David Attenborough’s Wild Isles review: ‘Life on Earth meets Wind in the Willows’
This is ‘beautiful, extraordinary, wonder-inducing’ television

Presented on location by the 96-year-old David Attenborough, Wild Isles gives Great Britain and Ireland “the full bells-and-whistles Planet Earth treatment”, said Carol Midgley in The Times. And the results are “breathtaking”. The series doesn’t always make for comfortable viewing – the killing starts barely six minutes in, with a “poor seal pup being tossed around and set upon by a pod of killer whales”. But we then move on to “eagles, dormice and badgers. Oh, and more killing.” Some viewers “won’t be as blown away” by this series as they were by, say, Planet Earth II’s “jaw-dropping scenes from the Galápagos”, but “as with all these films, the effort that has gone into it is first-class”.
The series is not short of the kind of “heart-pounding drama we expect of Attenborough”, said Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail; the difference is, all that is set against “the gentle charm of our familiar countryside”. What you end up with feels like a lovely blend of “Life on Earth and The Wind in the Willows”.
The series is a triumph, agreed Rachel Cooke in The New Statesman. As the BBC cameras “roam from Shetland to Cornwall to Northern Ireland”, excitement rises “irresistibly” within you. “‘I live here!’ you think. In this astonishing place, where there are badgers and bluebells and barnacle geese!” This is “beautiful, extraordinary, wonder-inducing television” to stir the heart.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UK
The Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Christian Brückner: why prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case can refuse Met interview
The Explainer International letter of request rejected by 49-year-old convicted rapist as he prepares to walk free
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more