BBC The Apprentice star takes savage dig at corporation over censorship ‘walls’: ‘Would be different on ITV’
Former The Apprentice star Reece Donnelly slammed the BBC as he reflected on the “walls” the candidates faced filming the show.
Speaking to GB News and other press recently, Donnelly, Marnie Swindells, Solomon Akhtar and Raj Chohan shared some behind-the-scenes details about the Alan Sugar series.
Theatre school owner Donnelly, who appeared in the 17th series of the show, claimed the series would be different if it was filmed “on ITV”.
As the group recalled show edits and restrictions during tasks, he explained: “It’s important to add that there’s so many walls because it’s a BBC show, so we can’t be seen to be advertising anything.
“If this was ITV it would be a different show. As the British Broadcasting Corporation, we can’t look like we’re favouring a show.
“For example, there was a week when we did a cartoon, and I remember we got home, and I got a knock on my shoulder from one of the house producers.
“They said, ‘BBC Business has said it looks too much like Peppa Pig.’
“I was like, ‘Nah, come on.’ He was like, ‘I’m really sorry, but everything has to be approved by BBC Business before it goes on air.’”
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The former contestants made candid statement about the disadvantages that came from the show’s strict rules and limited screen time.
“It’s 100 hours of filming for a one-hour show,” he continued, with series 18 star Chohan adding: “I think with that as well, when we went into the buildings, the production team were honest with us, and they said, ‘look, at the end of the day, our responsibility is to make the show, yours is to compete for that money.
“‘We’re going to make the programme suit our agenda.’ There were a lot of great moments in there, but they’re not going to show people.
“Like, the week I got fired, I actually sold well with two things. We sold really well, but I was obviously going to get fired, and I do get fired.
“So when they editing it backwards, it’s got to make sense of the viewer why I got fired.”
Speaking to press via Press Box PR and Flex and the City, series 17 winner Swindells shared: “Because so much is missed, you always play this story out.
“You remember things because that was your experience. So I remember literally watching at home and I stood at the TV going ‘that’s not how it happened!’ trying to justify it.”
Meanwhile, series 10 star Akhtar opened up on the drama that takes place.
“It’s lucky that the cameras aren’t there all the time, like in the house,” he admitted.
“You know when the cameras aren’t watching you some of the time.
“There are moments when you’re having lunch, and you’re with Karren [Brady] and Nick [Hewer], and I’m having a Nando’s with them. It was weird.
“On our series, we saved some of the discussions or arguments for off-camera in the house.
“You’re in the house for some of the time, and they don’t film anything in the house apart from the morning scenes.
“There is some behind-the-scenes stuff that isn’t aired. You’re aware when the cameras aren’t there.”