So the much rumoured job cuts have started at Marks & Spencer — but who’d have thought that Dervla Kirwan would be the first to get the boot?

The Irish actress has been the voice of M&S food for three years, purring over the quality of the chocolate puds in campaigns that will live long in the memory.

Steve Sharp, the executive director of marketing, was vehement earlier this year that there was no need to change the advertising as the customers loved it.

Well, no more and it’s yet another example of how the credit crunch is redrawing the battle lines. While Aldi is doing all it can to appeal to those with more refined palates, M&S has hired David Jason aka Del Boy, the ultimate salesman, to boost flagging demand for its ready meals.

The poor performance of M&S’s food has been arguably the biggest disappointment for Sir Stuart Rose this year, explaining the surprise departure of Steven Esom as head of food in July.

Critics have blamed not only M&S’s uncompetitiveness on price but also its lack of innovation. Recent industry figures showed sales at M&S fell 1.4 per cent at the start of August, against a market average of plus 6.8 per cent.

John Dixon, the new head of food, has apparently hit the ground running and begun to improve product availability.

Mr Jason, hired for his universal appeal, is likely to bring a few more people back through the door but until longer term issues, such as price position, are fixed, M&S is unlikely to take sales back from its supermarket rivals.

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