Lord Sugar is on the hunt for his next ‘big time’ business partner and someone that is going to make him millions.
And after whittling down thousands of applications and holding countrywide auditions, the mogul, 74, was horrified to discover that his latest recruits had made him a financial loss during the show’s first task.
The 18 candidates are challenged with hosting a luxury away day in the Scottish Highlands but the paying customers are left far from satisfied.
An embarrassing cockup in the kitchen resulted in one team garnishing fish cakes in sweet crumble instead of breadcrumbs as the rival group served up cold food 45 minutes after it had left the oven.
The mistakes didn’t go unnoticed by Lord Sugar’s trusted aids Baroness Karren Brady, 54, and Tim Campbell, 46, who shuddered with pity over the contestant’s shambolic efforts.
Lord Sugar is on the hunt for his next ‘big time’ business partner and someone that is going to make him millions
After whittling down thousands of applications and holding countrywide auditions, the mogul was horrified to discover that his latest recruits had made him a financial loss
The 18 candidates are challenged with hosting a luxury away day in the Scottish Highlands but the paying customers are left far from satisfied
An embarrassing cockup in the kitchen resulted in one team garnishing fish cakes in sweet crumble instead of breadcrumbs
Split into men and women’s teams, Karren, who oversaw the females, said the fish cakes were one of the worst things she had ever tasted.
She added: ‘It’s obviously crumble on a fishcake… it is disgusting.’
Lord Sugar, who’s been at the helm of the BBC show for the past 18 years, says the useless display from the candidates is the reason why he doesn’t oversee the tasks himself.
He said: ‘I will leave that to Karren and Tim… it was a tough one but if I was there, I would probably have had to jump in and do the cooking.’
The billionaire remarked that watching the mistakes from the under pressure contestants unravel was like ‘seeing your mother in law drive your Ferrari over a cliff.’
There were even more failings in the kitchen from the men, who despite being led by pie company owner Phil Turner, served up stone cold sausages.
Sales executive Oliver Medforth appeared to shock himself after forgetting to include the flour while making a batch of brownies for dessert – having to start over again.
Instead of their ‘welcome drink’ being a glass of bubbles, they gave guests tap water.
And time overran during the abseiling part of the task to such an extent that project manager Virdi Singh Mazaria left his paying customers with just four minutes to enjoy a half hour long Scottish country dance lesson – because they had to get the train home.
Sales executive Oliver Medforth appeared to shock himself after forgetting to include the flour while making a batch of brownies for dessert – having to start over again
Karren says seeing the candidates make mistakes is one of the reasons viewers love to watch the show and entrepreneurs even learn what to avoid when running their own businesses
Contestants including yoga company owner Onyeka Nweze, Maura Rath, Noor Bouziane, Raj Chohan and Sam Saadet (top row L-R) are competing for Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment
The female team were triumphant, leaving one of the male contestants at risk of being fired by Lord Sugar
The most mortifying moment of the show’s first episode, which airs on Thursday night, came from recruitment director Jack Davies who had the audacity to ask disgruntled guests for a ‘tip’, which went down like a lead balloon.
But Karren says seeing the candidates make mistakes is one of the reasons viewers love to watch the show – and entrepreneurs even learn what to avoid when running their own businesses.
She said: ‘There’s no script in this show and everything that unfolds, unfolds, it’s authentic, it’s real.
‘Lots of people watch this show to see what to do in business and what not to do. As it unfolds, the viewers see it… there are no retakes.’
Once Lord Sugar has plucked out the weak from the strong contestants, they begin to thrive and finally put money in the bank.
Karren revealed this year’s crop earn the ‘greatest win in terms of value’ as they manage to impress the boss, who’s giving away £250,000 of his own money to the winner.
She said: ‘I’m talking millions… so some of them really come shining to the top.’
