When Poachers Turn Gatekeepers

When Poachers Turn Gatekeepers

Author: BBC Radio 4 March 25, 2026 Duration: 29:01

What happens when you cross enemy lines and join the other side?

As King Charles hires a Sky Royal correspondent for a top comms job at the Palace, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel discuss what happens when journalists switch to PR.

Crucially, they need to learn how to go from broadcast to mute. No more fabulously indiscreet anecdotes involving the rich and powerful over dinner - they're now your clients and your job is to protect their reputation.

And that's just for starters. There are a whole load of different rules and shifts in power dynamics that can take years to fully understand.

Also, on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, why Harry and Meghan have a window of golden PR opportunity - that could slam shut if they don't get their timing spot on. As David and Farzana explain, it's all to do with something called 'brand adjacency'.

Producer: Duncan Middleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4


Tune in to When It Hits the Fan for a masterclass in reputation management, hosted by two insiders who have lived through the pressure of the headlines. David Yelland, former editor of The Sun, and communications expert Simon Lewis, bring their unparalleled experience to this BBC Radio 4 podcast. Each week, they dissect the most spectacular public relations meltdowns making news, offering a rare glimpse into the frantic world of crisis managers and spin doctors. You’ll hear them trace the origins of a scandal, pinpointing the exact moment strategies began to unravel and public perception shifted. This isn't just commentary; it's a forensic breakdown of how modern media storms are weathered or worsened by those in charge. The analysis is grounded in real-world stakes, exploring the political and personal consequences of every misstep and recovery attempt. For anyone fascinated by the intersection of media, power, and human error, this podcast provides an essential and gripping narrative. Listening feels like being in the room for a candid, post-mortem between two veterans who understand the game better than most. Their conversations reveal the mechanics behind the news cycle, making sense of how stories explode and what happens when control is lost.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

When It Hits the Fan
Podcast Episodes
PR is a virus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:35
What if your profession is to blame for almost everything? This week, David Yelland is joined from Washington by PR guru Phil Elwood - who thinks the industry needs to take a long hard look at itself.Accusing PR of being…
China's meme warfare, rats and rockets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:04
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the global battle for hearts, minds and reputations between the US and China. Following JD Vance calling the people of China peasants, how far is China's retaliatory social media PR…
Quick Wins: How to avoid being typecast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:47
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 o…
Quick Wins: How to deal with redundancies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:43
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 o…
Heathrow special: inside the crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:26
In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis unpick the PR levers being pulled behind the Heathrow airport shutdown caused by a fire at a local power substation – which left 300,000 passengers stranded, 1,300 f…
Carney’s Canada v Trump, Abrdn’s U-turn and Ambassador Suzuki [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:19
Across the world reputations are being set by how leaders react to Donald Trump, including those of Keir Starmer and the King. Now Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, has seen his standing transformed by his "elbow…
Trump, Zelensky, the King and Mummy Pig [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:07
In the wake of Donald Trump's decision to pause all US aid to Ukraine, David Yelland and Simon Lewis reflect on the breakdown in the relations between presidents Trump and Zelensky. How far was his humiliation in the Ova…