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| Broadcaster Alan Whicker dies at 87 | Broadcaster Alan Whicker dies at 87 |
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| 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. | 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. | "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'. | "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." | "On this last journey he will arrive curious, fascinated, and ready for a new adventure." |
| Fellow broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson remembered Whicker as "a fine journalist and great storyteller". | Fellow broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson remembered Whicker as "a fine journalist and great storyteller". |
| "He was a dear friend and I shall miss him greatly," he added. "So will television." | "He was a dear friend and I shall miss him greatly," he added. "So will television." |
| After joining the British Army at the end of World War II, it was his stint with its film unit - which provided official news footage - 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 with its film unit - which provided official news footage - that whetted Whicker's appetite for a future in journalism. |
| While in Italy, he was among the first Allied forces to enter Milan and shot footage of the body of Mussolini. | While in Italy, he was among the first Allied forces to enter Milan and shot footage of the body of Mussolini. |
| After the war he edited the Army's newspaper and then became a war correspondent, covering the Korean War. | After the war he edited the Army's newspaper and then became a war correspondent, covering the Korean War. |
| 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. |
| 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 Michael Palin, now a travel writer and presenter, was among others to pay tribute. | Former Monty Python star Michael Palin, now a travel writer and presenter, was among others to pay tribute. |
| "Alan Whicker was a great character, a great traveller and an excellent reporter," he said. "He was absolutely at the top of his game in front of the camera." | "Alan Whicker was a great character, a great traveller and an excellent reporter," he said. "He was absolutely at the top of his game in front of the camera." |
| David Green, director and producer at September Films, worked with Whicker as a young man and remembered him as "a true original". | David Green, director and producer at September Films, worked with Whicker as a young man and remembered him as "a true original". |
| "He was a television giant - made my first of 24 films with him as a baby director in Alaska 36 years ago," he said. | "He was a television giant - made my first of 24 films with him as a baby director in Alaska 36 years ago," he said. |
| Whicker, he went on, was "a brilliant popular journalist and observer of the human state, who achieved legendary status among his peers and was loved by the great British public". | Whicker, he went on, was "a brilliant popular journalist and observer of the human state, who achieved legendary status among his peers and was loved by the great British public". |
| Travel presenter Judith Chalmers called him "an icon for the travel industry". "Wherever Alan Whicker went, people wanted to go too," she told the Daily Mail. | Travel presenter Judith Chalmers called him "an icon for the travel industry". "Wherever Alan Whicker went, people wanted to go too," she told the Daily Mail. |
| "He really delved into destinations and taught people so much. And he would always go about his work in such a quiet, diligent manner." | "He really delved into destinations and taught people so much. And he would always go about his work in such a quiet, diligent manner." |
| In its tweet, Bafta called his death "so sad". The broadcaster won two Baftas during his career - the factual personality award in 1965 and the Richard Dimbleby award in 1978. | In its tweet, Bafta called his death "so sad". The broadcaster won two Baftas during his career - the factual personality award in 1965 and the Richard Dimbleby award in 1978. |
| "RIP Alan Whicker," tweeted broadcaster Louis Theroux, calling him a "suave inquisitor of despots, jet setters, misfits and go-getters" and a "spelunker" - cave explorer - "of the human psyche". | "RIP Alan Whicker," tweeted broadcaster Louis Theroux, calling him a "suave inquisitor of despots, jet setters, misfits and go-getters" and a "spelunker" - cave explorer - "of the human psyche". |
| Presenter Eamonn Holmes also paid tribute, saying Whicker was a "real gent" and "a professional inspiration who out of the blue wrote me a letter at a bad time in my life". | Presenter Eamonn Holmes also paid tribute, saying Whicker was a "real gent" and "a professional inspiration who out of the blue wrote me a letter at a bad time in my life". |
| 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". | 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 revisited some of the people and places he had filmed over the decades for the BBC series Alan Whicker's Journey of a Lifetime. | In 2009, he revisited 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. | He was made a CBE for services to broadcasting in 2005. |