A ‘whalecam’, seals v sharks and fish that play dead: it’s Planet Earth III

As a new series promises breathtaking footage obtained by groundbreaking technology, children are the new target audience

A detachable “whalecam”, remote underwater cameras operated from a director’s bedroom and a “drone ballet” are among the innovations that will be featured for the first time on David Attenborough’s Planet Earth III.

Following the global success of 2016’s BBC’s Planet Earth II and its famous “snakes v iguanas” scene, the corporation’s natural history unit has spent five years pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver an equally jaw-dropping series.