Gerald Ratner special
In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis talk to Gerald Ratner, who lost his billion-pound chain of jewellery shops after an ill-fated joke.
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 ±«Óătv Radio 4
Last on
Broadcasts
- Wed 27 Dec 2023 21:00±«Óătv Radio 4
- New Year's Day 2024 11:30±«Óătv Radio 4
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