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

Gerald Ratner special

Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go behind the scenes of the latest news stories and find out how, where and when it all began to hit the fan.  When It Hits The Fan is hosted by two of the most influential and experienced people in the game; David Yelland is the former editor of the Sun and alongside him is Simon Lewis, former trouble-shooter for the Queen and Gordon Brown, as well as for major corporations like the Nat West, Vodafone and British Gas. Together they bring decades of experience in both creating and managing crises. They'll share all they know about what's keeping those big stories in and out of the news.

News

Politics

David Yelland and Simon Lewis debate the first of a series of PR reviews into the up and coming general election. Starting with Rishi Sunak's announcement in the rain last week, they'll be looking at how the parties launched their campaigns, their use of campaign videos and slogans, and how and when the press decide to take sides.  They also discuss how PR has been put on the stand at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. New to When It Hits The Fan, if you have a “Quick Wins” question for Simon and David about managing your personal PR, send them a voice note on WhatsApp with the word “Fan” to +44 3700 100444 followed by your question. Producer: William Miller
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

General Election PR strategy and the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry

Quick Wins is a series of short episodes from the When It Hits the Fan team to help you navigate your own personal PR. In your professional life as well as your personal life, what you say no to can be more important than what you say yes to. In this episode David and Simon share their advice on how to do it the right way - to a boss who is asking you to overwork, to a job offer that's not the right fit or when you smell a rat. How to set the right boundaries? Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins: How to say no

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss South West Water’s handling of the Brixham water contamination and what this tells us about the fundamental problems in the UK water industry. Why were the people of South Devon told their water was safe when it was not? And when a crisis hits, who is the best person to speak on behalf of a company. Is it the 'chief customer officer'?  Also, in the week The Sunday Times Rich List is published, Simon and David share some secrets about how the blue chip PR world tries to get people on the list - and also get people off it!  And does the PR industry look after the mental health of its own people well enough? They take a look at a concerning report. Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

UK water crisis, the Rich List and PR wellbeing

Quick Wins is a series of short episodes from the When It Hits the Fan team to help you navigate your own personal PR. In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the power of an apology. Professional - and personal - relationships are based on being able to say sorry at the right time. So how do you mark sure yours hits the mark? Do it before the sun goes down, do it the hard way and always mean it. Producer: Eve Streeter
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins: How to say sorry

This week, two of the world’s biggest tech companies have found themselves in PR crises of their own making. Why did Apple's new iPad Pro 'crush' advert misfire so badly? Meanwhile at Baidu - China’s biggest search engine - its PR boss has lost her job after videos of her promoting a toxic work culture went viral.  David Yelland and Simon Lewis go to the heart of a secret and little understood reputational war and look at the real battle between the west coast of America and China’s Silicon Valley.  And - bowing out gracefully. How Nadhim Zahawi’s exit strategy from politics ticked all the PR boxes. Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Gerald Ratner special

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