Blue Planet II came to it’s conclusion last night in an awe-inspiring episode where Sir David Attenborough looked at the possible damage we humans are doing to the seas. It was a nice, if a little scary, way to round off yet another truly great series from Attenborough and the bbc Natural History Unit. As I wrote when the series started, it was awesome to see the greatest of all tv presenters once again doing what he does best.

I love how Attenborough, a bit like our current queen, has been in the background of all our lives: when I was little I remember him being on the tv at home, the floor in front of it strewn with toys; when I was at university, I used to go round to my friend Steve and Chris’s rented house on wednesday evenings to watch Life of Mammals, missing the disco; and now I live with Lyn in London, he is still on TV. I’m sure it’s a similar story for most people. Attenborough has been a part of our cultural lives for over sixty years. He has taught us things and shown us places we never knew about. The entire country surely owes him a huge debt.

I can’t help suspecting, though, that last night we saw his final show. At 95, with a career like Attenborough’s, who would blame the great man for wanting to slip into a well-earned retirement? If that is the case, though, it would be the end of a long and quite magnificent era in this country, for who could replace a gem such as Sir David Attenborough?