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'The Apprentice': Lord Alan Sugar Names Katie Hopkins As Most Memorable Candidate, Reveals BBC Brought In A Shrink To Assess Contestants

Lord Sugar Reveals Why A Shrink Was Brought In For 'Apprentice' Candidates
Daniel Welsh
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Lord Alan Sugar has revealed that in later series of ‘The Apprentice’, the BBC insisted on having candidates seen be a psychiatrist, to make sure they were able to cope with the stress of the show.

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In excerpts from his new autobiography, which channels the past decade of his life since ‘The Apprentice’ arrived on UK screens, Lord Sugar reveals that as the years went on, the BBC were keen to have candidates psychologically analysed before they’re thrown into the boardroom with him.

One extract, published in The Mirror, reads: “I guess someone at the BBC felt that the grillings I put them through might be considered traumatic, so they insisted all the candidates would have to be checked out by a shrink.

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Lord Alan Sugar

“They realised more and more that it could be quite a stressful process and needed to know that the people were robust enough to take part.”

However, Lord Sugar goes on to insist that ‘The Apprentice’ doesn’t set out to exploit its participants to make the show more interesting, adding: “Not that ‘The Apprentice’ sets out to upset candidates.

“The psychologist has to assess whether they are able to be away from their families, they’re able to hack it in this kind of environment and whether they will be able to stand up to the interrogation in the boardroom.

“To be fair to the BBC, I think this procedure was quite novel. Not many formats that use members of the public go to such lengths to protect the contributors.”

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Katie Hopkins, leaving the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house earlier this year

In the 10 years ‘The Apprentice’ has been on the air, over 100 candidates have passed through Lord Sugar’s boardroom, and it probably won’t surprise you to hear that Katie Hopkins is the one who sticks in his mind the most.

He recalls: “The first we saw of her in the newspapers after ‘The Apprentice’ was she’d had an affair with a married man and decided to consummate this relationship in a field, completely naked.

“At the wrap party she was the only candidate standing on her own. No one was socialising with her, so she obviously hadn’t made any friends in the house.

“I remember going up for a little chat because I felt a bit sorry for her. Perhaps in hindsight I shouldn’t have bothered.”

‘The Apprentice’ is currently gearing up for its 11th series, which will hit our screens this autumn.

Claude Littner will be taking over from Nick Hewer as Lord Sugar’s right-hand man, while Karren Brady will be returning as his other advisor.

Lord Sugar’s book, ‘Unscripted: My 10 Years In Telly’, goes on sale on 24 September.

'The Apprentice': Where Are They Now?
Leah Totton (Series 9, 2013)(01 of19)
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2013 winner Leah used her investment from Lord Alan Sugar to launch Dr Leah Cosmetic Skin Clinics, where she offers services including botox and laser hair removal. For just £60, you can get a 3D Rotational Diamond Microdermabrasion treatment. Bargain! (No, we have no idea what that is either) (credit:Ian West/PA Archive)
Luisa Zissman (Series 9, 2013)(02 of19)
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Luisa wasn't about to let finishing second get in the way of her business - or her public profile. After appearing on the show, Luisa landed a spot in the 'CBB' house and now presents the spin-off 'Big Brother's Bit On The Side'. Her cupcake business has grown considerably and the brand now includes cookware and a book. (credit:Danny Martindale via Getty Images)
Kurt Wilson (Series 9, 2013) (03 of19)
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Health and safety manager-turned-Health drink entrepreneur Kurt was fired in week 7. The self-confessed "alpha male who always gets his own way" now runs Fuel Centre, a nutrition centre. (credit:BBC )
Francesca MacDuff-Varley (Series 9, 2013) (04 of19)
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Francesca just missed out on a place in the 2013 top two and now owns her own dance studio in Leeds. During the competition Francesca famously claimed that her company had netted a whooping £5 million in profit, the real figure was closer to £50,00. Awkward. (credit:BBC)
Ricky Martin (Series 8, 2012)(05 of19)
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Ricky Martin, 'Total Wipeout' winner and 'The Apprentice' champion. Sadly Ricky's mambo wasn't up to scratch, but his business skills saw him named winner of the 2012 series. Ricky then launched his business 'Hyper Recruitment Solutions' alongside Alan Sugar, which is still going strong...As is his wrestling career. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive)
Tom Pellereau (Series 7, 2011)(06 of19)
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Tom Pellereau was the first winner to be awarded a prize of £250,000 instead of a job with Lord Sugar. and what was his life-changing product? A curved nail file, which miraculously is still on sale in Boots. (credit:Ian Gavan via Getty Images)
Susan Ma (Series 7, 2011)(07 of19)
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Susan Ma (pictured right) was just 21 when she entered the competition and sadly, she's mainly remembered for being one of the most annoying contestants ever. Now, Susan co-owns Tropic Skin Care - with none other than Alan Sugar. (credit:Ian West/PA Archive)
Vincent Disneur (Series 7, 2011)(08 of19)
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Vincent's good looks weren't enough to save him from hearing the immortal words "you're fired", and he was booted out in week 5. He's now the Director of Union Street, "the UK’s leading billing provider". (credit:BBC)
Kate Walsh (Series 5, 2009)(09 of19)
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Perhaps best known for her relationship with fellow contestant Philip Taylor, Kate was runner-up in 2009. After briefly "flirting" with TV and attempting to present Channel 5's 'OKTV!', Kate went back to business and she's now an executive assistant for Pandora. (credit:Doug Peters/Doug Peters)
Lucinda Ledgerwood (Series 4, 2008)(10 of19)
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Linda and her berets made it to the semi-finals, after which she pursued a TV career, before - like many others - skulking back to the business world. (credit:BBC)
Alex Wotherspoon (Series 4, 2008)(11 of19)
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Backstabbing other candidates appears to get you far, but sadly for Alex, not far enough.After dusting himself off following his dismissal, Alex got back on track and He can now be found acting as a Financial Advisor for Santander. (credit:BBC )
Katie Hopkins (Series 3, 2007)(12 of19)
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Weirdly, after becoming "the only person to say no to Alan Sugar", Katie faded into obscurity and hasn't been seen again. (credit:Ian West/PA Archive)
Simon Ambrose (Series 3, 2007) (13 of19)
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Despite being labelled "a pillock" by Sir Alan, Simon went on to win series 3. He joined Lord Sugar's business to work on property projects but later left to pursue his own business ambitions. (credit:Ian West/PA Archive)
Michelle Dewberry (Series 2, 2006)(14 of19)
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Michelle only lasted 6 months at Lord Sugar's recycling company Xenon Green. She can now be found sporting black framed specs on Sky News and also works as a strategy consultant for Tesco Mobile. (credit:Dave M. Benett via Getty Images)
Ruth Badger (Series 2, 2006)(15 of19)
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Badger by name, badger by nature.Thanks to her ability to sell anything from apples to cars, Ruth now works as a consultant and helps to launch new businesses. (credit:Tomos Brangwyn via Getty Images)
Tim Campbell (Series 1, 2005)(16 of19)
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Tim was the first ever winner of 'The Apprentice' in 2005 and e worked for Lord Sugar for two years before moving on to his own projects. He was awarded a MBE in 2012 for his work in social enterprise and now works in property. (credit:WPA Pool via Getty Images)
Saria Khan (Series 1, 2005) (17 of19)
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Saria is one of the show's biggest success stories. Despite just missing out winning, Saria has gone on to become a Children's TV Presenter, had a baby, launched a baby products business and has written a book. Phew! (credit:Getty)
Raef Bjayou (Series 4, 2008) (18 of19)
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Smooth-talking Raef charmed his fellow opponents, the public and even Sir Alan who called him "a really nice chap". Nowadays, you can find still find Raef in front of the camera, presenting 'The Underdog Show'. (credit:BBC )
Stella Vine (Series 6, 2010)(19 of19)
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Stella won series 6 of the show, however, Lord Sugar was faced to deny rumours of a rift when she left his company to take a position at YouView. (credit:Neil Mockford via Getty Images)

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