That programme — with its famous face-to-face encounters with mountain gorillas in Rwanda — ‌set the pattern for natural history documentaries in the decades that followed and helped establish him as one of the world’s most authoritative voices on conservation.

The new show, Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, goes into the stories ​behind the series and includes more footage of a baby gorilla climbing on the presenter and ​of a lioness hunting.

Reading from the diary he kept during filming, Attenborough recalls ⁠how he and the crew were detained by the Rwandan army and threatened in Saddam ​Hussein’s Iraq.

His team talk about the challenge of setting up shoots abroad when letters took weeks to ​arrive, and worrying about getting precious film rolls back to Britain in metal cans.

There are also more details on their hunt for an Indian Ocean fish often called a “living fossil”.

They finally got footage of the coelacanth after a ​fisherman caught it by accident and then tipped off the crew after releasing it.

“It was the first ​time it was filmed alive, but only just,” Attenborough jokes in the new programme.

The series was game-changing, said Mike Gunton, ‌creative ⁠director of the Natural History Unit at the BBC, who worked with Attenborough on later shows.

“All we really have done is remake Life on Earth, Gunton told Reuters.

Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926, in London.

His BBC career started in 1952, and two years later, he got his big break ​with Zoo Quest, which he ​ended up presenting after ⁠the original candidate fell ill on their first shoot.

He moved into BBC management. Then, in his late 40s, he decided he wanted to return to ​making nature programmes and pitched the idea for Life on Earth, a series ​which would ⁠track the story of evolution.

The US Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over an effort by pesticide maker Bayer to shut down thousands of lawsuits,

Before the three years of filming started, he wrote all the scripts for the 13 hours of the show.

“He has, without doubt, defined natural history and how we see the world,” the ⁠new show’s ​producer/director, Victoria Bobin, said.

Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest ​Adventure premieres on the BBC on Sunday.

There will also be a new series, “Secret Garden”, a concert in London and events at ​museums across Britain to celebrate the naturalist’s birthday.