The Apprentice

Reality TV Show

Related Link: Sir Alan Sugar


And the new Apprentice is... - June 14 2007
Posh public schoolboy Simon Ambrose is the surprise winner of The Apprentice - beating single mother and the show’s hot favourite Kristina Grimes.

The result is a remarkable victory for the 27-year-old who programmed one of Sir Alan Sugar’s Amstrad computers at the age of six after being given it as a present by his father.

Unlike the two previous winners of the hit BBC programme - Tim Campbell and Michelle Dewberry - Simon comes from a wealthy, privileged background.

Some of the other Apprentice candidates were so shocked by the tycoon’s decision that they considered walking out of Adrian Chiles’ show The Apprentice - You’re Fired!.

Ultra-confident Kristina, 36, who put herself through university after giving birth at the age of 17, was visibly upset after learning of the choice.

Her ruthless streak, strength as a team leader and organisational skills had made her a favourite to win.

In the final task, Simon won over architects and property experts with his design for a new building on London’s South Bank.

Sir Alan drops the bombshell news by saying: "It’s a very difficult decision.

"I’ve got someone who’s very experienced. I’ve also got someone who’s enthusiastic, a great talker and willing to learn. But I’m thinking to myself, ’Do you want to be the headmaster again?’."

He told Simon he wasn’t a good leader but that he had "very good innovative ideas", adding that Kristina was a thinker and a "great salesperson".

He then tells Simon: "Bloody old fool that I am, I’m going to take that risk, you’re hired."


TV finalists attack Katie ’sideshow’ - June 13 2007
The Apprentice finalists Kristina Grimes and Simon Ambrose have hit out at man-eater Katie Hopkins over her behaviour on the show.

Kristina, 36, and Simon, 27, are battling it out for the £100,000 plum job with Sir Alan Sugar.

They both made the final after Katie, 31, who had a fling with fellow contestant and ex-army lieutenant Paul Callaghan on the BBC One programme, dramatically bowed out.

Katie has boasted of affairs with three married men and of being "10 out of 10" in bed.

The blonde, who was recently photographed romping naked in a cornfield with a married man, has been sacked from her £90,000 job at the Met Office for bringing the organisation into disrepute.

Viewers will learn on Wednesday night whether single mother Kristina or former investment banker Simon beat 14 others to land the top prize.

Simon, now an internet entrepreneur, said: "I come from a broken home and I didn’t appreciate Katie’s actions.

"I didn’t think it should be something that is congratulated."

He said the focus on Katie "lowered the tone of the programme".

"It’s a bit of a sideshow that’s gone on which is unnecessary and superfluous.

Kristina also had a dig, saying: "We both went on this to portray our success as business people, nothing else.

"Did Katie bow out of the final? I don’t think she did. Sir Alan forced her. She knew what was coming. She’s not thick. She would have eventually got the axe."


Apprentice favourite Katie ’fired for real’ - June 12 2007
The woman who turned down the chance to win The Apprentice and bag a £100,000 job with Sir Alan Sugar has reportedly been fired from her real-life job.

Katie Hopkins stunned Sir Alan and her fellow contestants in last week’s programme when she turned down his offer of a place in tomorrow’s final.

She has now been fired from her £90,000 job with The Met Office following revelations about her private life, according to the Daily Mirror.

The paper said Katie, from Exeter, plans to take The Met Office to a tribunal over the decision to fire her from her job as a marketing consultant.

Her spokeswoman told the paper: "Recently the Met Office has become uncomfortable with the volume of media coverage she was attracting and in particular the many articles about her private life, which also happened to reference her place of work. She intends to appeal."

Sancha Lancaster, spokeswoman for the Met Office, said: "Katie was on a one-year probation like all new entrants and was constantly being assessed on performance, conduct, time-keeping and attendance."

The single mother of two claimed before entering the show that she was an "alpha female and a ruthless natural leader with a huge drive".

She impressed Sir Alan, who offered her a place in the final but she chose not to take it because of concerns about looking after her children.

Katie has since spoken out about her relationships with married men and with one of her Met Office colleagues.


’Posh’ Katie snubs Apprentice final - June 7 2007
Simon Ambrose and Kristina Grimes will battle it out in The Apprentice final after Katie Hopkins sensationally dropped out of the race.

Sir Alan Sugar offered Katie a place in the last two - but she turned it down, claiming she did not want to uproot her family at a moment’s notice.

The tycoon had already fired Lohit Kalburgi and had to choose two candidates from Simon, Kristina, Katie and Tre Azam.

"There are three other people in this room and it would really, really annoy me if you took this opportunity away from them," he told Katie.

At first she promised to move from her home in Exeter, Devon, to London and Sir Alan said: "Katie, I don’t want to lose my faith in mankind. You’re in the final, you’re staying. Just remember the things you’ve promised me."

Sir Alan went on to fire Tre.

But minutes later he noticed Katie’s glum expression and demanded: "You don’t look like a lady who’s just been told you’ve entered the final. There’s two people here that are very employable. Everyone would appreciate it if you spoke up."

The 31-year-old mother of two told him: "I’m making a decision without having the courtesy to speak to the people who care for my children. It’s a risk, it’s a discourtesy to my parents."

A furious Sir Alan snapped: "I haven’t got time to wait for you to make a phone call."

After a dramatic pause, Katie said: "I don’t want to make a fool of you or me. I think it’s more important to get the courtesy to have my plans in place, so I’ll have to stand down."


Apprentice Jadine fired by Sir Alan - May 24 2007
Apprentice loser Jadine Johnson has insisted she is not cracking up - despite bawling her eyes out on the show.

The 27-year-old single mum said she was emotional because she was missing her nine-year-old daughter, Ja-Dae.

Four years ago she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and hospitalised after battling chronic depression. Friends expressed fears that she would not be able to cope with the strain of competing for a £100,000 job with Sir Alan Sugar.

But Jadine said: "I went through that four or five years ago. I think it’s an awful thing to suggest I wouldn’t be able to cope now, and the wrong message to send out. When you come through something like that it shows your strength and what you can achieve. If I can help people who have been through similar situations, and be positive and move forward, I would love to do that. I hope I can."

Viewers saw her break down on the show and Tre accused her of being emotionally unstable.

Jadine said: "I was having a hard time because I was missing my daughter so much. Not having any contact with her was so hard. We rarely got to call home because filming the show was so hectic.

"My daughter was staying with my family. She was really excited about me being on TV and said she got butterflies when she watched me. It was quite emotional for her.

"When I was getting told off in the boardroom she was crying, ’Don’t talk to my mum like that!’ When we saw each other again she sat on my lap for about an hour and wouldn’t let go."

Jadine said appearing on The Apprentice had been "a life-changing experience". And she stuck up for Katie Hopkins, who has emerged as the bitchiest character on the show. She said: "I shared a room with Katie at one point and I got on with her really well. I think Katie is being witty when she says the things she does. People are taking it to mean she’s being awful, but they shouldn’t take her seriously. She’s just being funny."

Jadine was fired after her team failed their task selling to trade. Sir Alan told team leader Tre he had "messed up double-barrel" but decided to spare him.

Apprentice loser hits out at rivals - May 17 2007
Fired Apprentice Ghazal Asif has stuck the boot into her female rivals, saying: "You don’t have to be a bitch to succeed in business."

The 23-year-old Glaswegian became the ninth person to leave the BBC One show after being ’fired’ by Sir Alan Sugar.

The latest task saw the teams compete to design and develop a new trainer brand. Project manager Ghazal was on the losing side with arch-enemies Katie Hopkins and Kristina Grimes. Ghazal branded both women schemers.

And in a swipe at single mother Kristina, she said: "I absolutely think Kristina is more two-faced than Katie. But I feel sorry for her - if I was 35 and still relying on reality TV for a job, I’d be pretty miserable. Poor soul, she’s tried so hard for so long."

Katie has become the contestant viewers love to hate.

In Wednesday’s episode, she takes control of the task and rubbishes everyone else’s ideas, leaving the others wondering if she is deliberately trying to undermine Ghazal and get her fired.

Ghazal said: "I think I was naive about people who were maybe a bit scheming. It is certainly more challenging when you’re trying to lead a team and there’s so much bitching going on. Having watched the show, I’m wondering if I was just part of a game. Was it a plot against me?

"I trusted Katie 110%. During the show I loved her, I thought she had such an energy about her and really enjoyed working with her. She certainly wasn’t saying awful things to people’s faces, but looking back at her comments, I think ’Flipping hell!’ It’s a shame because Katie is still the most competent female in the house, but she said some vindictive things.

"I don’t know for a fact whether she was scheming against me though, so I wouldn’t want to say bad things about her."

But she added: "At the end of the day, The Apprentice is entertainment. The people who are the most entertaining will get the most airtime. Then there are people like me who get their heads down and get on with it. It was important for me to be true to myself. I don’t think you have to be a bitch to get on in business."

Sacked Adam rounds on rival Katie - May 9 2007
Adam Hosker has launched a stinging attack on Apprentice rival Katie Hopkins after being fired by Sir Alan Sugar.

The former car sales manager from Blackburn in Lancashire, said his 31-year-old rival dismissed multi-millionaire Sir Alan as thick.

And Adam said many of the candidates, including Katie, didn’t actually want the prized job with the Amstrad tycoon but were simply using the BBC One show to get publicity for their own businesses.

The 28-year-old was booted out of The Apprentice on his record fourth consecutive appearance in the boardroom after his team failed their latest task.

He said: "Katie is a complete and utter snob. She was offended at my northernness and my working class background.

"She didn’t think I had any right to be there. She sees me and Kristina (Grimes) as a threat. Kristina because she’s Irish and me because I’m northern.

"Katie thinks Sir Alan is thick. She told me that in the car on the way back from a task. She doesn’t rate Sir Alan, she’s there to publicise herself.

"It’s bizarre that she’s still there. She doesn’t want the job. She just wants to use The Apprentice to enhance her business as a global brand consultant."

He added: "I think I’m the only person that actually went into the show to get the job.

"It surprises me that people come out and already have a business set up, like the wine bar (being opened by Natalie Wood), and the Zeppelin flights (Robert Laing)."

Apprentice loser blasts accent ’stereotype’ - April 26 2007
A housewife booted off The Apprentice has criticised Adrian Chiles, the presenter of the show’s spin-off programme, for perpetuating a "lame stereotype" about Essex accents.

Natalie Wood was fired by Sir Alan Sugar after he told the mother-of-two she was "out of her depth".

The 30-year-old was hauled to the boardroom and left the BBC One show in tears after her team made the least cash while selling modern art to the public.

But the blonde criticised Adrian, who has a distinctive Brummie accent, for asking on the Apprentice spin-off show if her Essex accent held her back.

She said: "He asked me whether I felt my accent hindered me in my particular task, whether I feel that people stereotype me because of my accent.

"It’s not my problem. I find the question very hard to take when Sir Alan, a multi-millionaire, is sitting opposite me with the same accent.

"It’s a lame stereotype. It didn’t offend me but it might offend other people that are thinking, ’What’s wrong with an accent’?

"He did say he had problems with his own accent but it is playing a bit of a fine line, stereotyping someone and prejudicing people. We all know what that does. I obviously just played it down."

The sixth person to leave the show, Natalie, who has an Open University MBA in business administration and a French degree, tipped "driven" Kristina Grimes to win.



Dr Sophie fired from The Apprentice - April 19 2007
A quantum physicist fired from The Apprentice by Sir Alan Sugar has admitted that she will never be rich.

Dr Sophie Kain, 32, who was competing for a six-figure salaried job with Sir Alan, was booted off when she struggled to sell lollipops to children at London Zoo.

She complained in the boardroom that she did not want to sell something that she did not believe was "value for money".

Sir Alan replied: "This is the real world love, this is not your scientific protons and neutrons. That’s what retailers do. It’s the pot calling the kettle black.

"The pharmaceutical industry are the biggest culprits going. These pills that we’re popping all the time curing diseases, cost fractions of pennies to produce and then the National Health Service is laying out £500 a pill.

"I’m wondering, have I got another one here who should really stick to what they know? ... You’re Fired!"

Speaking about her exit from the BBC1 show, Dr Kain said: "I’ve learnt from the programme that I value my principles more than money.

"I’m never going to be rich but I am going to be successful."

She added: "I didn’t believe in pushing lollipops to kids. I thought what we were asked to do was a little bit intimidating."

Dr Kain, from Gwent in Wales, who has a PHD in Theoretical Physics, said she was returning to her former job as principal research scientist and is also setting up an internet advisory service.

Sir Alan boots Gerri off show- April 12 2007
Gerri Blackwood, the latest person to be booted off The Apprentice, insists she has no regrets about turning down a job at MI5.

The 33-year-old was fired after Sir Alan Sugar dubbed her a "washer woman".

She is now backing tough financial advisor Jadine Johnson, 27, to win the third series of the hit BBC1 show.

Blackwood, from Woking in Surrey, was on the losing team which wanted to turn Sir Alan’s money into profit by setting up a kissogram service. They made only £265 compared to £389 by the rival team, who set up a gardening business, almost doubling Sir Alan’s money.

Sir Alan tells the women’s team: "It don’t sound too great to me. Sounds like another old profession I’ve heard of."

He fires Blackwood after telling her, team leader Naomi Lay and Johnson in the boardroom that he "has had enough of ...washer women arguing with each other".

Blackwood said: "I’ve no regrets about turning down MI5. Five days before filming started it was made clear to me that it was one or another. I couldn’t choose both.

"I really thought about it, and for me there’s still no regrets."

She said of Sir Alan: "He does exactly what it says on the tin. I thought that he’d not be as scary as all that and might be a bit of a pussy cat, but he’s not. I’ve got a large amount of respect for him."

The former Transport Development Manager has lined up a job with an engineering consultancy and is also hoping to market a yachting product patented by her father-in-law.

Kate’s ex-boss booted off The Apprentice - April 5 2007
Kate Middleton’s former employer and an ex-police officer have both been kicked off The Apprentice TV show.

Public school educated Rory Laing, now 28, second cousin to the late Princess Diana, got the boot after leading failing team Eclipse.

Rory, from Bristol, now hopes to set up a new business - offering trips across the capital with a German Zeppelin airship operator.

Ifti Chaudhri, 36, from Egham, Surrey, was also fired after telling Sir Alan Sugar his mind was on his family.

The black belt in martial arts and former policeman was on the same team as Rory but hid the fact he has a degree in product design, despite being tasked with creating a "pooch pouch".

Their team only made a profit of £565 from selling the product.

Sir Alan told Rory, who used to employ Kate; "I hear you’ve been a bankrupt twice, there’s no shame in it. Well Rory. Here’s the hat-trick, you’re fired."

He told Ifti: "You’re a good family man, but business is business as you’ll appreciate."

Rory said of his sacking: "Whoever leads the task gets the blame. I don’t regret the show at all."

Ifti is returning to the tile business and hopes to open a chain of stores.

He said: "When I left home my one-year-old son was pretty ill. Leaving in that sort of circumstance was not a good thing. We were not allowed any type of contact."

Double firing for apprentices? - April 1 2007
Not one but two apprentices could face Sir Alan Sugar’s wrath next week as he’s apparently set to bark "you’re fired!" at a pair of contestants.

For the first time in the history of BBC1 hit The Apprentice, the business mogul is so disappointed with the losing team he sacks two of them, the Daily Mirror reports.

Although a spokesman for the show refused to confirm the news, the paper claims Sir Alan fires the first loser and then says to the remaining pair: "I’m telling you now - as unusual as it is - one of you is still going to get fired."

He reportedly adds to the unfortunate team members: "I told you never to underestimate me. And don’t try to second guess what I’ll do."

In the second episode of the hit show, Sir Alan apparently gets the groups to design and sell an accessory for dog owners.

"People love their dogs, they’ll spend a fortune on gadgets and trinkets. Come up with something for these nutters to buy," the paper quotes Sir Alan as saying.

Father of three told ’you’re fired’ - Mar 29 2007
Father-of-three Andy Jackson has suffered the indignity of becoming the first person to be kicked off the new series of The Apprentice - but says he had no regrets.

The former car salesman was booted off after taking on the role of team leader in a coffee-making task, and his team, Stealth, got knocked out by their rivals.

The 36-year-old, from Leeds but now living in Kirriemuir, Scotland, and the oldest of the 16 candidates, lasted on the BBC One show for just a week.

The married father of Adam, eight, Harry, five, and Sam, four, said: "I need to look after my kids. But this has been a stepping stone.

"I lost wages and time. Going on the show cost me around £10,000 in wages and I now have to find another job. I am trying to find ways of paying the mortgage at the moment.

"But I had to take the risk. I was always a gambling man and if I was in the final 16 of a poker game from 10,000 people I would be a fool not to continue."

He said he hated being told "You’re Fired" by Amstrad boss Sir Alan.

"But I’ve had knockbacks in my life and it’s about how you pick yourself up. Unfortunately the project manager always gets fired on the first week.

"I was working 12 to 13 hours a day, six days a week, as a car sales manager and I needed a change. Going on The Apprentice was an absolutely superb opportunity."

Apprentice hopefuls fired up for show - Mar 28 2007
The new series of The Apprentice kicks off tonight.

The show, transferred from BBC Two to BBC One, will see 16 candidates battling it out for a £100,000-a-year plum job with Amstrad tycoon Sir Alan Sugar.

This year’s contestants include a quantum physicist, a would-be secret agent and Kate Middleton’s former boss.

An ex-Army lieutenant, a housewife, two car salesmen and three single mothers are also among the hopefuls in the third series.

All the contestants have quit their jobs to take part in the show and many have come from humble beginnings like Sir Alan.

But in the first show, due to be shown at 9pm tonight, he warns them: "The worst kind of schmooze that I can’t stand is ’Sir Alan, I’m just like you - I came from a humble background and worked my way up’. Well, don’t lay that rubbish on me."

Each week an apprentice will hear Sir Alan’s famous catchphrase: "You’re fired."

The two teams will live together in a multi-million pound mansion in Notting Hill, west London.

Last year’s winner Michelle Dewberry quit her £100,000 job with Sir Alan.

The former supermarket checkout girl has since written her autobiography and appeared on a BBC celebrity hairdressing show.

She also had a well-publicised affair with fellow candidate Syed Ahmed but the couple split after she lost their unborn baby.

Sir Alan recently admitted: "Last year I wasn’t particularly impressed with the calibre of candidates."

Contenders line up for The Apprentice - Mar 21 2007
A quantum physicist, a would-be secret agent and Kate Middleton’s former boss are among the candidates in the new series of The Apprentice.

An ex-Army lieutenant, a housewife, two car salesmen and three single mothers are also among the hopefuls.

The third series of the hit show is returning with 16 candidates battling it out for a £100,000-a-year job with Sir Alan Sugar.

More than 10,000 hopefuls applied for the show, which has transferred from BBC Two to BBC One and kicks off on March 28.

Among the eight male contenders is Rory Laing, 27, who previously ran an upmarket catering firm supplying public school-educated bar staff - and once employed Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton.

He said of her in 2004: "I pay her only £5.25 an hour. But she’s pretty, so she takes plenty in tips."

The female hopefuls include Gerri Blackwood, a 33-year-old from Woking, Surrey, who gave up a job offer with MI5 to take part in The Apprentice after being offered both in the same day.

Her competition includes Katie Hopkins, 31, a global brand consultant from Exeter, Devon, who was sponsored through university by the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Brainiest of the bunch is quantum physicist Dr Sophie Kain, 32, from Llanellen in Wales.

The other men include Paul Callaghan, 27, from Southampton, who graduated from Sandhurst and spent six months serving as an infantry commander in Basra.

Adam Hosker, also 27 and from Blackburn, Lancashire, is a car salesman who grew up on a council estate and used to sell match programmes at Blackburn Rovers.


Related Link:
Sir Alan Sugar

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