release date: 2001
• Duration: 9 episodes (8 hours and 32 minutes total_
• Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough's The Blue Planet sees the renowned journalist and historian explore ocean life, featuring insight into the deep ocean, the Arctic ocean, coasts and coral reefs. Across eight-episodes, Attenborough gives audiences a never-before-seen perspective of the biggest unknown on our planet. BBC has gone on to release one further series, The Blue Planet II in 2017, and has confirmed a third to be released soon.

Planet Earth I & II

• Release date: 2006/ 2016
• Duration: 11 episodes (8 hours and 58 minutes total) & 6 episodes (five hours total)
• Where to watch: both seasons available on BBC - Planet Earth, Planet Earth II

Not only is Planet Earth a showcase of David Attenborough's best-ever work, but it is ranked as one of IMDB's highest-rated television shows with a 9.4 out of 10. The aim of the documentary is to encompass animal life across the world, shot in 64 countries on all seven continents and throughout so many different environments, ranging from the Sahara desert to the deep jungles.

The sequel series released a decade later is equally as highly rated with an incredible 9.5 out of 10 rating on IMDb.

Africa

• Release date: 2013
• Duration: 7 episodes (6 hours long total)
• Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Africa gives David Attenborough the opportunity to introduce audiences to what he describes as "the world's wildest continent", exploring its many species of animal and their habitats. Filming for this highly-rated series took four years to complete.

The Hunt

• Release date: 2015
• Duration: 8 episodes (8 hours total)
• Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

The Hunt is yet another one of David Attenborough's best work and it follows the relationship between predators and prey, how wildlife catch their dinner and the certain ways prey have adapted to escape with their lives. Viewers loved this eight-part documentary for how it showed the brutality of the animal kingdom and its edge-of-the-seat drama, which was a drastic change of pace from some of Attenborough's earlier projects.

Wild Isles

• Release date: 2023
• Duration: 6 episodes (5 hours and 24 minutes total)
• Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Not only is Wild Isles David Attenborough's most-recent work, but many regard it as one of his best as it takes a look at the natural world closer to home, the British Isles. Across six episodes, Attenborough explores areas of woodland, grassland and fresh water from up-and-down the UK and beyond.