Sir David Attenborough to present BBC documentary about dinosaurs and the asteroid extinction

Virgin Radio

3 Mar 2022, 14:53

Credit: BBC

Dinosaurs: The Final Day will give us a minute-by-minute overview what happened when the asteroid hit.

Sir David Attenborough will be presenting a BBC feature-length film unveiling the results of a major research project about exactly how an asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day will take us back to the Cretaceous period and sees Sir David immersed in a CGI recreation as he takes us minute-by-minute through what happened when the earth-shattering asteroid hit the planet around 66 million years ago.

Until recently, no direct evidence has ever been found to show exactly how the asteroid’s impact killed the dinosaurs.

Scientists have been investigating a prehistoric graveyard known as Tanis, located in the hills of North Dakota, which they believe holds the secret.

A BBC Studios Science Unit has followed paleontologist Robert DePalma for three years as he explored the site and unearthed fossils that link Tanis to the asteroid hit and provide some insight into the end of dinosaurs.

Credit: Getty

Now, Sir David has been allowed to examine the fossils with leading experts and follow the dig team as they create state-of-the-art visualisations and scanning techniques to unearth fossilised secrets invisible to the naked eye.

According to the BBC, results of DePalma’s research will be revealed in April at a conference, and this will provide the finale to Attenborough’s documentary, which airs on BBC One a few days later.

Speaking about the project, Sir David said: “Tanis could be a place where the remains can give us an unprecedented window into the lives of the very last dinosaurs, and a minute-by-minute picture of what happened when the asteroid hit.”

The broadcaster will also be returning to voice Frozen Planet II this year, which will analyse how another decade of climate change has impacted the landscape and animals featured in the original award-winning 2011 series.

No release has yet been confirmed for Dinosaurs: The Final Day or Frozen Planet II.