Whicker's World(1959–1994)

Whicker in Europe: Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis

Alan Whicker meets Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, a German businessman and head of the immensely wealthy Thurn und Taxis family who own more land in Germany than anyone else.

Whicker in Europe: 'Harry' Giuseppe Cipriani

'Harry' Cipriani talks to Alan Whicker reminisces about some of the famous people - ranging from Ernest Hemingway to the Queen - who he has entertained in his bar in Venice.

Whicker in Europe: Miss Bluebell

Alan Whicker meets Margaret Kelly, organizer of the Bluebell troupe of dancing girls, who talks about their costumes and their routines.

Whicker in Europe: The Hon. Desmond Guinness

Alan Whicker meets Desmond Guinness, founder of Ireland's Georgian Preservation Society, who is attempting to save Irish stately homes and Dublin's famous Georgian squares from decay and development schemes.

Whicker's South Seas: Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Alan Whicker visits the Republic of Nauru, an island with an area of eight square miles situated in the Pacific Ocean, 26 miles south of the Equator.

Whicker's South Seas: If We Were Over-Confident We'd Be Dead

Alan Whicker looks at New Zealand's venison industry, which exports three million tons of meat a year to Europe (mainly Germany) and the U.S.A.

Whicker's South Seas: Poor People Are Always Unhappy...

Alan Whicker compares lifestyles on the Samoan Islands - American Samoa, a territory receiving 36 million dollars annually from the U.S., and Western Samoa, 65 miles away, which is one of the World's poorest nations.

Whicker's South Seas: The Only Compliment - She's a Good Sport...

Alan Whicker interviews various New Zealand women on the role of women in their society. He meets author Dame Ngaio Marsh, Women's Liberation leader Sue Kedgley, and a housewife, an editor and a female lorry driver.

Whicker's South Seas: People Like Me Go Native...

Alan Whicker looks at life on the volcanic island of Tanna in the South Pacific

India: He's a Stuck Up Maharajah - I'm Not Going to Marry Him...

Alan Whicker visits Rajasthan to examine Indian royal marriages. He meets the Maharajah of Jodphur and his wife, and rides their royal train. Whicker also meets the Princess of Alwar, a widow who is forbidden to remarry.

India: Elephants Go Into All the Gardens - They're Just Like Rabbits...

Alan Whicker visits Kerala to see the martial art of Kalarippayat, celebrates Passover with an old Jewish community, attends a festival where elephants in gold armour engage in a battle of Umbrellas, and meets some Britons who live there.

India: A Form of Frightener Put on by the Union...

Alan Whicker visits the High Ranges of North Travancore in India and looks at the lives of the few remaining British tea planters.

India: Even Though You're a Maharajah, You're a Human Being First...

Alan Whicker visits several of the Maharajahs of Rajasthan and watches a polo match played on bicycles

India: Don't Feel Guilty About Your Cadillac - And I Won't Feel Guilty About My Bicycle: Part 1

In the first of a two-part edition, Alan Whicker visits the city of Bombay, meeting some of its wealthiest residents, including film stars and industrialists and inhabitants of the shanty slum areas.

A Taste of Spain: A Difficult Country to Fall Out of Love With

In the first of eight programmes exploring Spain in the 1990s, Alan Whicker meets a priest who owns a chain of restaurants.

A Taste of Spain: The Most Famous Nose in the World

Alan Whicker visits the villages of Andalucia.

A Taste of Spain: Even the Splendid Mayor Went to Jail

Alan Whicker goes to a lavish poolside party in Marbella and meets billionaire businessman Adnan Khashoggi. He also meets writer Peter Viertel, husband of actress Deborah Kerr.

A Taste of Spain: He Expected Me to Lay Out His Socks

Alan Whicker talks to some British expatriates who have settled permanently in Spain.

A Taste of Spain: When You're a Duke, People Think You're an Idiot

Alan Whicker meets the Duke of Arion, an Olympic yachtsman who crewed for the King of Spain. He is also the biggest producer of tomatoes in Spain and owns a gin company.

A Taste of Spain: It Was Very Bad to Be Divorced - You Were Known as the Black Duck

Alan Whicker meets various women of modern Spain, including a TV sex therapist and a divorce lawyer, and discusses how the status of women in Spain has changed in recent years.

A Taste of Spain: Singing, Dancing, Drinking and Praying

Alan Whicker returns to Andalucia to celebrate the spring festival of Rocio, and also visits Expo '92 in Seville.

Whicker Way Out West: The Lord Is My Shepherd and He Knows I'm Gay

Alan Whicker attends a gay wedding at a church in San Diego and investigates the rise of the Gay Liberation movement in the U.S.A.

Whicker Way Out West: I'd Like to Think I'm Nearer to God Than Frankenstein...

Alan Whicker looks at the growing plastic surgery industry in California and meets surgeon Dr. Kurt Wagner and his wife Kathy, on whom he has performed several operations.

Whicker Way Out West: Her Pink Mustang Had Ermine, His Gold Mustang Had Bobcat

Continuing his series in California, Alan Whicker examines the love of the car by the Californians.

Whicker Way Out West: The Most Beautifullest Brainwashing There Ever Was...

Alan Whicker looks at one of the first and largest of the several hundred 'Jesus Communes' in California, the 'Christian Foundation' of Tony and Susan Alamo, where 500 young people daily await the end of the world.

Whicker Way Out West: And Now I Hand You Over to Another Saint...

Alan Whicker meets Frances Klug who believes she speaks daily with the voice of God, and whose followers are building a £400 million Holy City. Whicker is ordained as a Doctor of Divinity by the President of the Universal Life Church.

Whicker Way Out West: I Had to Pour Water on Him to Get Him to Race Again...

Alan Whicker investigates a recent American phenomenon - the introduction of speedway racing for children as young as 3 years old, equipped with mini-bikes.

Whicker Way Out West: You Could Step Off a Skyscraper and Fly Through the Streets...

Alan Whicker examines how Californians spend their leisure time. He watches people hang-gliding, goes to a womens American football match, and watches men and women in a nightly activity where skill lies in undressing and standing still.

Penang: I Haven't Taken My Own Shoes Off for 45 Years...!

Alan Whicker visits the island of Penang during the Thaipusam festival, when pilgrims pierce themselves with giant spears. He meets former Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and some British colonials still in living there.

Anchorage, Alaska: The Ultimate Dream - The Last Chance to Do It Right

Alan Whicker visits Anchorage and investigates the controversial Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline. He meets the conservationists who are fighting against what they see as the exploitation of the state.

Palm Beach: How Can I Lie About My Age When My Son Needs a Facelift

Alan Whicker looks at the lifestyle of the wealthy residents of Palm Beach, Florida.

Charleston, South Carolina: You Used to Call Me Boy... Now You Gotta Call Me Mr Boy!

Alan Whicker visits the city of Charleston and observes the very varied lifestyles of its residents, including that of America's only Voodoo colony.

Salt Lake City, Utah: I Only Have Two Wives - I'm Just a Peanut in This Business

Alan Whicker visits Salt Lake City, home of the Mormon religion Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Although polygamy is now officially banned by the Church, he discovers that it continues among Fundamentalists. He also meets the 82 year-old Mormon leader, Spencer Kimball.

The Beauty Queens

A week before the Miss World contest, Alan Whicker talks to the contestants, asking about their their personal lives and ambitions, and their reasons for entering the contest.

A Very Serious Doctor

Alan Whicker reports on alternative healing methods and the people who go to practitioners who offer Bee Cure, Spirit Operation, Radiesthesia, Witchcraft, Acupuncture, Osteopathy, Hypnotism, and Faith Healing.

People in Trouble

Alan Whicker reports on anonymous societies and the work of individuals to help alcoholics, gamblers, neurotics, divorcées, potential suicides, drug addicts, etc.

How They Filmed 'Grand Prix'

Alan Whicker goes behind the scenes of the film Grand Prix (1966), set in the world of motor racing in Monte Carlo and directed by John Frankenheimer..

The Italian Private Eyes

Alan Whicker looks at the private detective agency run by Tom Ponzi in Italy.

The World of James Bond

Alan Whicker examines the success of the James Bond films, and reports from the set of the 007 movie You Only Live Twice (1967).

The Stresses of Divorce

Alan Whicker examines the pressure on people in the public eye which often causes the end of their marriages. Interviewees include novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, model Sandra Paul, Peter Scott, David Wynne-Morgan and Robin Douglas-Home.

If They Don't Like You, You're Dead

Alan Whicker examines what makes people laugh and talks to Bernie Winters, Ned Sherrin, Ted Rogers, Johnny Speight, Alfred Marks, and Charlie Chester among others.

A Dubious Fraternity

Alan Whicker investigates the world of the small-time crook.

The Quest for Beauty

Alan Whicker examines the beauty industry and how people stave off the ageing process with persistence, pain, money, and remarkable ingenuity.

Love Generation

Alan Whicker reports on the "love generation", the hippies in San Francisco and their counter-culture life.

Conflict in Kentucky

Alan Whicker attends the 93rd running of the Kentucky Derby, with the Derby Festival in turmoil due to civil unrest.

A Handful of Horrors: I Don't Like My Monsters to Have Oedipus Complexes

Alan Whicker talks to people in the "horror industry" to find out why we like being frightened. Among the interviewees are Hammer Horror star Christopher Lee and Dalek creator Terry Nation

Two Sides of Fleet Street

Alan Whicker looks at British journalism in Fleet Street, and focuses on two very different newspapers; The Times and The Daily Mirror.

Living with Uncle Sam: I Thought I'd Put Myself Up for Sherriff

Living with Uncle Sam: You're a Well-Balanced Girl from Maida Vale

Alan Whicker continues his series about British expatriates living in America, and meets actress Joan Collins.

Living with Uncle Sam: You've Got to Jog, See an Analyst and Make Love Energetically

Living with Uncle Sam: I Wanted to Be Disgusting and Rich

Living with Uncle Sam: More People Die of Childbite Than Snakebite

Living with Uncle Sam: Some Americans Think God Was a 17th Century Englishman

Living with Uncle Sam: Right Now I'm Hot - When I'm Cut, I'm Very Cold

Living with Uncle Sam: Sex Isn't Nearly as Important as Power and Access

Living with Uncle Sam: Sometimes When I'm Lonely I Long for Hastings

Around Whicker's World: The Ultimate Package - Start the World I Want to Get On

Alan Whicker joins a 34-day holiday package around the world with 87 other passengers.

Six Films of Six Places: Hong Kong

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Six Films of Six Places: The Philippines

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Six Films of Six Places: Japan

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Six Films of Six Places: Singapore

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Six Films of Six Places: Hawaii

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Six Films of Six Places: Mexico

Alan Whicker looks again at the reports he made for Tonight (1957) on his 1958 journey round the world.

Episode 7

Episode 8

Whicker's New World: Immortality Inc

Alan Whicker reports on modern trends in American society, this week looking at Americans who are questioning the inevitability of death and ways to cheat it.

Whicker's New World: Micro-Media Inc.

Alan Whicker continues his look at modern American trends, this week focusing on American kids aged 7 - 11.

Whicker's New World: Swingles Inc.

Continuing his series looking at modern American trends, Alan Whicker examines the rise in the number of unmarried adults and the lives they lead.

Papa Doc: The Black Sheep

Alan Whicker reports from Haiti and interviews dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

Whicker's New World: Tender Loving Care Inc.

Continuing his series looking at modern American trends, Alan Whicker visits "The Greenhouse" in Texas, where American women pay up to $110 per day for treatments to make them slimmer and younger looking.

Whicker's New World

Continuing his six-part examination of trends in modern America, Alan Whicker looks at the earning of top business executives and the demands made on them by society.

Whicker's World Down Under: Large Sums of Money Have a Very Fusty Smell...

In a series examining life in Australia, Alan Whicker looks at famous criminals who moved there, American forger Bob Baudin and 'Great Train Robber' Ronald Biggs, whose wife Charmian who talks about the robbery and the escape to Australia.

Whicker's World Down Under: We Hope We Can Let Off a Nice Safe Hydrogen Bomb...

In his series looking at Australia, Alan Whicker meets wealthy mineral prospector Lang Hancock, and discusses his plans for opening up the north-west outback, dealing with bureaucracy, and his daughter Gina taking over from him.

Whicker's World Down Under: The Tomato Sauce List Was Bigger Than the Wine List...

Alan Whicker meets migrants who have found success in Australia, including a golf coach from England, a Jerseyman who teaches Australians to enjoy losing money, and a racing driver whose fleet of double-decker buses have bars and saunas.

Whicker's World Down Under: You Stopped Being a Pigeon When You Got Your Throat Cut

Alan Whicker visits the opal town of Coober Pedy in Australia's Central Desert where huge fortunes are made by digging for opals.

Whicker's World Down Under: When You Become a Bush Bishop They Say - Tough Luck!

Alan Whicker meets people who emigrated to Australia, including an Englishman who runs Australia's oldest stately home and a British bishop, raised in a Welsh slum, whose diocese covers a quarter of Australia.

Whicker's World Down Under: Many People Curtsy - But We Don't Expect It

In his series looking at Australia, Alan Whicker meets Leonard & Shirley Casley who, following an argument with the government, declared their farm in the outback to be an independent nation with its own stamps, currency and air force.

The First Million Miles! A Fierce Crowd Which Always Wants More....

Returning to the BBC with six programmes looking back at the first decade of Whicker's World, Alan Whicker recalls fox hunting with the Quorn, discussing civil rights with Cassius Clay, and an interview with bullfighter El Cordobés.

The First Million Miles! That Great Cushion of Wealth Is Tough to Walk Away From...

Alan Whicker continues looking back at the first ten years of Whicker's World. In this edition he recalls his interviews with billionaire J. Paul Getty, Baroness Fiona Thyssen (now coping with a divorce), and a docker who won the pools.

The First Million Miles! Pull Up Your Power - Then Focus Your Spirit Friend ...

Looking back at the first decade of Whicker's World at the BBC, Whicker recalls meeting a woman who claims she married the spirit of Bernard Shaw, as well as the Caribbean cult of the Pocomaniacs and the witchcraft of Guatemalan Indians.

The First Million Miles! If You Look Absolutely Marvellous, Who Needs a Gorgeous Character?

Alan Whicker continues looking back at the first decade of Whicker's World at the BBC. In this all-female edition, he recalls interviewing Geisha girls, glamour girls, and beauty queens, and the Duchess of Alba who had 68 titles.

Hong Kong: When You Lose Power You Don't Go and Grow Raspberries... You Get Hanged

Thirty years after his first visit there, Alan Whicker returns to Hong Kong and looks at its society and its political and economic structure.

Hong Kong: My Great Grandfather Had Six Wives...

Alan Whicker tours the waterfront on a craft owned by a Chinese man who reads The Times and smokes cigars, meets a businessman who serves caviar with a pearl shovel, and a woman who is a telecommunications tycoon who visits soothsayers.

Hong Kong: Face Had to Be Provided for Both Sides...

Alan Whicker looks at the treatment of the widows of the men killed when defending the colony in 1941, to a police chief about how illegal immigrants are treated on both sides of the border, and the immensely wealthy Kadoorie family.

Hong Kong: Jesus Makes You Fat!

Alan Whicker looks at drugs, crime and capital punishment in Hong Kong, and meets Christian missionary Jackie Pullinger who rescues drug addicts in the Walled City.

Hong Kong: The Psychological Protection of Mr Lo and His Magic Compass

Alan Whicker looks into the superstitions and belief in fortune tellers of many Hong Kong citizens.

Hong Kong: I Didn't Chop Their Important Organs

Alan Whicker examines Hong Kong's organised crime syndicate, The Triads, and meets a lawyer who used to prosecute them, a priest who befriended them, and a Traid "enforcer" who is now on the run from them.

Hong Kong: I Don't Think You'll Find Many Doormats Here

Alan Whicker talks to some of the working, professional women of Hong Kong, both Chinese and European, about their work, roles and the attitudes towards them.

California: I Wear a Uniform and Pack a Gun - But I'm Still a Woman...

Alan Whicker looks at the rise in female police officers in the U.S. and talks to several women who joined the force and the prejudice they face from the public and their own male colleagues.

California: If a Cop Wiggled Around with Pink Hair and a Limp Wrist, It Would Discredit the Department...

Alan Whicker looks at the recruitment drive in the San Francisco Police Department aimed at getting more officers from the Lesbian and Gay Community.

California: I Feel Trapped in Paradise Here...

lan Whicker visits Los Angeles and meets Britt Ekland and Sherry Lansing, goes to a birthday party for dogs and talks to starstruck teenagers and their pushy mothers anxious to see their offspring make it in show-business.

California: He'll Never Have to Divorce Me... He Can Always Change Me

Alan Whicker revisits plastic surgeon Dr. Kurt Wagner and his wife Kathy, whom he first met in 1973.

California: Nothing Is Utopia, This Comes Pretty Close

Alan Whicker meets some of the 50,000 Britons who live in Los Angeles, including actors Patrick Macnee, Christopher Lee and Peter Sellers (in one of his last ever television interviews).

Episode 1

Rio: A Wonderful Feeling of Freedom...?

Alan Whicker visits Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Houston: A Gun Is a Funny Animal...

Alan Whicker journey's to Houston, Texas - one of the most notorious cities for shootings in the United States.

Vancouver: Where the Great Dream Still Lies...

Alan Whicker visits Vancouver in Canada.

Honolulu: The Vertical Beach and the Warm Bed Routine

Alan Whicker visits Honolulu in Hawaii.

Taipei: 50,000 People Can Hear Our Loudspeaker...

Alan Whicker visits Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. He samples snake wine, goes to snake shops whose merchandise is reputed to cure ailments, eats delicacies such as sea slug and visits an acupuncture clinic.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 1

To celebrate Australia's bicentennial, Alan Whicker visit Brits who have emigrated there. He meets Dorrie Flatman from Liverpool who moved there in 1963 with three children and £45 and now owns a chain of brothels that has made her rich.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 2

Alan Whicker talks to Brits living in Australia, including Jane Makim (sister of Sarah, Duchess of York), Captain John Alliston and his wife Eleanor who writes under the alias of Minka Jones.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 3

Alan Whicker meets Brits who have emigrated to Australia. He visits Western Australia's vast outback, and also meets a former bus driver from Bolton who now mans one of the world's loneliest lighthouses.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 4

Alan Whicker visits Australia to meet Brits who have emigrated there. He journeys to Northern Queensland and meets a man who likes crocodiles, a garden gnome evangelist, and some gold-diggers in a ghost town.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 5

Alan Whicker visits Brits living in Australia. In Sydney, he attends Lady Primrose Potter's fancy dress ball, meeting society columnist Diana "Bubbles" Fisher. He also visits a gay bar where he meets Jeff Hardy who used to work at Fortnums.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 6

In Australia's Northern Territory, Alan Whicker meets Sid & Barbara Smith who run a public house which serves Devonshire cream teas, and visits an Aborigine alcohol rehabilitation centre run by two British doctors, Dr Clare and Dr Neil.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 7

Alan Whicker looks at industrial relations in Australia. He meets a top trade union official, and British millionaire Roger Smith, who is returning to England after 24 years because of restrictive Australian union practices.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 8

Alan Whicker looks at the stereotypical Australian male image with comments from Sally Hurley, Clare Jukka, Sue Becker (the BBC's fitness instructor from the 1970s), Jane Deknatel and Hazel Small.

Living with Waltzing Matilda: Part 9

Alan Whicker visits Brits living in Australia, including Ray Wilmott who has his own fox hunt in New South Wales, wine critic Len Evans, and Dennis Gowing whose horse won the Melbourne Cup.

A Fast Boat to China: 1. Tahiti - Wellington

Four-part documentary in which Alan Whicker interviews his fellow passengers on a three-month cruise in the Pacific.

A Fast Boat to China: 2. Sydney - Whitsunday Island

Four-part documentary in which Alan Whicker interviews his fellow passengers on a three-month cruise in the Pacific.

A Fast Boat to China: 3. Port Moresby - Pattaya

Four-part documentary in which Alan Whicker interviews his fellow passengers on a three-month cruise in the Pacific.