Attenborough Goes 3D With Plants At Kew

Sir David Attenborough says his latest series - Kingdom of Plants - will give viewers the chance to see the "sheer splendour of the natural world in a way which they've never seen before".

The show was filmed at Kew Gardens, home to 90% of all known plant species, and used the very latest technology.

Sir David said: "It's not just the time lapse, it's not just the magnification, it's not just the 3D but it's all three together which produces visions which are unforgettable."

Anthony Geffen, the executive producer and CEO of Atlantic Productions, said the technology used in filming was ground-breaking and very challenging."When we started this project there really wasn't the 3D technology to do what we wanted to do - to go inside the world of plants, to go and see things that the human eye couldn't see," Mr Geffen said.

"So we've got plant vision which looks at the world as if you're looking at a plant. It all had to be in 3D and it was a huge challenge - we were literally learning as we went along."Sir David has seen more of the natural world than anyone else before him.

His career has spanned six decades and he has seen incredible advances in technology from the introduction of colour television in 1967 to the techniques used in this project.

"I started when television was all live, there was no film and it was black and white and very smudgy with only 405 lines and the definition was poor," Sir David said.

"When we came to use film, the cameras were clockwork and make a noise like a concrete mixer.

"To move from that into 625 lines, which was much better, and then from 625 to colour, to high definition and finally to move into 3D, and to have done it all in my professional lifetime, is just very satisfying."Sir David is 86 and has been in broadcasting for 60 years but he told Sky News he has no intention of retiring any time soon."I can't think of a more enjoyable way of spending my time. I have a ball, I can't be so lucky, it would seem wicked to turn down the opportunity - what luck and what fun.":: Kingdom of Plants starts on Sky 3D on 26th May.