Watch David Attenborough answer questions from Billie Eilish and more famous fans
Sir David Attenborough has answered questions from famous fans including Billie Eilish – watch below.
The video, which also sees the legendary broadcaster talking to David Beckham, Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams and more, precedes the release of Attenborough’s new Netflix show David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet.
Recorded as part of a promotional video from Netflix ahead of the new show, which is released tomorrow (October 4), Attenborough is asked about the state of the planet, climate change and more.
Billie Eilish asked: “How do you cope with your personal feelings about all the animals that are losing their lives, and/or going extinct? How do you actually deal with that as a human being?”
Attenborough said he feels “desperate” about the situation, adding: “I think the most astonishing sight in the natural world that I’ve ever seen, and one I shall never forget, [was] the first time I dived on a coral reef.
“You go into a new world, and it’s a world of extraordinary beauty and complexity and wonder. You see all kinds of wonderfully-coloured fish, and lots of creatures you don’t even know exist,” he added, revealing that, upon returning to the reef years later, he was greeted with a scene that he likened to “a cemetery”.
“It was stark white, it had died. It had been killed by the rising temperature that we, humanity, have created. That was a terrible sight, and a terrible vision of what we are doing to the natural world.”
Beckham then asked what message the presenter would want to send children about the future of the planet.
He replied: “To look after the wild world of which we are a part. To care for the animals you see. ‘Don’t waste things – don’t waste food or electricity. Look after the natural world – it is the most precious thing we have and we are a part of it.’”
Attenborough was also asked questions by Judi Dench, footballer Marcus Rashford, the cast of Netflix show Sex Education and more.
Reviewing David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet, NME called it “the most important film of the year,” writing: “If people kick up a fuss because they have to wear a mask in Asda to protect their own gran, what chance does a rare finless porpoise or a poison dart frog have when the cost of protecting them demands so much sacrifice?
“The lives of animals and plants might be more closely tied to our own than we like to admit, but a remarkable film like this needs to move us to action instead of tears if we have any hope of saving them. A Life On Our Planet might not be the film most of us want to watch in 2020, but it’s definitely the one we need to see.”
Attenborough spoke to NME about the new film this week, discussing how to save the natural world amid the ongoing climate crisis.
“The most important thing we can do at this stage in the game is to put the right politicians in power,” he said. “The ones who will say something about saving the planet, those who are prepared to take an increase in tax if necessary… those who actually think it’s serious.”