BBC caught in new Planet Earth II row after it emerges that stunning avalanche scene was recycled from 2006 series
THE BBC has found itself under fire after eagle-eyed fans spotted that footage from Planet Earth II was recycled from the original 2006 series.
Episode two of the nature show, which is narrated by Sir David Attenborough, revolves around Earth's mountains, and the animals which thrive despite the harsh conditions there.
And after eagle-eyed viewers suspected something was up with aerial footage used in the episode, documentary fanatics think there's another issue with Planet Earth II's second instalment.
The Sunday night episode featured a segment about the dangers of avalanches, accompanied by stunning shots of snow cascading down a mountain.
Once the avalanche has stopped, footage cuts to a family of bears emerging from the snow, as David Attenborough narrates the scene.
The presenter, who recently claimed that ordinary Brits aren't "wise" enough to vote on issues like Brexit, says: "The debris from an avalanche is clear evidence this slope is still dangerously unstable.";
However, despite the apparent link between the avalanche and the bear family, it has emerged that the footage of the avalanche was actually recycled from the first Planet Earth series, which aired 10 years ago.
Related Stories
But the BBC has said that the clip was never linked to the creatures, and that the practice of reusing old footage ensures taxpayers get value for their licence fee.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: "In Natural History programming, we sometimes augment our sequences with footage which was originally shot for other productions.
"We are always conscious of the need to manage budgets on our projects carefully.
"Sharing or re-using footage is one of the ways we ensure the licence fee payer gets the best value for money, and enables us to use our budgets to maximise the amount of truly extraordinary, new animal behaviour and natural phenomena in our series."
This row comes after the BBC faced criticism for filming a scene on the same episode by strapping a camera to a tame golden eagle rather than wild one.
And another controversial scene in the show left viewers feeling "uncomfortable" as a snow leopard was "raped" whilst protecting its young.
But despite this criticism, Planet Earth II has raked in the viewers so far, with 2.3 million viewers tuning into the first episode in the series.