When It Hits the Fan

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the resignation of Huw Edwards and how the BBC has handled this ongoing crisis – its PR, its strategy and the enduring power of the tabloids in this country to throw an incendiary device into famous places. They also lift the lid on the art of euphemistic spin and how the language of PR was used in the Post Office IT Horizon scandal - or should we say “anomaly”? And, runaway horses - how the Army responded to the surreal and shocking Household Cavalry rampage through central London and why you’ll now find a significant number of former Army officers in PR.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

In a special episode of When It Hits the Fan, Simon Lewis and David Yelland talk to Matthew Freud about his 40-year career at the head of one of the most influential PR businesses in the world. Freud Communications has promoted and protected the reputations of the biggest names in Britain. Born into the famous Freud family, he married into a global media dynasty to become Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law. He has kept the secrets of the rich and the powerful as well as advising prime ministers and pop stars. In this rare broadcast interview, Matthew Freud discusses power, politics and his views on British public life from his unique perspective at the pinnacle of public relations.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

On When It Hits the Fan, we often talk about crises as if they should be avoided at all costs. But Dorothy Byrne, the former head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4, is living proof that walking towards the fan is often a hallmark of people that effect positive change.In this special deep-dive interview, David Yelland and Simon Lewis talk to Dorothy about the relationship between PR and journalism, being lobbied, and her fearless approach to reporting the truth – including her 2019 MacTaggart lecture when she called the then prime minister a “known liar”. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis talk to Mick Lynch, the leader of the RMT, about how to get your point across.We seem to be living through a time when words too often fail us. But there are some people in our body politic whose words cut through - regardless of our own thoughts on their views. Many of Mick Lynch's head-to-heads with journalists and politicians have gone viral. Like - when speaking directly to a government minister - “He’s lying… you are telling lies.” To a journalist: "You do come up with the most remarkable twaddle,” and, during a speech, his rallying call: "We refuse to be poor anymore.” He even managed to win public sympathy for that most unpopular of disruptions – a nationwide train strike.How does he do it?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the lessons learnt from the Princess of Wales’s video announcement that she is undergoing treatment for cancer. It raises some important issues for the Royal Family in a social media age. And for all of us. What is privacy in the online world? How can people in the public eye manage their privacy in the global village that is social media? And for the Royal Family going forward, what can the Palaces do to protect individual members while also promoting the royal brand? The Royal Family are in the vanguard here. What Kate is experiencing is what many others may have to face in the future. Will this be a turning point?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Assistant Producer: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis are talking TikTok. In the US, the social media platform is facing an existential threat. But behind it is a world of Chinese PR that’s not making the headlines. How does it work? And what are all the western PR agencies embedded in China doing there?Also, as the risk of IT system crashes and cyber attacks escalates, David and Simon lift the lid on the role of communications in the booming cybersecurity sector.And following the short video of the Princess of Wales released on The Sun’s website, they ask if this is a PR master stroke, or something else. What is going on?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Assistant Producer: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

As a former editor of The Sun, and the late Queen’s first communications secretary, David Yelland and Simon Lewis used to be on opposing sides of a Royal PR disaster – David working to expose a story that Simon was trying to control. In this special episode, they bring everything they know about how Palace PR works to shed some light on the events surrounding Kate Middleton’s absence and the controversy surrounding her Mother’s Day family photo. What’s really going on behind the scenes? And does a failure to master 21st century communications pose a genuine, real danger to the Royal Family’s survival? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Assistant Producer: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis return to Formula 1 and the latest instalment of the Christian Horner crisis. The alleged texts between the Red Bull boss and a female colleague have been leaked and the tabloids are feasting. Fighting a battle for your reputation in the red tops is a sure sign of a PR problem. Can using the star power of Horner’s wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, rescue the situation?David and Simon also go behind the scenes of one of the most controversial deals the British media has seen - the bidding war for the Telegraph Group - and lift the lid on the world of takeover PR. Plus, what happened when Matt Hancock went to Eton and appeared to forget who might be in the room?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Assistant Producer: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss when using the word crap is not a crap comms strategy at all. Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered, used it to describe the bank’s share price and the financial markets loved it. But crap probably wasn't signed off in the preparatory Q&A - David and Simon take us behind the scenes.Also, a fan-hitter par-excellence, a car-crash interview featuring Brad Banducci, the boss of Australia’s largest supermarket empire, who walked off during a TV interview for the biggest prime time documentary series in Sydney – and now he’s the ex-boss. What could he have done differently? Plus, how defence minister Grant Shapps and the MoD put a very positive spin on Trident’s second embarrassing test failure, and the military wives who forced a reverse ferret on the Army's new housing plans.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Assistant producer: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the coming PR tornado that is the apparent plan to sell the government's 38.6% of NatWest back to the public in a retail share sale. The communications challenge here is a big one - all while Nigel Farage is biting at the bank's heels. They also lift the bonnet on PR strategies for incoming CEOs – NatWest has one – and how an invitation to Wimbledon or the opera can be as important as your balance sheet when learning to navigate the elite highest reaches of the executive world. And they return to Christian Horner, the embattled boss of the Red Bull Formula 1 team, and what it teaches us about how not to handle a fan-hitter. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4