BBC confirms flurry of David Attenborough shows to celebrate icon's 100th birthday – including exclusive new interviews and docs

To celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday on 8 May, the BBC has commissioned a slate of new series and archival material to showcase the finest programmes from his seven-decade career.

The new programmes to air in a week-long celebration of his work and legacy include Making Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure, Secret Garden and David Attenborough's 100 Years on Planet Earth.

Special episodes from some of Attenborough's most beloved series will be taken from the archive and will air on BBC One in the week leading up to his birthday, as well as a dedicated BBC iPlayer collection showcasing more than 40 series presented by Attenborough.

Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure features new interviews with Attenborough and the original production team as they reflect on the making of the groundbreaking series Life on Earth.

The synopsis reads: "With fascinating insights, they reveal the highs and lows of filming the series during a truly exciting moment in television history, when global jet travel and colour filming were still in their infancy. Along the way, the crew encountered multiple challenges, including a coup in the Comoros, being shot at in Rwanda and threats from Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq.

"Broadcast in 1979 and watched by 500 million people worldwide, it confirmed David’s reputation as the most successful and influential wildlife filmmaker of our time. His astonishing encounter with gorillas in the mountains of Rwanda for this series is frequently voted one of the top TV moments of all time."

Elsewhere is Secret Garden, a new primetime series for BBC One and iPlayer, in which Attenborough reveals the hidden worlds and remarkable wildlife thriving within Britain's gardens.

Across five episodes – and five gardens in the UK – Attenborough "reveals the lives of the often charming, occasionally daring, always secretive animals that inhabit the hidden world right on our doorsteps".

The synopsis reads: "Theirs is no cosy existence – even in these beautiful and seemingly genteel surroundings the rules of the wild still operate.

"From pine martens in the Western Highlands to dormice in South Wales, swallows in the Lake District to otters in Oxfordshire and blue tits in Bristol, the series reveals not just a rich and surprising diversity of life but also how each species finds its own way to live alongside us.

"Through meeting the gardeners that have created these wild oases, we discover how our nation of animal lovers and gardeners can do their bit to save struggling species. Eighty per cent of Britons have access to a garden, and together they cover an area greater than all of our national nature reserves combined – so what we do in our own backyards has an impact not only on the animals that live there, but also on whole populations.

"You’ll never look at your garden in the same way again."

Finally is David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth – a celebratory live event for BBC One and iPlayer from the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra and special guests.

To celebrate his 100th birthday, BBC One will bring the nation together for a live event honouring his career, taking audiences on a journey through a century of exploration and discovery in the natural world.

It will feature dramatic wildlife stories, accompanied by live music from his programmes, alongside spoken reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.

BBC One will also pay tribute to Attenborough's body of work by screening episodes of some of his most beloved series, including Planet Earth II, Seven Worlds, One Planet, Blue Planet II, Planet Earth III, Frozen Planet II and his most recent film Wild London.

BBC iPlayer will add a special collection rail to the homepage where viewers can choose to stream from over 40 of Attenborough's best-loved programmes, from Zoo Quest to his most recent series including Kingdom, Parenthood and Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster.

BBC Radio will also be marking Attenborough's birthday with special content across its networks.

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.