David Attenborough said the popularity of <em>Planet Earth II </em>young people pleased him enormously

More young people are watching the wildlife series Planet Earth II than The X Factor, the BBC has said.

Sir David Attenborough, presenting his second series of Planet Earth helped by state-of-the-art technology, highlighted the unexpected success in attracting younger audiences.

Attenborough, 90, said he believed that viewers of the BBC One series on Sunday nights were “reconnecting with a planet whose beauty is blemished and whose health is failing” because they understood that their own wellbeing was linked to that of the environment.

The “incredible popularity” of the programme was also linked to the proximity of the animals and the scale of the landscape seen in ultra-high definition.

“I’m told that we are attracting a larger than normal number of younger viewers