David Attenborough's 10 best series from Planet Earth to Dynasties

Across the course of over 70 years, Sir David Attenborough has done more than anyone to open our eyes to the beauty and savagery of the natural world – and to bring into stark relief the human race’s responsibility to address the environmental impact of its collective activity.

To mark the great naturalist's 100th birthday, we look back on ten of his best TV series since we first saw him on air in 1954.

1. Zoo Quest - 1954

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

"Not to be used again as an interviewer – his teeth are too big." Thank goodness no-one heeded the notes of an anonymous BBC executive following David Attenborough’s on-screen breakthrough in Zoo Quest, which ran for nine years. The format took natural history out of the studio and into the wilds of Borneo, Madagascar and beyond to find Komodo dragons, lemurs and other exotic creatures to bring to London Zoo.

Already attached to produce, it was a trick of fate that ignited his screen career: he’d stepped in when presenter Jack Lester, curator of the zoo’s reptile house, was struck ill. Setting a precedent for Attenborough’s shows, Zoo Quest was a trailblazer in TV technology too – though aired in black and white, it was shot in colour some 13 years before this became standard at the BBC.

2. Life on Earth - 1979

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

The subject of a ‘making of’ special marking Attenborough’s centenary (BBC1, 8pm, 8 May), this milestone set the template for the set piece-rich continent-spanning epics we know and love today. A decade on from commissioning Kenneth Clarke’s Civilisations as controller of BBC2, Sir David had similarly lofty aims with this million-mile globe-trotting trip: to trace the story of evolution.

Applying Charles Darwin’s theories to 600 species in habitats from South American rainforests to Australian caves, it’s best remembered for Sir David’s delightful encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Having perched on all-fours to debunk myths about their aggressive behaviour, he became a welcome plaything for a female and two youngsters.

3. Life in the Freezer - 1993

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Less than half a century since humans first set foot in Antarctica, Sir David and crew braved three years of blizzards to capture the lifecycle of the desolate and remote region. Working with scientists based in the area, it surveyed the endurance of humpback whales and many varieties of penguins and seals over the seasons.

Memorable moments included camera operators swimming with dangerous leopard seals - one of which presents them with body of a penguin - and tracking a grey-headed albatross that has travelled several hundred miles to bring food to its hungry chick.

4. The Life of Mammals – 2002

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

From delivering a piece to camera with a Kalahari meerkat keeping watch on his shoulder to witnessing the teeth-flashing mating of Sri Lankan macaques, the nut-cracking techniques of Congolese chimps, bison rutting at 30mph and orangutans washing socks, this is practically an Attenborough greatest hits package.

Through emerging infrared technology, audiences glimpsed big cats’ nocturnal hunts for the first time, while explicitly environmental messaging came to the fore at the climax of the series, in which Sir David questioned humans’ overreach and raised population control as a potential saviour of the planet’s ecosystem.

5. Life in the Undergrowth – 2005

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Taking advantage of advances in microscopic cameras, the BBC Natural History Unit team broke new ground with this intimate look at invertebrates from the common housefly to Amazonian venomous centipedes.

Sir David told the story of how invertebrates became colonial pioneers of the land 400 million years ago and narrated a string of standout scenes, including a scorpion’s desert courting dance, a bumblebee colony stinging the queen to death, the mass emergence of winged cicadas after 17 years underground, and a caterpillar emerging as a wasp after the latter lays its eggs into the pupating insect’s body.

6. Attenborough’s Paradise Birds - 2015

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

"A film I have wanted to make for 40 years," declared Attenborough of this particularly personal documentary, in which he shares his lifelong passion for “"he most romantic and glamorous birds in the world", which he’d first encountered in picture books aged nine.

Amid discoveries about how the birds learn their distinctive performative dance displays, he debunks some of the myths that have surrounded them since their discovery 500 years ago. Most moving is watching him look on in wonder during a close encounter with a bird in Qatar, where a sheik’s personal collection represents the largest breeding group of the species in the world.

7. Dynasties - 2018

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Chimps, emperor penguins, lions, tigers and painted wolves are regular stars of Attenborough’s series, but this series dug deeper into these animals’ stories. Each of the five animals got their own episode in this look at the survival strategies of endangered species, which pulled few punches in depicting nature’s brutal savagery.

Attenborough was outshined momentarily, as another David was the star of the series: a plucky young chimpanzee who staged a winning comeback to his troop after a brutal fight. Elsewhere, cattle farmers’ fatal poisoning of a lion and her cub laid bare the series’ core conservation message: how humans’ encroachment into animal habitats is threatening their survival.

8. Planet Earth (plus Planet Earth II and III) - 2006, 2016, 2023

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Arguably Attenborough’s magnum opus, the original globe-spanning series was the BBC’s first high-definition showcase and captured the very first filmed footage of snow leopards, plus a piranha feeding frenzy and a wild camel chase.

Series two upped the ante even further, capturing legendary sequences of racer snakes chasing baby iguanas to their grisly end, a giraffe shrugging off a leaping lion, and the sneaky shoplifting macaques of Jaipur, in stunning 4K. Seven years on, the trilogy wrapped up with Sir David returning to Raine Island in the Great Barrier Reef almost 70 years on from his first visit, to starkly conclude that the green turtle-populated territory could be gone within 30 years.

9. Seven Worlds, One Planet – 2019

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Albatrosses desperately trying to save chicks blown out of their nests by violent storms, penguins outmanoeuvring orcas, Sumatran rhinos finding sanctuary in deep jungles, anacondas stalking Capuchin monkeys, hamsters living in Vienna’s graveyards… this whirlwind tour of the seven continents (one per episode) threw up multiple jaw-dropping moments.

But it’s the surreal underwater world, featuring pink and purple starfish, urchins, anemones and - gulp - giant spiders, filmed by divers drilling through deep layers of ice, that lingers in the memory.

10. Ocean with David Attenborough - 2025

Where to watch: Disney+

In recent years, streamers like Netflix and Disney+ have occasionally wooed Sir David away from the BBC with big budgets and simultaneous global releases in return for his expert eye and dulcet tones. Released in cinemas for his 99^th birthday, this unflinching film exposed the violent impact of industrial bottom trawling of Earth’s lowest depths and offered glimmers of hope for protecting ocean life, from kelp forests to vast marine reserves.

"After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea," concluded Attenborough. Though the film carries his warning "we are almost out of time," he remains cautiously optimistic: "The ocean can recover faster than we had ever imagined."

More David Attenborough documentaries available to stream

Secret Garden - 2026

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough takes audiences into the hidden wild world of Britain's backyards, travelling to Oxfordshire, Bristol, The Lake District, The Wye Valley and The Western Highlands.

The Blue Planet (and Blue Planet II) - 2001 and 2017

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Described as the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans, audiences are submerged underwater as Attenborough examines a different aspect of marine life across eight episodes.

The original series was followed up 16 years later, after filming over four years in 39 countries, in more than 125 international trips.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough - 2022

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

In a story told with astonishing detail, Attenborough reveals the last day of the dinosaurs, using new evidence from a prehistoric graveyard dating to the day an asteroid devastated our planet.

Wild Isles - 2023

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Celebrating the wonders of British and Irish wildlife, the series investigates how woodland, grassland, freshwater and ocean habitats support all kinds of wildlife.

Climate Change: The Facts - 2019

Where to watch: 2019

Following one of the hottest years on record, Attenborough takes a closer look at the science of climate change and potential solutions.

The hour-long special features interviews with some of the world's leading climate scientists and explores recent extreme weather conditions, such as unprecedented storms and catastrophic wildfires.

Attenborough and the Sea Dragon - 2018

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

In this standalone episode, David Attenborough investigates the discovery of a 200 million year old Ichthyosaur fossil on the Jurassic Coast in southern England.

Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster - 2024

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

Follow David Attenborough on yet another investigation: the giant skull of a prehistoric sea monster - often referred to as the Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas.

Attenborough's Ark - 2012

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

All aboard! David Attenborough picks 10 animals he would most like to save from extinction, explaining just why they are so important before outlining the work of biologists who are helping to keep them alive.

Attenborough and the Giant Egg - 2011

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar where he filmed one of his first ever wildlife series, Zoo Quest. This time, he's on a very personal quest as he explores the history of the elephant bird and what led to his extinction.

Attenborough's Wonder of Eggs - 2018

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough has always had a passion for bird eggs. But how is an egg made? Why are they that shape? Why lay an egg at all? Tune in as Attenborough reveals the wonder behind miracles of nature.

Attenborough's Passion Projects - 2016

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

In celebration of David Attenborough's 90th birthday, the BBC brought together four of his favourite films: A Blank on the Map, Lost Gods of Easter Island, Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives and Darwin's Tree of Life.

Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard - 2021

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough joins archaeologists excavating mammoth remains, uncovering Britain's biggest mammoth discovery in almost 20 years.

Attenborough's Wonder of Song - 2022

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough chooses seven of the most remarkable animal songs and explores the significance of each in the lives of their species.

Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.