FAILURE by contestants in The Apprentice to complete a Jersey-based treasure hunt brought “you’re fired” verdicts from Lord Alan Sugar yesterday in a rare double eviction.
The candidates, all vying to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner, were sent to the Island and given a list of local items to buy at the best price.
The shopping list included Jersey Royals (which neither team managed to find), Jersey Wonders, a shackle and a bachîn – a bowl used for making black butter which the contestants managed to pronounce in about a dozen different ways.
But the outcome for the Island was more positive, with Jersey taking centre stage in a show watched by millions and Islanders featured reflecting on the benefits it could bring.
Dan Harris, director of The Surfyard overlooking St Ouen’s Bay, sold a second-hand surfboard to the winning team for £140 after rebuffing an initial offer of £70.
“The filming took quite a long time relative to how much they’ll end up showing,” he said.
“It’s good publicity for the Island and will hopefully attract some people to come here.”
Babs Bechelet, who makes Jersey Wonders at her home in Grouville and sells them from an adjacent honesty box, was another trader doing business with the candidates in front of the camera.
“I’m a bit nervous about things like this, so I’ll probably end up watching from behind the sofa,” she said yesterday.
“We have a beautiful island, and I think it’s great to create interest and to include some genuine Jersey products.”
Filmed last May and attracting a typical TV audience of more than three million, the programme has been hailed as a valuable way of boosting Jersey’s profile to potential visitors.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel said this week that the prime-time show would be “incredibly beneficial” for Jersey.
After castigating the losing team for their “amateur” approach in negotiating and racking up costs over 50% higher than those of their opponents, Lord Sugar let rip during the boardroom post-mortem that follows each task.
“This is my favourite task, and I’ve never seen a mess like it in all these years,” Lord Sugar said. “You’re pretty much the worst team I have had.”
Although the series format usually sees one candidate fired every week, the botched Jersey mission represented the end of the line for both project leader Jack Davies, a recruitment director, and Amina Khan, a pharmacist and owner of a skincare business.
Phil Turner, the owner of a catering business, was a member of the losing team who survived the boardroom cull. He admitted: “We had no clear strategy for the day – there was no plan.”
The Apprentice is screened every Thursday on BBC1, and is also available via the iPlayer catch-up service.
