Planet Earth 3 could be on the way: ‘It would be crazy to count it out’ says BBC

But naturally it'll take a long time to produce

Planet Earth II has been nothing short of breathtaking, drawing huge audiences and pleasingly luring a lot of younger viewers away from The X Factor.

Sadly, the series will come to an end on Sunday, with an unprecedented city-based episode, but what are the chances of a Planet Earth III?

Show producer Mike Gunston told the Guardian it would be “crazy to count out" making new instalments in future, but don’t expect them anytime soon - there was a gap of 10 years between I and II.

He didn’t want to make assumptions about the future though, and cautioned: “We would also be crazy to say it will be here in three years’ time or even five years’ time.”

Gunston explained that 10 years felt like “the right length of time to revisit the original conceit”, so perhaps we’ll have to wait another decade - it would at the very least be 5 years, given how long the show takes to shoot.

He also attributed some of the new series’ success to it counterbalancing the bleakness of 2016.

“The stars have obviously aligned in a very unusual way,” he said.

“Obviously I would like to hope it’s the quality of the programmes, but I also think this is a kind of moment.

“You get a sense from talking to people that they have been worried about the world, and this is an opportunity to see some of the wonders of the world and perhaps take their minds off that.”