Whicker's World

The very last land, going south, stands silent and splendid at the end of the world, and calls itself "the only white nation south of Canada." It has the largest city south of the Equator, the largest British colony outside the Commonwealth - yet among 23 million people there is much anti-British feeling about football, foot-and-mouth and the Falklands. Accompanied by photographer Frank Pocklington, Alan Whicker observes life in this vast Land of Gaucho.

Hatti was the world's first black republic, ruled from 1957 to 1971 by 'President For Life' Dr Francis Duvalier - Papa Doc. Whicker meets Papa Doc in his Presidential Palace at Port au Prince in the company of his Tontons Macoutes - murderous civilian thugs. In this vivid report Whicker provides a remarkable close up on an absolute ruler with the power of life and death.

Alan Whicker meets the modern adventurer Carl Gustav von Rosen, the Swedish Count who led a flight of rocket-carrying planes for Biafra against the Nigerians. The Count talks about his life as a champion of the underdog, which goes back to flying for Ethiopia against the Italian invaders.

Alan Whicker comes face-to-face with the last of South America's old style dictators - Don Alfredo Stroessner who has been absolute ruler of Paraguay for 19 years. One Paraguayan in ten is sold to be a paid informer and the Minister of Information has admitted there are so many informers that they run out of information and have to make it up.

Harold Robbins, 56 and five times married, is the orphan who became the world's best paid writer. In New York he takes Alan Whicker round the Devil's Kitchen district of his youth. This won the Best Interview Programme Award at 1973's Hollywood Festival of World Television.

Alan Whicker joins 300 passengers from 16 countries on a two-week cruise from Singapore to Indonesia.

"I'm very much afraid I have champagne poisoning..." On its first journey in five years, Alan Whicker journeys aboard the newly refurbished Orient Express from London Victoria to Venice. Among the famous and wealthy travelers are Liza Minelli.

Alan Whicker joins the Sultan of Brunei (reputedly the richest man in the world) in his kingdom on the island of Borneo. He joins in the silver jubilee celebrations and meets the Sultan’s family and his army.

Alan Whicker joins the inaugural run of the Eastern and Oriental Express, a 1200 mile train journey from Singapore to Bangkok. Fellow passengers include Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Earl of Snowden, Susannah York and Koo Stark.

Globetrotting Alan Wicker sees drama unfold in the tropics as opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, hired to sing on the island of Pangkor Laut, Malaysia, loses his most valuable asset - his voice.