Apprentice winner Joseph Valente today blasts his former mentor Lord Alan Sugar’s show as a BBC borefest, insisting: “He’s gone soft.” The plumber-turned-multi-millionaire – who won the contest in 2015 – called for a shake-up of the series. Valente, 35, slammed the formula as being stale and dismissed plans for a celebrity edition.
And he even insisted that a show featuring Lord Sugar’s former star pupils would make far better TV. Speaking to the Mirror as Anisa Khan and Dean Franklin fight for the £250,000 investment in tomorrow night’s final, Valente said: “The Apprentice was a bear pit early on, summed up by withering looks from Lord Sugar and that devastating ‘You’re fired’.
“It made me sharper. But today’s candidates? Too much talk, not enough substance. So it’s time to shake things up or risk the show losing all relevance. The Sugar fear factor has been watered down – he’s even cracking jokes now – and candidates seem to be chosen for ‘reality TV’ rather than genuine business experience and ambition.
“That’s why an all-winners special would be a great reset for the show when it celebrates its 20th season. It could review how those earlier, and I say more hardened winners, fared after facing down the Lord Sugar frown, and remind us of a lost edge.
“When I was on the show, we were up at 4am and pitching, selling, designing under real pressure. And that isn’t going to be front and centre in an all-celebrity edition, which is another stale idea, as they’ve done several as part of Comic Relief – which says it all.”
Valente also said he was ready to slip into Lord Sugar’s chair, saying: “Lord Sugar’s a titan of British industry as well as a TV star, but he’s 78 now. He must fancy stepping down, and the 20th season would be a fitting moment. Of course, Baroness Karren Brady has long been at his side and would make a brilliant chair, but I’d love the chance to bring real business energy back to the format.
“I’m still in the trenches, building companies. I know what today’s entrepreneurs face and if The Apprentice wants to evolve, I’d love to drive it.”
Valente won season 11 in 2015 and has mentored thousands of small business owners, builders, electricians and plumbers under the umbrella of his £10million Trade Mastermind empire. But he previously spilled the beans on the show’s biggest secrets – from intense business plan grillings to task “sabotage”.
He said: “Back in 2015 the production team made it crystal clear that there was to be no ‘goings on’ and everybody had to stay in their own beds away from the opposite sex. ‘You’re here to do a serious business show’, they insisted. The ban remains, but I think it’s an open secret now that things happen. When I was on The Apprentice it was still a relatively serious business show.
“Now, it’s ‘Love Island In Suits! In 2015, we weren’t allowed to use social media either while involved with the show. Now it’s a self-promotion free for all. The more drama and attention, the more eyeballs. We live in a click bait world, so scandals boost the ratings.
“What hasn’t changed is the stresses and strains on the contestants, which are carefully orchestrated and are even worse than you assume from the TV footage.”
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