Skateboarding duck
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Herbie the skateboarding duck (c.1976-83) was the subject of an item first broadcast on the BBC news magazine programme Nationwide on 24 May 1978, which has become one of the most famous feature items in the history of British television.
Herbie, an Aylesbury duck, was bought by Jacky and Paddy Randall of Croydon for their children Michaela and Colin. The film, presented by reporter Alan Towes, included footage of Herbie waddling along the street, joining the family at breakfast and attacking the Randalls' terrier. The most famous part of the film is a four-second shot of Herbie apparently skateboarding by himself on Colin's board. This iconic image seemingly captured the public imagination, and the BBC received many requests for it to be shown again, which it frequently was.
The clip also appeared on other TV stations around the world, many of which also produced their own variations on the theme. There was also renewed interest in the clip in 1983 after the death of Herbie was announced, and it has been repeated many times since on other TV programmes.
As a result of the item's popularity, the term "skateboarding duck" has come to signify a particular sort of quirky and essentially frivolous news story, often used to fill time at the end of a broadcast.
References
- [BBC INFAX record for Nationwide, 24 May 1978]
- [BBC Newswatch] (the full item can be viewed in the 1969 section, this being the year Nationwide launched).
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