The BBC Natural History Unit has been working on a new seven-part landmark series, Blue Planet II, that will be presented by Sir David Attenborough and broadcast on BBC One later this year.
The production has been no small feat, involving a staggering four years of filming off every continent and in all of the Earth’s oceans.
“I am truly thrilled to be joining this new exploration of the underwater worlds which cover most of our planet, yet are still its least known,” said Attenborough.
Sir David Attenborough will be presenting the Blue Planet sequel © Tom Gilks
The series will be a step up from the multi-award winning The Blue Planet, which first aired in 2001.
Filming is taken to the extremes in this new series.
Viewers can look forward to pioneering technology and unique footage of fascinating creatures including the hairy-chested Hoff crab, snub fin dolphin and tool-using tusk fish.
Look out for bottlenose dolphins in Planet Earth II. © BBC/Steve Benjamin
New worlds will be uncovered as submersibles explored the Antarctic deep at 1000m for the very first time.
“The oceans are the most exciting place to be right now,” said James Honeyborne, executive producer of Blue Planet II, “because new scientific discoveries have given us a new perspective of life beneath the waves.”
“Showing a contemporary portrait of marine life, it will provide a timely reminder that this is a critical moment for the health of the world’s oceans.”
Blue Planet II is due to air in autumn 2017.