First broadcast: 1958
Director: Various
Producer: Various
The lowdown: Alan Whicker is known as an urbane, subtle observer who travels the world gently coaxing information from those he encounters. Revelling in his surroundings, an often blazer-clad Whicker effortlessly crosses cultural divides with series based in India, Hong Kong, the US and Australia. Whicker’s satirical style also ensures his subjects reveal more than they intend. A good-natured interviewer, Whicker gives time and space to judge a range of intriguing characters and an arched eyebrow is a reminder that all is not always as it may have first appear. From Miss World to clandestine nuns, Whicker’s world is one worth visiting.
Memorable moments: In Papa Doc: The Black Sheep, Whicker gained unprecedented access to Haiti’s feared despotic leader Dr Francois Duvalier. The presenter traveled in the presidential car and was handed a book of signed poems. The quiet, considered probing is still considered one of Whicker’s finest triumphs.
Trivia: As a correspondent in the Korean War, Whicker was once reported to have died while on reporting duty. In fact, he was travelling to Tokyo at the time of his “disappearance” and later wryly revealed disappointment at the fullness of his tributes: “…so the paper then printed my obit: Alan Whicker, war correspondent of Exchange Telegraph, unfortunately was shot down. And then a little bit about my lack of achievement.”
