Lord Alan Sugar’s bid to find a new apprentice each year has become something of a BBC staple. The Apprentice has been running now for a huge 15 series.
Kary Brady and Claude Littner are on-hand as Lord Sugar’s trusty advisors in 2019. The new series saw a group of hopeful entrepreneurs grace our screens from pillow salesmen to beauty brand owners.
The show has been accused of being fixed and scripted in the past. So, is The Apprentice scripted? We find out from one of the 2019 contestants!

Is The Apprentice scripted?
Reality Titbit had the pleasure of speaking with The Apprentice 2019 candidate, Dean Ahmad in November 2019.
We asked Dean, who’s the Managing Director of Fine Edge Cricket, if the show is at all scripted. He said: “No it’s not scripted. Generally, a very small percentage of what you see makes it onto the show. It takes about 128 hours of filming to make an hour-long show.”
According to Dean, what we see on TV is actually what goes down. He said: “In episode 2, I thought I was going to get fired. I thought I was quite a confident person going into the show but when Alan Sugar’s been grilling you for three or four hours, it’s intense.”
In episode 2, Sir Alan said the words: “I’m sorry, my friend, but it is unforgivable that you’ve lost the potential of £300 worth of profit for this task. Unforgivable. ”
And because of this, Dean said: “I thought I was a goner” but added that he appreciates Lord Sugar wants to test each candidate as a person as well as business people.
- JUST WONDERED: Do the Apprentice products get sold? Where does the money go?
How edited is the show?
As Dean told Reality Titbit, there’s a lot of filming that goes into making The Apprentice.
One of the most interesting points that Dean made was that the segment that we see in the board room at the end of the episode is actually a full day.
The contestants spend a whole day in the boardroom where one team says their piece for an hour, then the other team defends themselves and they also spend time consulting at the cafe.
Dean said: “It really builds up the tension, it goes on for a long time.”
What is it like to be on The Apprentice?
Speaking to Reality Titbit, Dean described his Apprentice experience as “intense, really good and massively overwhelming.”
The 20-year-old has experienced a fair deal of negative comments on social media since appearing on the show. Especially after his shot at PM during episode 7 on the Finland Advertising task.
Many viewers took to Twitter to call Dean out, saying that he didn’t contribute to the task or lead his team.
Others have taken to social media to point out his rosy cheeks. But the Apprentice star makes a valid point of saying his face colouring up was a result of being thoroughly grilled by Alan Sugar in the boardroom!
Who can blame him!
- PILLARS FOR SALE: See Thomas Skinner’s pillow company: Apprentice star serious about sleep!
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