The BBC has announced that Sir David Attenborough will present the highly anticipated sequel series to The Blue Planet.

The multi award-winning The Blue Planet was broadcast in 2001, exploring the world’s oceans, the breadth and scale of which had never been seen before.

Blue Planet II will air later this year on BBC One.

World renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough commented: “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.”

Charlotte Moore, Controller of TV Content and iPlayer, added: “The BBC’s world renowned natural history unit are set to captivate audiences once again with unmissable stories of ocean life presented by the one and only David Attenborough – it really doesn’t get much better than that!”

Blue Planet II will feature even more ambitious filming and a fresh cast of extraordinary aquatic animals, with the multi-award winning BBC Studios Natural History Unit spending some four years filming off every continent, and in all of the earth’s oceans, to immerse the audience in some of the most expansive but least known parts of our planet.

The brand new seven-part landmark series will explore the latest frontiers of scientific discovery, from icy-white polar seas to vibrant blues of the coral atolls, from the storm-tossed green Atlantic coastline to the black depths of the alien deep.

Executive producer James Honeyborne teased: “The oceans are the most exciting place to be right now, because new scientific discoveries have given us a new perspective of life beneath the waves. Blue Planet II is taking its cue from these breakthroughs, unveiling unbelievable new places, extraordinary new behaviours and remarkable new creatures. 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.”

Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual said: “Blue Planet II promises to combine the exceptional craftsmanship that our audiences have come to expect from BBC Natural History with genuinely new revelations about the creatures and habitats of the world’s oceans. I have no doubt it will thrill and delight the audience; and deliver a new benchmark in Natural History film-making.”

Are you looking forward to Blue Planet II? Let us know below…