Whicker's World is an award-winning British television documentary series that ran from 1958 to 1994, presented by journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. Originally a segment on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1958, Whicker's World became a fully-fledged television series in its own right in the 1960s. The series was first shown by the BBC until 1968, and then by ITV from 1969 to 1983, when it was produced by Yorkshire Television, in which Whicker himself was a shareholder. The series returned to the BBC in 1984, and to ITV again in 1992.
Whicker's World (Season 2)
The Beauty Queens (Episode 1)
Air date: 1965-11-13
Overview: 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 (Episode 2)
Air date: 1966-01-15
Overview: 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 (Episode 3)
Air date: 1966-06-04
Overview: 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' (Episode 4)
Air date: 1966-10-01
Overview: 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 (Episode 5)
Air date: 1967-01-14
Overview: Alan Whicker looks at the private detective agency run by Tom Ponzi in Italy.
The World of James Bond (Episode 6)
Air date: 1967-03-25
Overview: 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 (Episode 7)
Air date: 1967-04-22
Overview: 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 (Episode 8)
Air date: 1967-05-20
Overview: 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 (Episode 9)
Air date: 1967-06-17
Overview: Alan Whicker investigates the world of the small-time crook.
The Quest for Beauty (Episode 10)
Air date: 1967-08-14
Overview: Alan Whicker examines the beauty industry and how people stave off the ageing process with persistence, pain, money, and remarkable ingenuity.
Love Generation (Episode 11)
Air date: 1967-09-09
Overview: Alan Whicker reports on the "love generation", the hippies in San Francisco and their counter-culture life.
Conflict in Kentucky (Episode 12)
Air date: 1967-10-07
Overview: 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 (Episode 13)
Air date: 1968-01-27
Overview: 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 (Episode 14)
Air date: 1968-05-18
Overview: Alan Whicker looks at British journalism in Fleet Street, and focuses on two very different newspapers; The Times and The Daily Mirror.
The Road from Rose Linda's - Alan Whicker Meets the Cats' Eyes Man (Episode 15)
Air date: 1968-05-25
Overview: In this edition, Alan Whicker meets Percy Shaw, the inventor of cats' eyes reflectors for roads, who, despite his wealth, lives a relatively simple life in Halifax, North Yorkshire.
