APPRENTICE ‘JUST LIKE LOVE ISLAND’
Public turn off Sugar’s show of twentysomething reality fodder
FANS of The Apprentice have complained the show – which has its youngest ever group of candidates – is morphing into Love Island.
The series, on which nine of this year’s 16 hopefuls are in their 20s, also suffered a social media backlash yesterday with viewers saying it was long past its sell-by date.
Former fans said the BBC1 show, now in its 16th series, was no longer fun to watch and was instead “cringeworthy” and a “car crash”.
At least three contestants hoping to win Lord Sugar’s £250,000 injection into their business have previously appeared on reality TV shows and many have posted swimwear shots on social media.
It seems at odds with Lord Sugar’s declaration that being an entrepreneur is not just a youngsters’ game.
The tech-turned-property guru had admitted he was an “old fart” but said being an entrepreneur was open to all.
This year’s oldest contestant, 48-year old American Amy Anzel, was on the first series of The Bachelor back in 2002. She may have more experience than most but has suffered setbacks – six years ago she ran a theatre production company which went bust owing almost £1million. Figures for her firm Sunday Monday Ltd, which put on a production of Happy Days the Musical, showed it owed £960,568 to investors and suppliers when it collapsed in 2016. Millionaire’s son Navid Sole has gone one better and appeared on two previous reality shows, When Rich Kids Go Skint and Eating with my Ex. Kathryn Louise Burn, 29, emerged as the victorious project manager on Thursday’s debut show after her idea, Bouji Cruises, proved slightly less dreadful than the boys. Kathryn, who runs an online pyjama company, appeared on The Island with Bear Grylls in 2017 and regularly posts pictures of herself in skimpy swimwear.
Others joining in with buff beach shots of themselves include Stephanie Affleck, Akeem Bundu-Kamara, Alex Short and Conor Gilsenan.
It’s yet to emerge whether any of the group enjoyed a romance during filming but in past years producers have had to issue warnings about staying in their own bedrooms.
After the first episode aired, many said they were reaching for the remote. One viewer complained: “They all look as if they’re auditioning to get on the celeb/ reality TV gravy train. They’ve got their eyes on Strictly, Jungle, Celeb Masterchef, Pointless, Chase etc, the list of TV programmes for wannabes is endless. Doubt any of them give a toss about Apprentice.”