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| Broadcaster Alan Whicker dies at 87 | Broadcaster Alan Whicker dies at 87 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker has died at the age of 87 after suffering from bronchial pneumonia. | Journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker has died at the age of 87 after suffering from bronchial pneumonia. |
| His spokeswoman said he died in the early hours of Friday morning at his home in Jersey. | His spokeswoman said he died in the early hours of Friday morning at his home in Jersey. |
| With a TV career that stretched nearly six decades, he was best known for his long-running documentary series, Whicker's World. | With a TV career that stretched nearly six decades, he was best known for his long-running documentary series, Whicker's World. |
| The show, which ran from 1959 to 1988 on both the BBC and ITV, saw him travel all over the world. | The show, which ran from 1959 to 1988 on both the BBC and ITV, saw him travel all over the world. |
| The series featured Whicker reporting on the unusual and bizarre, interviewing all types of people from millionaires and monks to gangsters and dictators. | The series featured Whicker reporting on the unusual and bizarre, interviewing all types of people from millionaires and monks to gangsters and dictators. |
| He once said he counted himself one of the luckiest men in the world because he enjoyed his work so much. | He once said he counted himself one of the luckiest men in the world because he enjoyed his work so much. |
| Valerie Kleeman, Whicker's partner of more than 40 years, said she was "lucky to have shared" his life. | |
| "A few years ago a poll asked who was the most envied man in the country - and Alan won by a country mile!," she said. | |
| "He said that he didn't know where work ended and private life began. Quoting Noel Coward, he would say 'work is more fun than fun'. | |
| "On this last journey he will arrive curious, fascinated, and ready for a new adventure." | |
| After joining the British Army at the end of World War II, it was his stint as the editor of the British Army newspaper that whetted Whicker's appetite for a future in journalism. | After joining the British Army at the end of World War II, it was his stint as the editor of the British Army newspaper that whetted Whicker's appetite for a future in journalism. |
| He joined the BBC in 1957, where he became a correspondent for the flagship current affairs show Tonight. | He joined the BBC in 1957, where he became a correspondent for the flagship current affairs show Tonight. |
| There he was credited with bringing interview techniques like walking to camera and cutaways to television. | There he was credited with bringing interview techniques like walking to camera and cutaways to television. |
| But it was Whicker's World, a perennially popular ratings winner, that made him a household name. | But it was Whicker's World, a perennially popular ratings winner, that made him a household name. |
| Python tribute | |
| The show even inspired a famous Monty Python sketch about Whicker Island, a mythical place populated by Alan look-alikes awaiting that "inevitable interview". | The show even inspired a famous Monty Python sketch about Whicker Island, a mythical place populated by Alan look-alikes awaiting that "inevitable interview". |
| Former Monty Python star and now travel writer and presenter Michael Palin was among the first to pay tribute. | |
| "Alan Whicker was a great character, a great traveller and an excellent reporter. He was absolutely at the top of his game in front of the camera," he said. | |
| Whicker moved to Jersey in the 1970s after visiting many times in the '60s, saying the slow pace of life attracted him to the island. | Whicker moved to Jersey in the 1970s after visiting many times in the '60s, saying the slow pace of life attracted him to the island. |
| He retired from full-time broadcasting in 1998 but returned to the spotlight 10 years ago in a series of adverts for a travel company, coining its slogan "Hello world". | |
| In 2009, he re-visited some of the people and places he had filmed over the decades for the BBC series Alan Whicker's Journey of a Lifetime. | |
| He was made a CBE for services to broadcasting in 2005. | |
| Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. | Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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