Bastille’s Dan Smith says it was a ‘dream’ to have music in Planet Earth III

The BBC series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough celebrating the natural world, will return to screens later in the month.

Singer Smith, 37, spoke about the programme during its launch at immersive London art venue Frameless on Thursday evening – where presenter Sir David, 97, was a guest of honour.

Over the past year, composer Hans Zimmer, collective Bleeding Fingers Music and Smith have collaborated across the Planet Earth III score – and Bastille’s hit single Pompeii features in one of the docuseries’ trailers.

Speaking to the PA news agency about what it was like to work on the score, Smith said: “It’s literally a dream come true. When we were asked to be involved we sort of couldn’t believe it.

“We started with a theme and worked on a bunch of scenes and then you know having now Pompeii with Hans (Zimmer) in the end credits and used in the trailer, it is unbelievably surreal but we’re so so proud of of being able to be involved. It’s amazing honestly.”

Discussing his personal relationship with the BBC show, Smith said: “We’ve all grown up watching those shows.

“It’s such a massive part of culture and David Attenborough, obviously, has shown so many of us a window into the natural world and so it’s just very surreal. Very, very surreal.”

Other attendees at the event included The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey, Sex Education’s Gillian Anderson, Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall, fitness influencer Joe Wicks, wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham and wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin.

American actress Shailene Woodley also attended and spoke about what she was looking forward to watching in the series and said: “I think that audiences can expect a lot of opportunity for empathy and a lot of opportunity for just mind blowing education.

“That’s really what Planet Earth does so well is, it educates us about all the things that that seem like a fairy tale or seem like something that can’t possibly exist in real life and yet it does.

“And I think that to me, that’s the thing I’m most looking forward to watching and witnessing is just what are the things that I didn’t know exist that definitely do exist.”

Speaking on her role as an ambassador for the series, the Hollywood actress and environmentalist also discussed her time out on location in Chad with the Planet Earth III production team.

Revealing that she had to go without her thyroid medication for a while, she said: “We landed in Chad and all of our luggage somehow miraculously did not land with us and so the first four days we were there, five days we were there, I didn’t have – I take thyroid medicine every day – I didn’t have that.

“Like we didn’t have a lot of the things that we’re used to.

“I had the same pants and shirt and the director was able to lend me some of her shorts and tank tops and I mean that was kind of the funny thing of, you go to a place and we bring so much to be super prepared and make sure our lives can exist and continue no matter where we are in the world.

“At the end of the day you really don’t need anything. We had nothing with us and it was still the most mind blowing incredible experience in my life.”

Planet Earth III launches on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK on October 22 and BBC America and AMC+ on  November 4 with further global dates yet to be announced.