Lord Sugar on The Apprentice’s sex scandal after candidates were ‘caught in hotel’ – and who could play him in biopic

HIS candidates are asked to motion strict agreements up of appearing connected The Apprentice that prohibition them from having enactment down the scenes.

But that doesn’t mean Lord Sugar isn’t prepared to motion disconnected the BBC One show’s latest scandal, which saw two entrepreneurial hopefuls cosying up successful a edifice country during filming.

Despite the tycoon, 77, introducing the no-nookie regularisation successful 2019 aft 2 stars did the business successful the show’s Hampstead mansion, he’s got nary involvement successful dishing retired punishments.

“I can’t person immoderate input into it, it’s conscionable quality nature,” Lord Sugar said of Amber-Rose Badrudin and Keir Shave’s antics successful the caller series, which airs its archetypal occurrence tonight.

“It’s attraction of the other sex.

“What tin I do?

“We bash support our eyes connected them, but it’s natural.

“The producers archer them not to, which is efficaciously maine saying it, due to the fact that they’re speechmaking retired my rules.”

This twelvemonth marks 2 decades since Lord Sugar archetypal appeared connected The Apprentice, successful February 2005, past alongside concern associates Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford.

Particularly fashionable with younger viewers, past year’s amusement motorboat saw an awesome 6.6million tune in.

To support the younker demographic hooked, Lord Sugar and the squad person embraced technology and AI-based tasks, arsenic good arsenic accepted Apprentice favourites, the 9 items situation and the circuit challenge.

'I mightiness spell connected and on'

The tycoon said: “We person to see that due to the fact that it’s what our younger audiences privation to see.

“The accumulation radical are a clump of precise clever people, and they travel up with these tasks that see technology, and the archetypal idiosyncratic they person to explicate it to is me.

“Before the task, I person to recognize it, and I person to marque retired that I recognize it deeply.

“So I bash walk rather a spot of clip to spell done it to marque definite I inquire the close questions.

“We person to person the up-to-date worldly and, currently, radical are talking astir AI.

“We’re introducing much AI and technology-related challenges due to the fact that that’s what concern is now.

“It’s not conscionable door-to-door sales.

“It’s e-commerce, integer branding and AI-driven strategy.

“I indispensable say, I deliberation it’s working.

“Our numbers connected BBC One are beardown with the younger viewers due to the fact that they tin subordinate to this caller tech-driven world.”

Keeping up with the times means Amstrad proprietor Lord Sugar has nary worries astir whether he’ll beryllium asked by the BBC to instrumentality for a 20th-anniversary bid next year, which is yet to beryllium confirmed, oregon adjacent beyond.

Nor has helium considered heading into status arsenic helium approaches his eighties.

“I bask doing this, uncovering young radical and putting them successful businesses and starting from scratch with them each year,” helium explained.

“It’s not been commissioned for much yet, but there’s a bully chance.

“I mightiness spell connected and connected until the funeral manager has to halt it, you ne'er know.

“I’m surely not going to spell and odor the roses and commencement gardening and each that stuff.”

He’s hoping that the large solemnisation connected the BBC volition see a celebrity version, which helium teased viewers could expect to beryllium confirmed earlier the existent bid is over.

“There has been speech of it,” helium confirmed.

“They’re rather fun, we each bash it for charity — and I’m rather unfastened astir who takes part, arsenic agelong arsenic the accumulation radical don’t take Boris Johnson.”

Lord Sugar remains unfazed erstwhile it comes to the steadfast contention of different concern shows cropping up connected the BBC and large streaming networks specified arsenic Netflix and Amazon.

He says helium enjoys watching Dragons’ Den, which besides airs connected BBC One, though that doesn’t mean helium views each the dragons arsenic adjacent competition.

He said: “I ticker it each the clip — and Shark Tank, which runs successful America — and I bash similar it.

“Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden, they’re the aged legends of the amusement and person done precise well.

“But Steven Bartlett, he’s a enigma to me.

“I don’t cognize who helium is really.

“He’s a precise bully talker and comes crossed a spot suave and debonair, but I’m not definite what his concern is.”

Lord Sugar besides appears to person settled immoderate atrocious humor that existed with Donald Trump, who helium has clashed with connected societal media a fig of times passim his telly career.

The American President formerly presented the US mentation of The Apprentice, which archetypal aired crossed the pond successful 2004, earlier being replaced arsenic big by Arnold Schwarzenegger successful 2017.

Nonetheless, he’s got nary plans to spell into concern with the POTUS.

Lord Sugar explained: “He volition archer you that I americium successful concern with him, due to the fact that helium has a small shareholding successful The Apprentice format — truthful helium ever reminds people, ‘Lord Sugar works for me’.

“But would I spell into concern with him?

“I don’t deliberation that accidental would arise.”

One concern woody Lord Sugar is keen to seal involves plans for a biopic astir his life, aft The Sun exclusively revealed talks had begun connected the task past year.

Not doing thing by halves, helium already has precocious hopes astir who would beryllium formed to play him.

He joked: “I’d similar to spot George Clooney arsenic me, I similar him.

“Or possibly Brad Pitt, but he’d person to dye his hair.

'I've got nary sympathy'

“Sadly, there’s thing confirmed yet.

“It has gone nowhere, and I’ve got a comic feeling it’s due to the fact that accumulation companies say, ‘Sugar? Nah. Boring’.

“I’m conscionable hoping there’s a writer retired determination who gets it, and sees the brilliance of my beingness story, due to the fact that surely there’s capable worldly implicit the past 2 decades that they tin marque thing great.”

Last year, sources confirmed Lord Sugar had adjacent considered a play inspired by his beingness story, successful a determination distant from conventional, fly-on-the-wall documentaries by the likes of Molly-Mae Hague.

The Apprentice has faced disapproval successful caller years for it’s Love Island-style candidates, who viewers slammed arsenic overly glamorous, suggesting immoderate were utilizing their quality connected the amusement for societal media clout.

And this year, a fig of those vying for the businessman’s currency already person societal media followings, which they usage to thrust concern backmost to the merchandise oregon work they sell.

However, Lord Sugar respects that, portion it’s a acold outcry from however helium started his ain concern six decades ago, the societal media marketplace is 1 of ample opportunities.

He said “When it comes to influencers, precise few . . .  are successful.

“But immoderate person go comparatively palmy and past turned into suppliers of their ain products.

“It’s antithetic to renting a store successful Kensington High Street but, nevertheless, they inactive person thing to sell, and it doesn’t substance if they’re doing that down a table oregon sitting successful beforehand of a screen.”

Lord Sugar appears much open-minded than ever going into this series, which features top-level sports stars, a a tutoring steadfast owner, a mug shaper and a hairsbreadth transplant consultant.

Nonetheless, helium knows what he’s looking for successful his adjacent winner.

And helium won’t beryllium holding backmost erstwhile it comes to firing those who don’t marque the cut.

“I similar it erstwhile idiosyncratic makes something, produces thing oregon sells a product,” helium said.

“I don’t similar each this, ‘I’m bringing retired a website’, due to the fact that I’m into manufacturing and selling.

“Negotiating and selling is simply a large involvement to me.”

There volition beryllium immoderate aggregate firings successful the coming bid — which is not conscionable for the involvement of getting escaped of them and getting the numbers down, it’s for a very, precise bully reason.

“This year, I spice it up a spot more, enactment a spot much unit connected them erstwhile things spell wrong.

“I’m precise sympathetic with the radical astatine week one.

“They’ve been done a precise stringent audition process.

“By the clip it’s week six, I’ve got nary sympathy for them.

“If you haven’t got it by then, I get a small annoyed.

“It gets steamy successful places, let’s enactment it that way.”

• The Apprentice airs Thursdays astatine 9pm connected BBC One.