Herbie the skateboarding duck (c.1976-83) was the subject of an item first broadcast on the ''

Midlands Today ''Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the West Midlands. It was launched in 1964 and is presented by Mary Rhodes, Nick Owen, Elizabeth Glinka, Rebecca Wood and Shefali Oza. Overview ''Midlands Today'' is produc ...

'' insert to the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

news magazine programme '' Nationwide'' on 24 May 1978. Herbie, an

Aylesbury duck The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, a pink bill, orange legs and feet, an unusually large keel, and a horizontal stance with its body parallel ...

, was bought by Jacky and Paddy Randall of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

for their children Mikala and Colin. The film, presented by reporter Alan Towers, includes footage of Herbie waddling along the street, joining the family at breakfast and attacking the Randalls' terrier. Part of the film is a four-second shot of Herbie apparently skateboarding by himself on Colin's board. This 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. The item came to define Nationwide in the public mind, and the programme's final item was a sung eulogy to the skateboarding duck, with a surprising twist.''Nationwide'', BBC, 5 August 1983.
accessed 7 December 2014

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{{YouTube, id=nrgMQYaOhbw, title=Herbie the SKATEBOARDING DUCK 1976 animal births 1983 animal deaths British culture Individual waterfowl Individual animals in the United Kingdom

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