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The Apprentice (British TV series)

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The Apprentice
The title screen of The Apprentice.
GenreReality television series
Created byMark Burnett
Narrated byMark Halliley
Theme music composerDru Masters[1]
Prokofiev
Opening themeDance of the Knights
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes36
Production
ProducerstalkbackTHAMES
Mark Burnett Productions
Running time60 minute episodes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two (Series One and Two)
BBC One (Series Three)
Release2005 –
Present
Related
The Apprentice (US version)
The Apprentice: You're Fired!

The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to become an "apprentice" to British business magnate Sir Alan Sugar. The winner is given a £100,000-a-year job at Amstrad, an electronics manufacturing company founded by Sugar,[2][3] or at one of Sugar's other companies such as Amsprop[4] or Viglen.[5] The Apprentice is modelled on the American series of the same name, which stars entrepreneur Donald Trump.[6]

The first and second series aired in 2005 and 2006 respectively and the third series ran on BBC One in early 2007,[7] the success of which has led the BBC to commission two more series.[8] The programme has spawned two spin-offs, The Apprentice: You're Fired! and Comic Relief Does The Apprentice.[9][10] Occasional 90-minute special episodes, often concentrating on particular candidates and their stories, also air.[11] Apprentice-related merchandising includes a magazine, podcast, and official books.[11][12][13] The programme has led other production companies to produce shows that follow a similar format, including Tycoon and Beat the Boss.[14][15] It has also been compared to another BBC programme, Dragons' Den.[16]

Format

Unlike most reality television programmes, the whole of The Apprentice is pre-recorded; typically the series is shot during the northern hemisphere's autumn for transmission the following year.[17] Open auditions and interviews are held across the country before a series begins,[18] attracting thousands of applicants.[19] The first and second series featured 14 candidates, increased to 16 for the most recent series.

The successful candidates are split into two teams, initially by gender. The teams are then given a series of business-themed tasks designed to test their skills in salesmanship, negotiation, requisitioning, leadership, teamwork and organisation, with each episode covering a single task. At the start of each episode, the teams each choose a project manager to act as the team leader for the duration of the task,[20] though in later episodes the project managers are sometimes nominated by Sugar himself. The teams are followed in the execution of their tasks by Sir Alan Sugar's advisers, Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford.[21] After completion of a task, the teams report back to the "boardroom", a studio mockup of a real company boardroom.[22] Here Sugar, with the help of his advisers, reveals the results and discusses the teams' performance, exposing flaws in the candidates' strategies and personalities.

The losing team (usually the one that makes the least profit) is then subjected to a further detailed examination by Sugar, after which the team's project manager is required to choose two team members to accompany him or her into a final round of interrogation.[20] These are nominally the two poorest performing members of the team, but in practice the project manager may act treacherously and make choices based on personality. The discussions often become acrimonious, as each candidate tries to divert blame towards the others. Finally, Sugar dismisses one of the three with the catchphrase, "You're fired!", and that candidate is eliminated from the competition.[20] In some circumstances, two candidates may be fired in a single episode.[23]

As candidate numbers are whittled down, the composition of the teams is periodically rearranged. When only four candidates remain (or five in the third series), they undergo individual interviews, resulting in the selection of two finalists.[24] These two proceed to the Grand Finale and perform one last task, after which one is told, "You're hired!", and wins the highly-paid executive job working with Sugar.[20] The programme gives the impression that the winner is chosen purely on the basis of performance in the tasks, but in reality both finalists work for Sir Alan for a period before he makes his decision.[25] Two different endings are filmed, showing each of the two finalists being awarded the job, and the decision as to which ending to screen is deferred until the end of the trial period.[26]

The candidates live together in a large rented house for the duration of the competition.[27] Due to the twelve-week broadcast schedule, the audience is given the impression that the candidates stay for 12 weeks in the house and that there are breaks between tasks. The series is actually filmed in about two months,[25] and the filming schedule means that the tasks are generally performed one after the other.[28]

History

Rumours of a UK version of The Apprentice were confirmed in early 2004 by FremantleMedia.[29] Both BBC Two and Channel 4 bid for the show’s rights[30] – BBC was eventually successful.[31] On 18 May 2004, Alan Sugar was confirmed as the star of the new series.[31] He said he was "delighted" to take part in the programme.[6]

The viewer ratings of first series of the programme climbed[32] to almost 4 million viewers for the final episode on 4 May 2005, which London Underground employee Tim Campbell won.[33] The following day, the BBC confirmed that a second series would air in early 2006 and, despite initial doubts, Sugar's involvement was confirmed soon afterwards.[34][35]

A spin-off programme was introduced on BBC Three, called The Apprentice: You're Fired! and hosted by Adrian Chiles,[36] and the second series finished with a record 5.7 million viewers tuning in to see Michelle Dewberry defeat Ruth Badger in the final.[37]

In between the airing of the second and third series, it was announced that a celebrity version of the programme was to be recorded in aid of Comic Relief.[38] The programme was entitled Comic Relief Does The Apprentice and was recorded on 15 December 2006.[39] The celebrities participating included actor Rupert Everett and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.[40] Everett left the programme after the first day and was replaced by Tim Campbell, winner of the first series.[41][42] Eventually, Piers Morgan, a former editor of The Daily Mirror was the only person to be fired.[43] The programme aired on 15 March and 16 March 2007.[40]

When a third series was announced, it was revealed that it would air on BBC One, which is aimed at a more "mainstream audience,"[44] and that The Apprentice: You’re Fired! would re-locate from BBC Three to BBC Two.[45] The third series started with 4.5 million viewers,[46] with the audience increasing throughout the run to peak with 6.8 million people watching the final.[47] The series was won by Simon Ambrose, who was chosen over Kristina Grimes.[48][49]

The Board

Template:Apprenticecandidates Along with "the boss," Sir Alan Sugar, two advisors follow the contestants during their weekly activities: Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford. These three constitute "The Board" – the panel that evaluates the teams' performance.

Sir Alan Sugar is an English businessman and the founder of electronics company Amstrad. He has an estimated fortune of £830m and was ranked 84th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2007.[50] Sugar was knighted in 2000 for services to business and holds two honorary Doctorate of Science degrees, awarded in 1988 by City University and in 2005 by Brunel University.[51] He is a donor to the British Labour Party[52] and has given money to charities such as Jewish Care and Great Ormond Street Hospital.[53] In July 2007, Sugar sold his stake in Amstrad to BSkyB, though he is to stay with the business.[54] It is not yet clear what effect, if any, this will have on future series of The Apprentice.

Nick Hewer is a former public relations officer. His involvement with Sir Alan began when his company was chosen to represent Amstrad in 1983. Nick’s role was as a PR manager, working with the media and press. He also became an integral part of Amstrad’s corporate management.[55] He lives in France with his partner.[56]

Margaret Mountford has worked with Sugar as one of his main advisers for 20 years, and is a non-executive director of Amstrad PLC. She has many years’ corporate law experience as a partner in the law firm Herbert Smith, where she met Sugar when working on Amstrad's floatation. She retired from the firm in March 1999, and was appointed to the Amstrad board on 22 September 1999. She is also a non-executive director at Georgica PLC.[57]

Filming locations

The tasks are mostly filmed in and around the London area. In Series One, the team house was located in Chiswick.[58] A location in Hampstead Heath was used in Series Two and another in Notting Hill for the third series.[59][60]

The Apprentice regularly features clips of aerial footage over the skyscrapers of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf financial districts, such as the 180-metre Gherkin, HSBC Tower, One Canada Square, and the Citigroup Centre. Amstrad does not have offices in either locale. The company's real location, in Brentwood, Essex is rarely mentioned.[61]

The "boardroom" (and the reception area outside) is in fact a custom-built set in a West London television studio,[22] and the boardroom receptionist ("Jenny", or in Series Three, "Frances") is an actress, not Sugar's real secretary.[62]

The candidates' "walk of shame" exit sequences are actually filmed at the beginning of the series,[62] at the same time as the scene in which they are shown entering the Amstrad building at the start of the first episode. This explains why the clothes worn by fired candidates in their exit sequences sometimes differ from those worn in the boardroom scene ostensibly filmed only moments earlier.[63] In more noticeable cases, hairstyles have also been different.[63] The post-firing taxi ride merely takes the candidate around the block to allow their taxi interview to be filmed. They are then taken to a local hotel to stay the night and finally leave after packing their belongings from the house.[62] This was evident in episode 6 of the third series, when Paul Callaghan was seen leaving the office wearing a suit with a red tie and brown shows. However, when Paul gets in the taxi he is wearing a black tie, b;ack shoes and an additional overcoat. The cameras then switched to Paul inside the taxi, and he is once again wearing his red tie.

Series

Main articles: Series One; Series Two; Series Three

The first series of the UK version of The Apprentice began on 16 February 2005 and lasted for twelve episodes. The winner was Timothy Campbell, who had previously worked as a Senior Planner within the Marketing and Planning Department of London Underground. After his victory he went on to become Project Director of Amstrad's new Health and Beauty division, but has subsequently left the company to pursue other interests.[64]

The second series began on 22 February 2006. The winner was Michelle Dewberry,[65] who briefly took up a post under Sugar but left in September 2006 after a series of personal problems.[66]

The third series ran from 28 March 2007 to 13 June 2007, and was the first series to be shown on BBC One.[7] The winner was Simon Ambrose. Unlike previous series, there were 16 candidates (rather than 14) and two candidates were fired in the second episode. This series attracted 10,000 applicants and promised "tougher tasks and better people" – Sugar had expressed concerns that the show was becoming Big Brother.[67]

In May 2007 a fourth and fifth series were commissioned by the BBC,[8] and prospective candidates were invited to apply for the fourth series through the official website.[68] Auditions and interviews were held during the first two weeks of July 2007 in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.[69]

Comic Relief Does The Apprentice

Main article: Comic Relief Does The Apprentice

A two-part special celebrity version of The Apprentice aired in March 2007 in aid of Comic Relief. Five male and five female celebrities took part in the programme which featured only one task. Viewers were able to see Piers Morgan get fired by Sir Alan Sugar during the Red Nose Day telethon.[70] The other celebrities participating in the programme were Alastair Campbell, Ross Kemp, Danny Baker, Cheryl Cole, Trinny Woodall, Jo Brand, Karren Brady, Maureen Lipman, Rupert Everett and Tim Campbell.[10][42] Tim Campbell was not in the original line-up, but was brought in after Everett decided to leave.[42]

The Apprentice: You're Fired!

Main article: The Apprentice: You're Fired!

This 30-minute programme is broadcast on BBC Two immediately following an airing of The Apprentice. It is hosted by Adrian Chiles and features guests who informally interview the most recently fired candidate and analyse their performance. It has been running since the second series of The Apprentice and originally aired on BBC Three. The series is recorded at Riverside Studios.[71] Celebrities who have appeared on the show include those from the worlds of television, radio and business, such as Dominic Littlewood, Trevor Nelson and Michelle Mone.[72][73]

One-off programmes

The Apprentice: Tim in the Firing Line is an hour-long documentary which aired on 19 February 2006, days before the launch of the second series. It followed Tim Campbell, the winner of Series One, during the first twelve months of the job that he won on The Apprentice. Working within Amstrad's health and beauty division, his task was to market a new anti-wrinkle product, named The Integra.[42][74] The programme also documented the reaction of Campbell's family,[75] including mother Una Campbell, fiancée Jasmine Johnson, and daughter Kayla Campbell.[76] As a result of his impressive performance, he was offered a permanent position within Amstrad.[77] Sir Alan Sugar later said that Campbell's job would not have been in danger had he failed to make the product a success, and that the project was a "joint responsibility".[74]

The Apprentice: Beyond the Boardroom was a one-off special shown on BBC Two on 2 June 2007.[78] The programme featured interviews with the final five candidates from Series Three. Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford also gave their opinions on the final five, along with some of the previously fired candidates.[79] The programme spoke about the candidates' private lives, revealing that Kristina Grimes was sent to a convent at age 17 due to her pregnancy, Tre Azam once fell asleep whilst driving and nearly died, Simon Ambrose was bullied as a child and has an IQ of 174, Katie Hopkins ran the New York Marathon despite knowing that she was pregnant, and Lohit Kalburgi is a homosexual.[78][79] Friends of the candidates and members of their families, including parents, children, and partners, aired their views.[79]

The Apprentice: Why I Fired Them was a one-off special which was screened on BBC Two on 10 June 2007, three days before the revelation of the winner of The Apprentice Series Three. In the programme, Sir Alan Sugar looked back over the series so far, discussed the merits and demerits of the candidates, and explained in more detail why he fired each candidate when he did.[80] The episode featured the former participants' views of their time on the programme and what they had learnt from the experience.[81] Sugar's assistants Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford also spoke about the former contestants.[81] At the end of the programme, Sugar reviewed the performances of the two finalists, Kristina Grimes and Simon Ambrose, and said that deciding who to hire would be difficult.[81] Despite voluntarily leaving rather than being "fired", Katie Hopkins was also featured on the programme and her time on The Apprentice was discussed.[81]

Rumoured programmes

In May 2006, Delia Smith was rumoured to be starring in a spin-off programme in the vein of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, but this never came about.[82] During the third series of the programme's run, reports emerged that a football version of the programme was being considered, to be called The Apprentice Coach. It was suggested that Sir Alan Sugar might feature in this programme too, with reference to his days as chairman of Tottenham Hotspur F.C..[83]

Reception

Praise

The programme has been given positive reviews by several newspapers. In the popular press, The Sun newspaper has called it "The thinking man's reality show", and The Mirror described it as "jaw-dropping viewing".[84] Broadsheet newspapers have given the programme a similarly positive reception, with The Daily Telegraph calling it "The most addictive show in years",[84] and The Guardian saying that it provided "A salutary lesson in aggressive buying and selling, hiring and firing". The The Sunday Times said that it was "not just a game show: it's a business school."[84] The Evening Standard was also favourable, describing the programme as "terribly compelling".[84]

Criticism

The programme has been criticised in the British media for suggesting that success in the business world requires possession of unsavoury qualities. Terence Blacker of The Independent newspaper, for example, said that he believed that the programme falsely linked success with being "nasty, disloyal, greedy and selfish".[85] Talk show host Michael Parkinson has also expressed misgivings about the programme, describing it as being "full of vulgar, loud people who, for all the wrong reasons, are dobbing each other in".[86]

The premise of the show itself has been called into question by some members of the business world. Steve Carter, the head of recruitment firm Nigel Lynn, described the "brutality" of the recruitment process as being unrealistic.[87] In response to these criticisms, a spokesperson for The Apprentice has been quoted as saying "The show isn't designed as a tool for recruiters... but it does highlight and thoroughly test key business skills such as leadership, teamwork, dedication and strategic thinking – integral skills most recruiters are looking for".[87]

Former contestant and runner-up Saira Khan has criticised the programme because the final two candidates both work with Sir Alan Sugar for a few months before he decides whom he will hire. Khan stated that "(Sir Alan Sugar's) final decision is not based on the programme that people see, his final decision is based on these two people who have been working with him for the six months." Khan also said that the show is more concerned with giving viewers a rags-to-riches ending than employing the more able candidate, and that the show promotes bullying in the workplace.[88]

A number of people have criticised the show's editing and production methods. Contestants Syed Ahmed and Tre Azam accused the show of dumbing down their appearances for entertainment.[89] Gerri Blackwood said that her boardroom scene was filmed again to make it look better.[90]

Media Watch has voiced concerns over inclusion of company names and products such as Chrysler in the programme, accusing the producers of breaking BBC policy.[91] Despite these claims, Talkback Thames has denied any suggestion of product placement.[91]

Viewing figures

The Apprentice has received high rating figures in its run.[92] The first series, broadcast in 2005, achieved an average of 2.5 million viewers, with a peak of 3.8 million people watching throughout the series.[92] It had an 11% share of the audience and some episodes managed to beat more popular programmes, such as Desperate Housewives, and some films, such as Ali G Indahouse, which were airing on rival channels at the time.[92][93] Series Two achieved 4.4 million viewers on average, with a peak audience of 5.95 and a 27% audience share.[92] Episodes of this series achieved higher ratings than the 2005 UEFA Cup Final and the film Pearl Harbor.[37] Series Three, airing on the "more mainstream" BBC One, attracted 6.8 million viewers at its peak, with a 27% audience share.[44][47] This series managed to achieve higher viewers than City Lights, Grand Designs and Big Brother.[94][47]

Awards

The Apprentice won the BAFTA for "Best Feature" during the 2006 awards, beating Top Gear, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Dragons' Den.[95] It was also nominated for a BAFTA for "Best Feature" at the 2007 awards,[96] but was beaten by The Choir.[97]

Other awards that the programme has won include:[98]

  • 2007 Royal Television Society (RTS) Award – Features & Factual Entertainment
  • 2007 Broadcast Award – Best Entertainment Programme
  • 2006 BAFTA – Pioneer Award (voted for by the public)
  • 2006 National Television Award – Most Popular Reality Programme
  • 2006 Rose d'Or – Reality Show
  • 2006 Televisual Bulldog Awards – Best Factual Reality Show
  • 2006 TV Quick/TV Choice Awards – Best Reality
  • 2006 The Guild of TV Cameramen Awards – Camera Team Excellence in Photography
  • 2006 Banff – Unscripted Entertainment Programme
  • 2006 Wincott Business Awards – Best TV Show of the Year
  • 2005 National Television Award – Most Popular Reality Show
  • 2005 RTS Craft & Design Award – Tape & Film Editing
  • 2005 RTS Craft & Design Award – Tape & Film Editing, Entertainment & Situation Comedy
  • 2005 Grierson Awards – Most Entertaining Documentary

Parodies and imitations

The show has been imitated in the ITV1 programme Harry Hill's TV Burp.[99] It was also mocked in the BBC impressionist programme Dead Ringers, in which Sir Alan Sugar turns fired contestants into frogs and the candidates are portrayed as failed applicants of Strictly Come Dancing and Big Brother who are seeking their 15 minutes of fame.[100]

In early 2007, the show was mocked in the television programme Kombat Opera Presents The Applicants.[101] The series has been lampooned on the Boleg Bros website, where it is shot in Lego.[102] Paul Merton and Ian Hislop also mocked the show during a promotional advert for the 2007 series of Have I Got News for You.[103]

In June 2007, shortly after the conclusion of Series Three of The Apprentice, rival UK channel ITV began airing Tycoon, described in The Times as "a shameless rip-off of The Apprentice".[104] The series charted the star of Dragon's Den Peter Jones trying to find a new business tycoon.[105] Although, the programme was billed as unsuccessful; it was removed from a prime time slot on Tuesdays as it was achieving under 2 million viewers, over 2.5 million under the channel's average.[106] The programme's final episode attracted just 1.3 million viewers.[107] The programme's winner, Iain Morgan, won a prize of over £200,000.[108][107]

Merchandise

The beginning of the third series saw the launch of a weekly podcast called The Apprenticast, and a radio programme on BBC Five Live, both hosted by former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon and running for thirty minutes.[109] Both programmes featured former candidates being questioned by members of the public, comedians, and those who work in business.[110] Critics have commented that Bacon's performance is better than that of Adrian Chiles, who presents the similar, but television-based, programme The Apprentice: You're Fired!.[13]

On 10 February 2005, Sir Alan Sugar released a book to coincide with the first series, called The Apprentice: How to Get Hired Not Fired.[111] On 16 February 2006, the book was revised with additional information relating to the second series.[112] An official magazine was first released on 23 May 2007.[12] It includes items about business, interviews with candidates from the programme and other Apprentice-related features.[113][114][115]

The Apprentice has included various pieces of classical and popular music throughout. Numerous pieces from film soundtracks are also used. Examples of the music used include the opening theme (which is "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev) and "The Boardroom", "You're Fired" and "Closing Credits" from The Apprentice (Original Theme) by Dru Masters. An official soundtrack was released on 4 June 2007.[116]

References

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