'The Apprentice': Lord Sugar's Former Aide Nick Hewer Makes Shocking Claim About How Contestants Are Really Fired

Lord Sugar’s former aide on ‘The Apprentice’, Nick Hewer, has sensationally claimed bosses decide who is fired based on how attractive they are.

The businessman-turned-’Countdown’ host, who quit ‘The Apprentice’ in 2014, revealed producers often tell Lord Sugar to keep certain candidates in the process for longer.

Nick told The Sun: ”I say to him, ‘Oh, by the way Alan, the blonde: he or she is as thick as a fridge door, and I urge you with every fibre of your being, get rid of them, because they’re going to let you down’.

“And the producers will say, ‘Do you think you could find it in your heart to not get rid of the blonde just yet?’”

However, Nick insisted Lord Sugar’s decision is never swayed, adding: “He will say ‘the blonde will go when the blonde deserves to go’.”

The current crop of ‘Apprentice’ contestants have come under fire from viewers for being among the worst ever, having continued to make numerous blunders throughout the series.

But Nick, who has been replaced by Claude Littner on the BBC reality series, also claimed producers chose them on the merit of whether they will make good TV, rather than for their business acumen.

“You might say, ‘Are these the brightest people with the best prospects?’, and I would say ‘No, not necessarily’,” he said.

“If you really got the brightest kids the danger is that no one would understand what they’re doing.

“It’s all about the viewers. If you don’t deliver the numbers, you’re out. Which is why it’s been running now for twelve years.”

An ‘Apprentice’ spokesperson denied Nick’s claims when approached by HuffPost UK, stating: “All firing decisions throughout ‘The Apprentice’ are down to Lord Sugar’s own judgement, and solely based on his opinion about who he believes should be fired after every task.

“’The Apprentice’ is a serious business reality series; the winner will be in partnership with Lord Sugar and therefore needs to have the relevant credentials,” they continued.

“References are checked for business and education credentials and a business consultant is involved at audition stages. In addition to this, Lord Sugar sees the CVs during final selection process.

“To say that candidates are chosen purely for their looks or single lines on their CV is not true.”

‘The Apprentice’ continues on Thursday (24 November) at 9pm on BBC One.