‘Apprentice was so bad for business’
A STAR of The Apprentice has blamed the show for ruining his life.
David Stevenson lost his business within months of competing on the BBC series in 2015.
He said: “Doing the show made it very difficult to do business. Everybody wanted to be seen with ‘David from The Apprentice’ but no one wanted to sign on the dotted line.
“They didn’t want to do business with me. Before long my business dissolved. I had to make five members of my staff redundant because of The Apprentice.
“I lost contracts, I lost money, I lost work. I went from having a limited company to working solo and doing freelance work.
“I’ve realised now how much The Apprentice can f*** your life up.”
David came close to the breadline after his career fell apart.
He added: “When you’ve got no money coming in, how do you pay the bills? At times I was scratching my head, thinking ‘how am I going to pay my phone bill?’. I couldn’t afford it.
“The show had a negative impact on me. It put strain on my relationship too. When I started losing money it caused friction.
“You could argue that if I hadn’t done the show I would be better off financially than I am now. You could say it messed me up a little bit. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone on it.”
David hopes speaking out will come as a warning to future contestants.
He said: “I’m doing OK now, but it is still a real struggle. If anyone told me they think going on The Apprentice will make them rich and successful, I’d want to slap them with a wet fish and tell them that’s not going to happen.”
David signed up for new reality show Make or Break with long-term partner Beth in a bid to change his reputation.
He said: “When you’re on The Apprentice there is a stigma. People think you’re cocky, an idiot and that you think you’re too good for everyone else.
“I thought Make or Break would be the perfect opportunity to show the UK audience who I really am.”
Make or Break starts tomorrow at 10pm on Channel 5.