Rapper Dave has said Sir David Attenborough means a lot to him because “he represents good in everything that he has done”.
The musician and Sir David both feature in BBC One’s Planet Earth: A Celebration, a TV special featuring animals overcoming adversity.
Described as the “ultimate natural history thrill ride”, the programme will feature eight sequences taken from Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II.
Brit-award winner Dave, who plays the grand piano with the BBC Concert Orchestra for the soundtrack, said: “Where nature and music comes together, it’s only right that I do something like this.
“I try and lend my talent, my time, my attention – the little that I can bring – to the project, because this is with so many talented people. I just want to help.
“David Attenborough is obviously a legend and he means a lot to me because he represents good in everything that he has done.
“He has shown what it means to care for something and have a passion, and that translates to all walks of life who can take David Attenborough’s ethos towards nature and apply it to anything that you do – and that inspires me.”
Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David has recorded a new narration for the programme
Renowned composer Hans Zimmer has created new compositions and rearranged the original scores for the TV special.
Zimmer said on his involvement with the project: “There are two vital components to this – why I wanted to be involved. I come from a family that taught me at a very early age the respect for nature and respect for the ecology we live in.
“Sir David Attenborough has been making it his life’s mission to show us that the world that we share with all these other creatures, we are only a small part of.
“I think, more than ever, in this time of the coronavirus, it’s vital that we realise how much we are all just part of, to quote The Lion King, the circle of life.”
Highlights from Planet Earth II include the memorable scene in which a newly-hatched marine iguana is chased by snakes.
Planet Earth: A Celebration airs on BBC One on August 31 at 8pm