Celebrities are shipped off to Lapland to make, market and sell their own Christmassy gingerbread biscuits
Over the past 10 years, The Apprentice has slowly descended into a parody of itself. The over-confident catchphrases, the impossible, irrelevant tasks, and Lord Alan Sugar’s (clearly pre-written) puns have all worked to make the once serious competition feel a bit silly. So, what has the BBC done? Leaned into the ridiculousness and swapped the civilian candidates for celebrities, of course!
The first-ever full series of The Celebrity Apprentice is on the way next year, but first up is a two-part Christmas special, all in aid of raising money for Children in Need. The line-up is a mixed bunch, with TV regulars like Big Brother’s AJ Odudu, presenter Angela Scanlon and lawyer Rob Rinder jockeying for attention alongside lesser-known names including comedian Eddie Kadi and Radio 1 DJ Charlie Hedges.
Most confusing is the presence of former Apprentice candidate Tom Skinner, whose presence on Strictly earlier this year caused a stink thanks to his apparent friendship with US Vice President JD Vance. I can’t imagine why BBC bosses think it’s a good idea to invite him back into the boardroom – and it seems as though Sugar is bewildered too. “When did you get celebrity status?” he asks Skinner, who can’t hold back his tears of joy. “This show changed my life,” he explains.
Sarah Hadland, Legend and Angela Scanlon (Photo: BBC)
Anyway, the celebs are sent off to a suitably snowy Lapland to create and market their own gingerbread biscuits. The winning team will have their creations on the shelves of real supermarkets over the festive period. With JLS’s JB Gill and Rinder allocated as team leaders (much to the chagrin of Gladiator Legend, who keeps up his self-important persona throughout), it’s off to the kitchen to create their recipes.
Skinner suggests bubblegum and white pepper flavour for their biscuits, which – if his team is to be believed – tastes a lot better than it sounds. Their marketing revolves around the character of Gary the Penguin, dreamt up by a very giggly Legend, Scanlan and actor Sarah Hadland, who can’t help but deadpan to the camera every five seconds. I can’t believe no-one points out that penguins are only found in the South Pole… but perhaps I’m being too pernickety.
On the other team, Odudu and Rinder butt heads over their theme. She is determined to go down a “bah humbug” route, but he wants to focus on the more wishy-washy topic of gratefulness. Somehow, they end up with neither – their gingerbread biscuit is in the shape of Santa’s head, with a vanilla icing beard and a Christmas pudding-flavoured hat.
AJ Odudu, Charlie Hedges and Jake Wood (Photo: BBC)
The celebrities are pitching their products to supermarkets in tomorrow’s concluding episode, after which they’ll face the wrath (and groan-worthy jokes) of Lord Sugar in the boardroom. By the end of this hour, it’s rather impossible to know who will win – both biscuits are as good (or rather, bad) as each other.
Celebrity versions of popular programmes can often fall flat – Celebrity Race Across the World, for example, is far less popular than its normal people version. But the runaway success of The Celebrity Traitors has changed that. It turns out when a format encourages celebrities to argue, TV magic can happen. Here, the scenes of Odudu getting frustrated by Rinder’s filibustering are the most watchable – and a far cry from the friendly teamwork other reality shows might encourage.
I thought The Apprentice might be on its last legs, but this new iteration breathes giddy, inconsequential fun into the show. After all, it doesn’t matter who wins or who finds themselves on the firing end of Lord Sugar’s finger – it’s just about raising loads of dosh for charity. Our entertainment is just a happy by-product.
“The Celebrity Apprentice” continues tomorrow at 9pm on BBC One
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source inews.co.uk ’
