The Apprentice (UK series four)

The Apprentice UK
 
 

Series Four

Series Four of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2008 from 26 March to 11 June on BBC One.[1] Production of the series took place the previous year between September and October,[2] with auditions and interviews reported to had taken place in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol during the first two weeks of July 2007,[3] with a record of 20,000 applications made for participation on the show to be on the show that year.[4] Sixteen candidates took part,[5] and the two teams were named Alpha and Renaissance throughout its run, with Lee McQueen winning the series.

Four specials were aired during 2008 - "The Worst Decisions Ever" on 3 April, "Motor Mouths" on 18 April, "The Final Five" on 2 June, and another edition of "Why I Fired Them" on 8 June.

Candidates

Candidate Background Original team Age Result
Lee McQueen Recruitment Sales Manager Renaissance 30 Hired by Sugar
Claire Young Senior Retail Buyer Alpha 29 Runner-up
Helene Speight Global Pricing Leader Alpha 32 Fired in the middle of the Final
Alex Wotherspoon Regional Sales Manager Renaissance 24 Fired in the middle of the Final
Lucinda Ledgerwood Risk Manager Alpha 31 Fired in week 11
Michael Sophocles Telesales Executive Renaissance 24 Fired in week 10
Raef Bjayou Entrepreneur Renaissance 27 Fired in week 9
Sara Dhada International Car Trader Alpha 25 Fired in week 8
Jennifer Maguire Marketing Consultant Alpha 27 Fired in week 7
Jenny Celerier Sales Manager Alpha 36 Fired in week 7
Kevin Shaw Bank Manager Renaissance 24 Fired in week 6
Lindi Mngaza Business Liaison Manager Alpha 22 Fired in week 5
Simon Smith Engineer Renaissance 35 Fired in week 4
Ian Stringer Software Sales Manager Renaissance 26 Fired in week 3
Shazia Wahab Mosaic Artist and Company Director Alpha 35 Fired in week 2
Nicholas de Lacy-Brown Trainee Barrister, Artist and Property Developer Renaissance 24 Fired in week 1

Weekly results

Elimination chart
Candidate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Lee IN IN IN IN IN IN WININ IN WININ HIRED
Claire WININ IN BR WIN BR BR IN BR BR IN RUNNER-UP
Helene IN IN IN WININ IN IN LOSE IN BR IN FIRED
Alex LOSE IN IN BR IN IN IN IN WININ IN FIRED
Lucinda IN BR IN IN LOSE IN IN WIN IN IN FIRED
Michael IN IN IN IN IN WIN BR BR BR FIRED
Raef BR WININ IN IN IN IN IN FIRED
Sara IN IN WININ IN BR IN FIRED
Jennifer IN IN IN IN BR IN FIRED
Jenny IN LOSEIN IN IN IN FIRED
Kevin IN IN BR IN IN FIRED
Lindi IN IN IN IN FIRED
Simon IN IN BR FIRED
Ian IN IN FIRED
Shazia IN FIRED
Nicholas FIRED
     The candidate was on the winning team; for Week 11, they managed to pass the interview stage.
     The candidate was on the losing team.
     The candidate was hired and won The Apprentice.
     The candidate was the runner-up.
     The candidate won as project manager on his/her team.
     The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team.
     The candidate was brought to the final boardroom.
     The candidate was fired.
     The candidate lost as project manager and was fired.

Episodes

Week 1: Fishy Business

Week 2: A Dirty Job

Week 3: Cooking with Gas

Week 4: Photo Finish

Week 5: Mid-Series Sales

Week 6: Yours Truly, Angry Mob

Week 7: Marrakesh

Week 8: Wedding Hell

Week 9: Tissues

Week 10: Re-inventing the Wheel

Week 11: Interviews

Week 12: The Final

Related programmes

Four additional hour-long specials accompanied Series Four; The Apprentice: Worst Decisions Ever, The Apprentice: Motor Mouths, each revisiting candidates from the previous three series and two candidate profile programmes entitled The Apprentice: The Final Five and The Apprentice: Why I Fired Them.[4]

An Apprentice version of the Weakest Link also accompanied the series, with major characters from all four series competing for their chosen charities. The contestants were (in order of elimination):

Despite being the strongest link in the penultimate round, Jenny was eliminated. Jo defeated Kristina in the final and donated £11,550 to her chosen charity.

Criticism and controversy

Helene Speight

Former contestant Helene Speight alleged that The Apprentice "turns people into monsters" and stated that the show "made her life a nightmare." revealing that during filming she collapsed with stress and had to be rushed to hospital but still had to face Sir Alan "wincing in pain". Speight also stated that being on the show was the biggest mistake of her life as she nearly "lost her life and sanity". During Week 8 she started getting sharp abdominal pains and managed to hold on by taking painkillers. In response the producers took Helene to the Princess Grace Hospital in London's West End where she was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. On her diagnosis Speight said: "The doctors said it was all due to the pressure of the show and the diet I was eating. Hours later I was getting a boardroom grilling from Sir Alan after the wedding task." and added "I was shaking with nerves convinced I was about to throw up all over Sir Alan and his sidekicks Nick and Margaret."[7]

Nicholas De Lacy Brown and Alex Wotherspoon

Former contestant Nicholas De Lacy Brown claimed to receive death threats from watchers of the show and he says that "the messages said they want to kill or injure me." with one reading "something like: 'If I see you, I'll hurt you'."" however he remained defiant and said he would not be intimidated by the messages and said that his "ego is bigger since I went on The Apprentice because of all the attention. In fact, my ego is huge now."" [8] De Lacy Brown was also claimed to have failed 18 job interviews.[9] Apprentice finalist Alex Wotherspoon also reported receiving death threats, one email being under investigation from the BBC.[10]

Michael Sophocles and Lindi Mngaza

Contestant Michael Sophocles has been the subject of some controversy, firstly for being a self-confessed "arrogant" person, and secondly, most notably, for claiming to be "a good Jewish boy" on his application to the show, but under closer questioning not knowing either the meaning of "kosher" or the common Hebrew toast "L'Chaim" (translated "to life" as per the Fiddler on the Roof song of that name), likewise when going into the boardroom he was shown doing the sign of the cross.[11] The ineptitude of Sophocles, who read classics and history at Edinburgh University, prompted Margaret Mountford (herself Cambridge-educated) to opine that "Edinburgh isn't what it used to be".[12] Sophocles was also reported to have been dating fellow candidate Lindi Mngaza, despite the latter being in a committed relationship at the time.[10][13]

Jenny Celerier

Jenny Celerier became the subject of controversy after she was accused of bullying several fellow candidates (most notably Lucinda Ledgerwood and Sara Dhada) in her series, even being compared to Series 3 candidate Katie Hopkins.[14] Celerier stirred up more controversy after it was revealed she suffered meningitis during the filming of the programme, and was reported to have cheated on ex-boyfriend, Marc Sugden. The same article reported that she left her son, Simon, alone to play by a hotel pool whilst she was sunbathing, engaged in bondage games and boasted of a three-in-a-bed sex romp with two other men.[15][16]

Simon Smith

Five years after he left the Army former contestant Simon Smith was reported by Digital Spy to have an addiction to cocaine and that the habit affected his marriage and eventually led to the breakdown of his marriage especially in 2002 on his honeymoon where he put his addiction over his then-wife Debra. He had joined the Army at the age of 17 and nine years later when he left, he found himself struggling to adjust back to civilian life and used the drug to ease his pain.[17]

On the addiction he said "As soon as I got off the plane there were people offering me drugs. So I spent the whole holiday wasted," Simon told the Sunday Mirror. "I left my wife in the room and sneaked out at night - on my f***ing honeymoon! Disgusting. I blew over £20,000 on cocaine in five years. I was completely selfish. My whole life revolved around getting wrecked. The same competitive streak you saw in The Apprentice meant I felt I had to out-drink everyone, take more drugs than anyone else. I completely ripped my ex-wife's life apart. There is not a day goes by without me regretting how selfish I was. I broke her heart."

Ian Stringer

Candidate Ian Stringer became embroiled in controversy after his ex-wife Kirsty branded him a loverat after he left her just three weeks after she gave birth to their second child. Stringer claimed on the show "There are two types of people in the world - winners and... I don't know how to spell the other word. I can't even say it." But Kirsty claimed that he really was a loser for abandoning his toddler son and daughter in a quest for fame on the show. She claimed that Stringer had left her struggling financially after he gave up his job and £35,000 salary to go on the show.[18] Stringer was also reported to have hid in a pub cellar to avoid being beaten by the boyfriend of ex-air hostess, Angela Rawson, whom he had dated despite Rawson being a committed relationship at the time.[19]

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[20]

Episode
no.
Airdate Viewers
(millions)
BBC One
weekly ranking
1 26 March 2008 6.73 8
2 2 April 2008 6.73 9
3 9 April 2008 7.32 6
4 16 April 2008 7.43 5
5 23 April 2008 7.85 5
6 30 April 2008 7.28 5
7 7 May 2008 7.17 5
8 14 May 2008 7.11 6
9 21 May 2008 5.73 9
10 28 May 2008 6.84 6
11 4 June 2008 7.94 4
12 11 June 2008 9.29 1

Specials

Episode
no.
Airdate Viewers
(millions)
BBC Two/One
weekly ranking
The Worst Decisions Ever
3 April 2008 2.07 15
Motor Mouths
18 April 2008 1.73 25
The Final Five
2 June 2008 N/A N/A
Why I Fired Them
8 June 2008 N/A N/A

References

  1. "So you think you can be Sir Alan's next Apprentice?". Fremantle Media. Archived from the original on 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  2. "Simon Cox : lighting cameraman". Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  3. "The Apprentice Series 4 online application form". Fremantle Media. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  4. 1 2 "The Apprentice – Let the boardroom battle commence!", BBC Press Office, 18 March 2008
  5. "Meet this year's boardroom...". Metro (Associated Metro Limited). Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  6. The Apprentice Magazine, June 2008
  7. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/apprentice-made-me-a-monster-helene-says-1654146
  8. http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-apprentice/news/a92598/apprentice-reject-receives-death-threats/
  9. http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-apprentice/news/a92864/apprentice-reject-failed-18-interviews/
  10. 1 2 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1025502/Return-rejects-Fired-Apprentice-contestants-special-show.html
  11. Series 4, Episode 7
  12. "Anna Pickard on Margaret Mountford". The Guardian. London. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  13. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/apprentice-lovers-1653102
  14. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/34062/Apprentice-superbitch-is-hired
  15. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1169757/Meningitis-crazy-The-Apprentice.html
  16. http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/marc-sugden-my-life-with-apprentice-bitch-301348
  17. http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-apprentice/news/a94216/apprentice-star-reveals-cocaine-shame/
  18. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-550069/Apprentice-contestants-dumped-wife-says-paying-15-minutes-fame.html
  19. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/1062928/Ian-Stringer-Apprentice-loser-Love-rat.html
  20. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

External links

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