David Attenborough's crew broke his one rule while filming tragic scene

David Attenborough is an absolute legend, there’s no denying it.

And as he celebrated his 99^th birthday today (8 May), he’s released another documentary in the form of the cinema-length film, Ocean.

It joins Sir David's impressive list of work, having released plenty of projects over the years.

While they often explore different topics and different parts of the world, fans will know that all of his docs have one key rule.

Even while filming something brutal or sad or grim, the broadcaster and his team do not interfere with the wildlife.

But on a particularly rare occasion, his crew broke the rule while filming a tragic scene for the 2023 release, Planet Earth III, something that also happened during Dynasties.

The eight-part series was filmed over five years all over the world.

“In this new series of Planet Earth we travel to the most astonishing wild places, see mysterious creatures, witness rare, spectacular wonders, and reveal breath-taking animal dramas,” the national treasure said at the time.

“The natural world continues to surprise us, but since Darwin’s time it has changed beyond recognition, being transformed by a powerful force – us.

“We will see how animals are adapting in extraordinary ways, to survive the new challenges they face. At this crucial time in our history, we must now look at the world through a new lens.”

And while the plan during filming for Planet Earth will have been to follow the same rules as usual, the crew couldn’t hold back in a particular moment.

The series producer, Matt Brandon, explained they ended up getting involved in order to help out the animals who were caught-up in man-made dangers like fishing nets and plastic pollution.

“What we’re seeing now is that many of the things that our crews are witnessing around the world are no longer natural,” he told the Sunday Times.

Attenborough's crew ended up intervening. (BBC)

And producer Nick Easton, who also directed two of the episodes, added: “The context in which we’re working is changing.

“Not intervening in a hunt or saving an animal that might become food for another animal — that still applies as far as I’m concerned. And often that is what we’re filming: it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. But so often now we’re coming across animals that are suffering as a result of unnatural factors.”

Scenes featured the crew helping the likes of sea lions stuck in nets and heat-exposed turtles needing to get back out to sea.

You can stream Planet Earth III on BBC iPlayer.