The magazine was placed in administration after its US parent company, Reader's Digest Association, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The agency’s brief includes working on all internal and external comms around the administration process and its search for a buyer. The brief was handed to Fishburn Hedges after the agency worked for the publisher in the US.

Fishburn Hedges managing director Fiona Thorne said: ‘It’s quite a complex story, and a lot of the work we’re doing is around helping journalists to understand it.’

Thorne added that the agency expected a disproportionate level of interest in the story, because of the 72-year-old magazine’s ‘iconic status’.

Fishburn Hedges has dealt with all media handling, including planning, messaging development, Q and A documents and running the UK press line.

The magazine looks set to be saved as almost 100 potential buyers have approached administrators after it collapsed last month.