When It Hits the Fan10 Joulu 2025

Simon Cowell's PR: Judged!

It's panto season and panto villains don't come much bigger than Simon Cowell.

The music mogul's made a career and fortune playing the Bad Guy on TV talent shows. But is there more to him - and crucially, is it good PR for him to show a different side?

This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis wade through the blizzard of publicity created ahead of Simon Cowell's latest show - to piece together a PR jigsaw that hints at his attempts to stay relevant while also offering glimpses into his world that he may not have intended.

On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, what happens when a CEO goes missing in action? The good people of Tunbridge Wells are once again disgusted - following a drinking water crisis in the spa town. And their mood has not been helped by the boss of South Eastern Water, David Hinton, refusing to give any interviews.

If the buck stops with you, do you have a duty to show your face in public - or can there be very good reasons for staying invisible when everything is going wrong?

Also, what is going on at HSBC? There's a distinct whiff of chaos around the search for a new CEO. George Osborne had been heavily touted, only for the job to be given to a 76-year-old internal candidate who, by all accounts, might not be hanging around for long. Given it's one of the most prestigious roles in global finance, where is the succession planning? And what does all this confusion at the top mean for the bank's reputation?

Producer: Duncan MIddleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: Eve Streeter

Music by Eclectic Sounds. A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(157)

How to PR the End of the World

When an interviewer's first question is whether your product could kill all humans, you know it's serious.This week, David Yelland and Lauren Beeching look at how the boss of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, ...

16 Syys 31min

The Power of Good Vibes

It's a feeling, it's something you can't quite put your finger on - but you know it when you see it.This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel are all about the vibes. The good ones. Whether it's at ...

9 Syys 32min

PR's Rich Tapestry

If PR is all about weaving great stories, then the Bayeux Tapestry might just be the perfect example.This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel celebrate the comms coup that was 1000 years in the mak...

15 Heinä 26min

Me Against the World

Whether you're a multimillionaire or the son of a King, sometimes it can still feel like everyone is out to get you.And so we turn to Nigel Farage and Prince Harry. Both are dealing with huge PR fallo...

8 Heinä 24min

Just Answer the Question

Public life would be an awful lot easier if you never had to answer questions from pesky journalists.Or would it?This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel look at Andy Burnham's decision to not take...

1 Heinä 33min

King Charles, Tax and Transparency

Declaring your tax isn't straightforward, as anyone's who ever filled out their own return will know.King Charles probably has someone to help with the scraps of paper and receipts - but he'll still h...

24 Kesä 25min

Social Media Ban: Big Tech's 'Tobacco Moment'

The public is against you, politicians are against you and the emotional argument has been well and truly lost.Which is exactly where the likes of TikTok, Instagram and X find themselves following the...

17 Kesä 27min

Hunter Biden: Back from the Brink

When you're routinely described as a crackhead and convicted felon who uses sex workers, it's fair to say your reputation can't get much worse.And so we turn to Hunter Biden. Often labelled the 'black...

10 Kesä 27min