Charles Burns in his quirky eyewear and with Lord Alan Sugar, below

THE Apprentice contestant Charles Burns has laughed off the chatter about his choice of eyewear.

Fans of the show have been delighted by its return - and there’s been a lot of talk about the quirky eyewear worn by Charles, from Prestwich, fellow contestant Michaela Wain, from Bolton, and Elizabeth McKenna.

Charles’ stylish pair of spectacles have drawn comparisons to popular wizard Harry Potter. He told us: “Look on Twitter and there are comments about Harry Potter and Penfold. People do get involved.

“They are a nice pair of glasses and week one it was a talking point.

“The response was amazing and 100 per cent we laughed about it. You forget that one in 10 people watch the show and my glasses are recognised.

“I went out with my wife and people were stopping me for a picture. People point and say ‘The Apprentice’. It’s fun.”

Luxury watch trader Charles, 24, has his own company Charles Burns Consultancy.

And from a young age he has worked for the family jewellery business Burns Jewellers, which is known for its iconic flagship Arthur Kays store on Market Street in Manchester city centre, and was hailed as a whizz-kid in the jewellery industry.

Charles has been in the firing line on the BBC One reality show twice so far.

And he says the drive from the cafe, where they consider their fate, to the boardroom feels like the ‘longest drive in the world’. “I have been watching the show, since I was 11 years old and I was a kid selling sweets on the school bus,” he said.

“It’s always been something I am interested in. I applied for Junior Apprentice and got through a couple of stages. I’ve always been businessfocused.”