A NATURAL AFFINITY

A one-off New Year's Day special sees David Attenborough explore London's wildlife. Louis Chilton hears from some of those behind this remarkable look at the capital's ecosystems

- Louis Chilton

Think of a David Attenborough documentary, and certain scenes will inevitably come to mind. Elephants striding across the savanna; polar bears hunting atop a frigid tundra; vividly strange deep-sea fish zipping through a coral reef.

The 99-year-old documentarian's latest project, Wild London, confronts us with images that are both more and less familiar. A pigeon boarding a train on the London Underground's Circle line. Two foxes fighting in front of a red Mini. Snakes winding their way along Regent's Canal. It's wildlife you've probably seen with your own eyes, captured with an intimacy you almost certainly haven't.

"Throughout my life, I've had the good fortune to travel the world, witnessing many natural spectacles," Attenborough says at the start of the programme. "But this is the place to which I've always returned. A sprawling megacity may seem no home for a nature lover like me, but there is a wild side to London."

It's clear from the off that this is something of a more personal undertaking for the TV veteran, who has lived in London for nearly his entire life. It was, says Passion Planet's Gaby Bastyra - an executive producer of Wild London - a "no brainer" to make this standalone programme with Attenborough, who has witnessed a century's worth of changes to London's ecosystem firsthand.