The PR guru who inspired sitcom Absolutely Fabulous has urged Mike Ashley to ‘give her a call’ to help revive Harvey Nichols.

Former Newcastle United owner Ashley is closing in on a deal to rescue the luxury department store, often name-checked on the comedy series.

And Lynne Franks, who worked for Harvey Nicks in its heyday and inspired Jennifer Saunders’ character Eddy in Ab Fab, is among those hopeful the magic can be brought back.

‘It’s tragic to see how it has fizzled out,’ Franks told The Mail. ‘I don’t know why I would be going there now or what I would be trying to buy.’

Sports Direct tycoon Ashley is seen as the frontrunner to buy the troubled business - after High Street chain Next reportedly pulled out.

Harvey Nicks - best-known for its sprawling store in Knightsbridge in London - warned it will shut within a year if it does not find a buyer or cash injection after reporting annual losses of £178million.

The store - which once boasted Princess Diana as a customer - has been hit by a downturn in tourism spending following the Covid pandemic and the removal of a VAT-free shopping scheme.

But Franks says the group has also lost sight of its identity. ‘They just haven’t got the marketing right and the story right. I think [a comeback] can be done if they’re smart and are very clear who their market is.’

Mary Portas, the store’s young creative director, bartered the deal with Absolutely Fabulous where its brash and boozy fashionista characters often mentioned the store and wore its clothes. She transformed it into a trendy destination for the ‘fashion-forward’ - with eye-catching window displays.

But owner Sir Dickson Poon put it up for sale in June and talks to sell part or all of the firm are now at a crunch stage.

It is thought that a deal with Ashley’s Frasers Group - which has been keen to add luxury brands like Hugo Boss and Gieves & Hawkes to its stable of retailers - could be announced as soon as this week.

Three years ago, in a piece for the Mail, Franks urged the business to recruit famous faces such as Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow to inject some excitement back into the brand - but did not hear anything. 

‘It’s arrogance,’ she said. ‘They’re in a mess.’

She thinks the business is at its best when it is ‘uniquely creative’, whether through Portas’s striking window dressings, or hosting glamorous events such as fashion shows or industry parties.

And while some may scoff at the prospect of the group behind Sports Direct owning such a luxury symbol, Franks said it is ‘not the beginning of the end’.

‘He is a professional retailer, he is making a profit - which is more than Harvey Nicks’ are doing now,’ she said. ‘He should give me a call.’

Ashley said last week that Harvey Nicks is ‘in a death spiral,’ and he expects it to be sold for less than £40million.

The business employs 1,200 staff and owns shops in Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds - as well as in Riyadh, Dubai, Hong Kong and Kuwait.

Sale talk has also sparked rumours that a private equity bidder could buy the business and shut shops.

‘A lot of the time that I see a private equity company moving into retail or fashion, they don’t seem to last,’ Franks added. ‘They don’t know what they’re doing.’

She expects bidders will be looking at how they can move some of the business to an online marketplace - like the former High Street chain Debenhams.

‘Retail is very, very tough, it’s very competitive,’ she said. ‘Outside of London, that market [for its stores] did tend to be footballers’ wealthy wives - they have lost that I guess.

‘The flagship has got to improve and become more unique with brands and marketing - it needs to get exciting. Make it fun, make people want to go there as a destination. Let’s see what happens.’