FROM tropical seas to the harsh conditions of the Arctic, the makers of Blue Planet II used modern filming techniques to shine a light on areas of the planet that humans had never seen before.

This breath-taking exploration of the world's vast oceans also took an unflinching look at how humans are carelessly destroying marine habitats by polluting them with plastics. Even veteran presenter Sir David Attenborough said he was astonished by the public’s reaction to this last programme of the series, which showed marine wildlife struggling and dying in a sea of waste plastic and has prompted a war on plastic. The sight of turtles trailing plastic sacks and seabirds entangled and unable to fly finally brought the issue home.

Now the public is being given the chance to be shocked and amazed all over again as the stunning series is shown in arenas throughout the county, accompanied by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra performing the original music live and hosted by BBC Countryfile presenter Anita Rani. Blue Planet II – Live In Concert comes to Newcastle Arena on Wednesday, March 20.

What would you say to people who enjoyed watching Blue Planet II on the TV who are thinking of going to the Live in Concert?

I don’t think there’s a person who watched it who didn’t fall in love with it. It was more than a TV show, it was a moment, and it’s a moment that’s gone down in television history already. So, if you watched it and loved it, then you can’t miss this live tour. It’s a fully immersive experience. You’ll be able to see those iconic moments – surfing dolphins on a huge screen – accompanies by with an 80-piece live orchestra playing that incredible soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.

What inspired you to join Blue Planet II Live in Concert?

It was a no-brainer. Growing up, David Attenborough was a huge part of my life, as he is with everybody, so to be asked to host the tour is such an honour.

Blue Planet II highlighted the damage plastic does to marine life. What simple changes can we make?

It just shows the power of television. The series really did change the attitude of the nation towards single-use plastic and made us aware of the damage we are doing to our beautiful planet and our oceans.

The first thing people can do is stop using plastic straws, because we’re adults… we don’t need straws, we can drink from a glass! Then carrier bags – I think that’s really sunk into people’s brains. Just have a canvas sack with you when you go to the supermarket. There’s lots you can do and there’s lots I’m discovering as well.

How do you think the event will ignite more people’s curiosity?

I think it’s very easy to live in our little concrete bubbles, but programmes like Blue Planet and other natural history programmes open our eyes to the world – that’s television at it’s best. Two thirds of our planet’s surface is ocean and we know so little about it. The alien kingdom isn’t over there in the stars somewhere, it’s right here, and this programme has taken us deeper than we’ve ever been and shown us all those bizarre creatures that have been there for way longer than we have. The one that sticks in my mind is the Bobbit Worm, the weird alien creature that’s about a metre long. It’s been on Earth for 400 million years, so it kind of puts us into perspective really, doesn’t it? We’ll be long gone, but the Bobbit Worm will still be going!

And who doesn’t love seeing dolphins? Spinning dolphins, or even surfing dolphins. The fact that dolphins surf the waves and they don’t really know why they do it – they think they do it for fun, and that is just beautiful.

Has being involved with Countryfile made you more aware of environmental issues?

The important role Countryfile has to play is to connect rural and urban Britain. I live in a city, and I love living in London, but it’s important to connect the dots, to know where your food comes from, to know that you wanting to pay not very much for your milk has an impact in what is happening in our rural communities. In that sense, absolutely Countryfile does draw our attention to the impact we have on the environment.

Are you excited to be heading to Newcastle on the tour?

Who doesn’t love the Geordies? I can’t wait! It’s beautiful. The last time I was there I was doing the Strictly tour and I went for this amazing run along the river first thing in the morning as the sun was rising and I can’t wait to do the same – obviously, because I’m not going to be too exhausted, am I? You’ve got a great cinema as well, a really beautiful art-house cinema in the centre of town, so I’m looking forward to going there again.

Blue Planet II – Live In Concert: Newcastle Arena, Wednesday, March 20