Last night saw the first of a new four part series celebrating Alan Whicker’s remarkable fifty years on television. The show sees the TV legend off round the world on a journey of remembrance as much as celebration during which he reflects on his incredibly varied life and career.

In this first episode, Whicker revisited Venice, a city of massive significance and one that’s apparently very close to his heart. He retraced his steps from war to peace, from soldier to Fleet Street journalist, and then his subsequent move into the fledgling world of television.

Included in this episode were Whicker’s earliest surviving TV appearance, an in-depth profile of both John Paul Getty, Baroness Fiona Thyssen, and Alan’s legendary encounter with millionaire Yorkshireman – and general ‘eccentric’ – Percy Shaw, the man who invented the cats’ eyes which illumine our roads… Read more & comment »