When It Hits the Fan

Britney’s memoir, BT's rebrand and Meryl Streep

Following the release of Britney Spears’ autobiography David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the wisdom of the tell-all memoir. How does it measure up as a PR strategy? Also, BT’s “blink and you may have missed it” rebranding to EE – will a customer backlash make the company regret downgrading this great British brand? And finally, as Meryl Streep announces the end of her marriage… six years ago, they look at how timing is everything when it comes to making big announcements and how to make hot news not news at all.Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Researcher: Sophie Smith
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

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.