The Wheeler Century

Born on March 23rd, 1923, Charles Wheeler first joined the BBC as a lowly sub-editor on the Empire Service, and became one of its most revered reporters.

He was known as a disruptor who dared sail close to the wind, but always got the facts right. In the 1990s, he publicly stood up to Director General John Birt’s idea of constructed news, stating simply that it was the reporter’s job to find the story, then the reporter’s job to tell the story.

While viewers were drawn in by his craggy features and gimlet-eyed pieces to camera, Charles Wheeler became a totemic figure for generations of broadcast journalists. He reported on the aftermath of the end of Empire in India, witnessed the civil rights struggle in America, Watergate and the birth of a European vision, analysed Britain’s struggles with multi-racialism, and human rights excesses around the world.

Long after contemporaries had retired to the comfort of a studio desk job, he maintained a heavy workload, reporting for Newsnight on Kurdish refugees fleeing Saddam Hussein, breaking the news of the existence of Monica Lewinsky’s “stained dress”, and presenting powerful and immersive historical documentary series on Radio 4.

As Berliners celebrated the fall of the Wall, Charles Wheeler berated Jeremy Paxman for “trying to host a serious political discussion in the middle of a fireworks display”. “This is pure Monty Python,” he pronounced as the programme’s presenter floundered.

In this programme, Charles' daughter Shirin Wheeler reflects on her father’s achievements and his legacy in the era of fake news and social media.

"Charles Wheeler: Witness to the Twentieth Century" by Shirin Wheeler is published by Manilla Press.

Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

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