When It Hits the Fan

In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis take you into the eye of a media storm and talk to a person who has lived through it. What’s it like to wake up to a world where everyone knows your name, and you wish they didn’t? In 1991, Gerald Ratner had one of Britain’s most famous fan-hitting moments. Having built a billion-pound chain of high-street jewellery shops, he saw his business collapse around him after making a seemingly harmless, yet ill-fated, joke. In fact, what happened to him has become so synonymous with a fan-hitting moment that he's become a verb – in business English, “Doing a Ratner” is shorthand for really screwing up in an entirely avoidable way. But, 25 years later, he says there are many silver linings to losing a billion pounds in 10 seconds flat.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss Prince Harry’s phone-hacking victory in the High Court and how the British print press is dealing with its own reputational crisis by pretending it didn’t happen. Also – Baroness Mone is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons following her latest attempt to control the narrative in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg. Why is her PR offensive failing? And David and Simon look back at the top PR lessons of 2023. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss Baroness Mone of Mayfair’s self-funded YouTube documentary – does it make her a PR genius or just terribly unwise? They also look at the reputational fallout from the Phillip Schofield affair at ITV – for both the company and individuals. And they peek inside the secret world of VIP PR. What strategies do big companies have for handling famous customers in public and in private?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins from the When It Hits the Fan team is our how-to guide to being better at your own PR and navigating the world of work like a pro. In these special short episodes, David Yelland and Simon Lewis give you lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes of your time.In this episode: how to survive the office party. Should the "hub and spoke" or the SAS-style approach be your strategy for the night? David and Simon share their work wisdom on how to make sure you emerge with only good stories to tell.Producer: Sophie Smith Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis return to the continuing fallout from Omid Scobie’s book Endgame, which has provoked a highly unusual change of PR strategy from Buckingham Palace. They also discuss the flock of PR people who have descended on the COP summit in Dubai and ask what they’re up to. And, every CEO’s worst nightmare - the Wilko select committee. How do you prepare for going in front of a firing squad of MPs?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

This week David Yelland and Simon Lewis go behind the scenes as the Royal Family tries to cope with Omid Scobie’s new book Endgame, which appears to be from "Team Meghan". When is "no comment" the best strategy? David and Simon delve into the never-talked about world of obituary PR and reveal the horse-trading and lobbying that goes on behind closed doors. And the battle being fought between Ridley Scott and historians over the film Napoleon – should facts get in the way of a good story? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

After a week in which some top people in British politics have lost or given up their jobs, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the strange case of OpenAI’s Sam Altman, the artificial intelligence superstar whose overnight ousting – and very quick re-employment – sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Everton Football Club in crisis – how do you utilise PR in the emotional cauldron that is the Premier League? And we take you into the world of schmoozing that is political PR – it’s the return of the Prawn Cocktail Offensive.This episode was recorded before Sam Altman's surprise return to OpenAI as CEO with a new board.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

As the King marks his 75th birthday, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at how the Palace is using artificial intelligence to track public sentiment, what series six of The Crown means for the Royal PR strategy, and the thorny issue of Prince Harry’s court crusade. Also in this episode – Shell’s drive to change how 18 to 24 year olds feel about fossil fuels. And Pharrell Williams' million-dollar handbag for Louis Vuitton – why it is good PR to make people jealous and mad as hell?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Rishi Sunak’s fireside chat with Elon Musk following the UK’s AI Safety Summit has been criticised as a PR disaster for the Prime Minister. But was it really a fan-hitting moment for him? Or just a vision of the future new world order? Also, as Robert de Niro is in court in the US battling out a very public spat with his former assistant, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the often hidden role of litigation PR. And the controversy surrounding the Marks and Spencer Christmas ad – is sorry always the best way to avoid a fan-hitting moment? Plus reverse ferrets, bear traps and lonely sheep…Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis assess the endgame around former CEO Alison Rose’s departure from NatWest. With a forensic PR eye they return to the scene of her fan-hitting moment at a charity dinner where she sat next to the BBC business editor Simon Jack. What tricks of the trade do communications people have up their sleeves to avoid a PR disaster like this one? And how will the debate around Alison Rose’s pay-out affect her reputation? The consumer giant Unilever is in the news for apparently rolling back on its social purpose. Having spent years leading the way for sustainable business, was it all just PR, or was it real? How far are the culture wars derailing Unilever’s values? And as speculation builds around the line-up for the next series of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, David and Simon discuss whether going into the jungle can ever be classed as good PR.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4