He is already a national treasure, veteran broadcaster and, at 93, the poster boy for a climate-conscious young generation who look to him to save the planet.

Sir David Attenborough, it can now be been confirmed, has officially reached global rock star status, as demand for tickets to his latest television show outstrip Glastonbury.

Sir David’s new BBC series, Seven Worlds, One Planet, will be screened to a select audience of 300 later this month, with viewers invited to apply for tickets.

Some 80,000 people have already applied from as far afield as Australia, meaning they each have a one in 258 chance of being successful.

The extraordinary demand suggests Sir David is a greater lure than some of the country’s most popular events of recent years, including Wimbledon, the 2012 Olympics and Oasis playing Knebworth in their heyday.