Is it time to give The Apprentice its P45?
We’re in the midst of the 17th series, meaning Lord Sugar now has more apprentices than a Derry marching band.
There’s an undeniable pleasure in watching a bunch of grasping young Conservatives knife each other while trying to create a new crisp flavour but even that pleasure has its limits.
Earlier this series, Glasgow candidate Reece was removed from the process off-screen. It later emerged he’d had an alcoholic drink while on a flight to do one of the nonsense tasks in Dubai, which producers had forbidden. Surely Reece can be forgiven? If I was on my way to a fabricated oil state serving as a beacon for moneyed, tax-dodging clowns I’d surely need a gallon of brandy first.
But even beyond all this there’s something about The Apprentice which paints a ghastly picture of UK plc. Treating business magnates like they’re geniuses whose endeavours will rain riches on us all is partly how we ended up in a cost of living crisis if we’re being honest.
We’ve been addicted to “growth” for decades more so than other countries; it’s ironic these other places are now more prosperous.
Still, we love a rags-to-riches tale, and Lord Sugar was certainly one of those, and The Apprentice is supposed to be one, too. Sadly the story of UK business is a riches-to-rags tale for the rest of us.
The Apprentice, BBC1
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