Apprentice candidates berated by shop staff

Apprentice candidates berated by shop staff
Apprentice candidates berated by shop staff (Image credit: BBC/Talkback Thames)

This year's Apprentice candidates find themselves scolded - but not by Lord Sugar - in the first episode of the TV show. The group of girls become increasingly desperate to flog their children's clothes after failing to sell to many visitors at London Zoo. Led by Bilyana Apostolova, 25, a risk analyst originally from Bulgaria, they make a last-minute dash to shops in the area. But they shout over each other as they attempt to make the sale, despite the shopkeeper repeatedly insisting that she is not interested. They eventually turn on their heel and say "we're wasting time, on to the next one". But their behaviour infuriates one of the retailer's colleagues, who marches outside to berate them. "I really don't appreciate that," he tells the girls. "This is not a good idea to come in and barricade someone. You do realise the last thing you said was 'we're wasting time, on to the next one'." In the first week the candidates are divided into two teams - boys versus girls - and are set the challenge of starting their own print business. The boys - Phoenix - target tourists with Union Jack T-shirts and red bus-branded bags, but many of their goods have not been printed properly. The girls - Sterling - print an animal design on children's clothes and send a sub team to London Zoo to flog their wares. Later tasks in the BBC One show will include designing a household gadget, making a condiment, opening a junk shop, creating a fitness DVD, representing urban/street artists and promoting English sparkling wine. The first episode of The Apprentice can be seen on Wednesday, March 21, at 9pm on BBC One.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.