Inf luential British TV interviewer
1925-2013
ALAN Whicker, the British interviewer and documentary-maker, who has died at the age of 87, made highly influential and popular television programmes over a period of more than five decades.
One of the medium’s first celebrities, he was often described as a “travel journalist” on account of his many reports from exotic locations. But he preferred to call himself “a journalist who travels”. To this end, he traversed the globe “at least 97 times”, and as early as 1982 presented the retrospective Whicker’s World — The First Million Miles.
Charming and deferential in blazer or safari suit, Whicker allowed his subjects to speak for — and often condemn — themselves. His satirical asides, rich and subtle, continue to influence documentary-makers.
Whicker was particularly fascinated by the hidden lives of the rich and famous and he interviewed figures such as J Paul Getty, the sultan of Brunei and the Haitian dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier.
Whicker was a consummate professional. He conceived, researched, wrote, produced and presented his programmes.
The son of a soldier who died young, Alan Donald Whicker was born in Cairo on August 2 1925. He was brought up by his mother in Hampstead. On leaving school he joined the army, where he was assigned to direct the Eighth Army’s newly formed film and photo unit, which was to provide an official record and news footage of Word War 2.
After the war, Whicker worked as a print journalist. In 1957, he was invited to join the BBC’s early evening magazine programme Tonight . Soon he was encouraged to set viewers asking “Where the hell will Whicker be next?” in his own programme, Whicker’s World .
Among a slew of awards, he was the first person to be inducted into the Royal Television Society’s Hall of Fame in 1993. He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 2005.
Away from the cameras, Whicker lived quietly among the millionaires of Jersey. His companion on the island for more than 40 years was photographer Valerie Kleeman; she survives him. —