Following reaction, Lord Alan Sugar has announced that the interview phase of The Apprentice will be ‘toned down’.
Viewers were shocked after seeing the most recent round of interviews earlier this year, in which participants were moved to tears.
Linda Plant, one of Lord Sugar’s advisors, encouraged Victoria Goulbourne to return to her job as an air hostess after she impressed him with her chocolate company proposal.
The Amstrad founder has since stated that he was astounded by the interviews and has promised to make revisions to the show’s last episode.
‘I think we need to tone that down a bit. I found it hard to watch,’ he said.
He added to The Times: ‘Unfortunately when that was recorded, I wasn’t there.
‘Anyway, I’m not making any excuses. When I saw it in the end, I thought, “This is too harsh”, and we’re going to tone it down now.’
The boardroom’s boss felt that the interview stage was no longer entertaining.
‘It used to be entertaining. All the previous boardroom [episode] 11s were entertaining. This one was very harsh. I agree with you,’ he said.
After fans complained that the interviews went too long, a programme spokeswoman stated, ‘The interviews round is more than simply a standard interview. Its objective is to assist in determining which company plan has the best chance of securing the £250,000 funding.
‘As such, every detail must be thoroughly scrutinised and advisors will at times need to ask difficult questions. The stakes are high for candidates and emotions do run high as they want to secure a place in the final.’
Marnie Swindells and Rochelle Raye survived the interviews round in the most recent series, with Marnie finally declared winner.
The Apprentice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.
