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British journalist and broadcaster

Alan Donald Whicker (2 August 1921 – 12 July 2013) was a British journalist and television presenter and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which time he presented the documentary television programme Whicker's World for over 30 years. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for services to broadcasting.

Whicker was born to British parents in Cairo, Egypt, in 1921. When he was three years old his father Charles became seriously ill and the family moved to Richmond in Surrey, where he and his mother remained after the death of his father. He attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School, where he excelled at cross country running. During the Second World War he was commissioned as an officer in the Devonshire Regiment of the British Army. He then joined the British Army's Army Film and Photographic Unit in Italy in 1943, While in Milan Whicker shot footage of the body of Benito Mussolini he also won the Richard Dimbleby Award at the 1978 BAFTA ceremony. on Haiti and its dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier who made himself available to Whicker and his team. Whicker appeared in various adverts for American Express, Barclaycard, and was also the man behind the advertising slogan "Hello World", for travelocity. He narrated the 2007 and 2008 BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain. In the 2005 New Year Honours Whicker was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to broadcasting. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1983 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Berkeley Hotel in Kensington, London.

Whicker had a relationship with Olga Deterding from 1966 to 1969. Broadcaster Michael Parkinson stated that Whicker was "a fine journalist and great storyteller", adding: "I can think of no other television reporter before or since who created such a wonderful catalogue of unforgettable programmes." In June 2015 it was announced that Whicker's estate would fund, through The Whickers, three annual awards totalling over £100,000 to be awarded to documentary makers, including funding and recognition prizes for audio documentaries.

While presenting Whicker's World, Whicker was known for his subtle brand of satire and social commentary. Whicker's World was parodied in a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch featuring a tropical island, "Whicker Island", where all the inhabitants dress and act like Whicker. He was parodied again in 1981 by the Evasions, a British funk group whose song, "Wikka Wrap", featured songwriter Graham de Wilde impersonating Whicker; the song was later sampled in American rapper Coolio's 1996 song "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)". De Wilde also composed the theme tune for the 1980s BBC episodes of Whicker's World.