You’ll be fired...Apprentice judge warns wannabe fakes
THE new batch of business wannabes competing in TV’s The Apprentice have been warned that over-confident fakes have no chance of winning.
Sixteen contestants line up in the show’s 14th series, which kicks off tonight, hoping to land a £250,000 investment for their business and the chance to have Lord Sugar as a partner.
But the tycoon’s right-hand man, Claude Littner, fired a warning shot across their bows by saying he will be keeping a close watch on their attitude – and to see if they are genuine.
He said: “You have got to find out who is faking it and who is the real deal. With an interview like this you might come away thinking, ‘He’s such a super bloke, that Claude.’ But if you saw me for 12 weeks in a row you might form a different opinion.
“As The Apprentice unfolds, you get an understanding of the candidates and whether they have the physical and mental stamina and will to win.”
Former Tottenham Hotspur chief Claude and businesswoman Karren Brady help screen hopefuls for Lord Sugar – catchphrase “You’re Fired!”– as he sets them weekly tasks. Claude went on: “I don’t particularly like someone who is overly confident, or someone who is a bit jaded.
“Those things concern me. You need strength of character because I can’t emphasise how many new start-ups fail.
“Then again, you don’t want someone so passionate that it overrides all common sense.
“Very often you get people on The Apprentice and in life who look as though they have got all the right qualities, but their character is such that they could easily lose that ambition when things start going wrong.”
The Apprentice starts BBC One tonight at 9pm. on