Gerald Ratner musical in development

A musical based on the life of retailer Gerald Ratner is in development by the BBC. The story will follow Ratner's life as he makes and loses his fortune in the 1980s.

After building his family firm into one of the biggest retailers of the decade, Ratner infamously joked in 1991 that some of the goods he sold were 'total crap' and 'cheaper than a prawn sandwich'. Consequently, his business fell apart.

It is reported that Men Behaving Badly writer Simon Nye will write the script and the music is expected to be composed by Howard Goodall, who wrote the theme tunes to comedy shows Blackadder and the Vicar of Dibley.

Ratner now runs online jewellery business Geraldonline.