The Netflix series Our Planet will be seen by one billion people, its maker has predicted, as he said the BBC does not have the global reach to change the world.

Alastair Fothergill believes the programme will prompt politicians and citizens to make changes that could save the environment.

While the BBC’s 2017 series Blue Planet II sparked a national conversation about plastic by illustrating its devastating effect on the oceans, Fothergill said that subject made up only a few minutes of each episode. Our Planet’s entire focus is on the man-made threat to natural habitats.

The series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, will launch on Friday in 190 countries.

In a sign of Netflix’s ambitions, it will be heralded by a world premiere at the Natural History Museum attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.

Our Planet’s producer, Alastair Fothergill, was previously head of the BBC Natural History Unit where he made Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet.

He said: "The most important thing that Netflix brings is that on 5 April [Our Planet] will be in 190 countries at the same time. And, importantly, it will be there for months and years.