An elderly man with white hair smiles gently whilst holding a small brown mouse near wildflowers in a sunlit meadow, as seen in the new special Wild London featuring David Attenborough, with blue sky and green trees in the background.

Everybody’s favourite documentary maker returns (at 99 years old!) for another BBC nature special that will have you both engrossed and delighted. This time, David Attenborough is not venturing out to jungles, deserts or glaciers, and is instead exploring the nature we can find in London. Wild London sees him explaining to us the habits and life cycles of animals that most city dwellers don’t think too much about, like foxes, pigeons and hedgehogs. Here’s everything you need to know:

What is Wild London about?

With shows like Planet Earth and Blue Planet, Attenborough’s globetrotting has cemented him as a beloved naturalist the world over, but this environmental documentary is all about the city he calls home: London. Sir David has often championed the issue of environmentalism and its effects on wildlife, though as we discover in this new show, there’s a surprising amount of flora and fauna to be found in one of the busiest cities on the planet. There are ones you’d expect to find around the city’s 32 boroughs, like a pigeon pecking at sandwich crumbs, but some examples stand out more: a deer that’s invaded someone’s garden, or a snake slithering in a tree. The veteran broadcaster turns city tour guide as he takes us around the streets and parks that are familiar to millions.

What Sir David is most interested in is how these creatures and critters have adapted to ever-changing surroundings, as cities like London have grown ever bigger. But he seems optimistic that humans and animals can coexist in such packed circumstances, pointing out quirky examples like pigeons wandering onto London trains. Also featured are birds like green parakeets and peregrine falcons, whose numbers have grown and grown over the years and can now be spotted in London’s many parks and landmarks. The special reminds us both how lucky we are to have Attenborough’s wisdom and decades of experience, and how even with all the modern distractions we have, we can still get joy from stopping and observing something as simple as a fox running through a garden.

Where can I watch?

Wild London is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer, and for a quick preview, you can watch a clip, showing Sir David hedgehog-watching.

Culture, Films & TV

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