Former Apprentice Contestant Claims Show Was “Rigged” From The Start
A former contestant on the popular BBC business reality show, The Apprentice, has spoken out, claiming she was deliberately set up to fail and branding the series “car crash TV.” Amy Anzel, who competed in the 2022 season with the hope of securing a £250,000 investment for her beauty brand, was eliminated after the sixth task and has since voiced strong opinions about her experience in the boardroom.
Speaking with OLBG.com, Anzel detailed her suspicions about the show’s authenticity, particularly concerning whether certain moments were staged or if she was intentionally sabotaged. “Yes, one hundred percent!” she stated emphatically when asked if she believed she was set up to fail. “I remember the moment that I thought, oh my God, what the heck did I sign up for?”
Anzel recounted a specific task involving the creation of non-alcoholic beverages. During her pitch to a buyer, a crucial part of the process mirroring her real-world business acumen, she felt something was amiss.
“I remember vividly pitching to a buyer, as I do in my real business, with enthusiasm and lots of options, like ‘Sale or Return’ or starting with a small opening order and a great price, you know, trying to negotiate a good deal,” she explained. “And I found it very strange, because the buyer kept on saying, ‘no, no, not interested. Not interested’. And I thought, this feels very unnatural.”
Her unease was amplified by her background in acting. “Also, I have an acting background and I thought she does not seem like she is being very natural and genuine about this. It seems like she is acting,” Anzel added.
The situation escalated in the boardroom, where Anzel felt she was unfairly criticised. “Anyway, we go to the boardroom, and I vividly remember Tim, one of Lord Sugar’s advisers, saying in a very wooden way, ‘you were so aggressive with that buyer, you gave her the hump, and that is why she did not buy any units from you.’”
Anzel found this feedback bewildering. “And I thought, the whole thing sounds so strange and does not make sense. I was not aggressive, so why is he accusing me of being something I was not? And the fact that the buyer kept on saying no was very odd.”
The truth, Anzel claims, was revealed months later through a mutual friend. “Fast forward, I met this particular buyer through a mutual friend months later, and she actually said, ‘I was told not to buy from you before the cameras started rolling.’ So I thought, oh my God. Now I realise the whole thing was scripted.”
This revelation, Anzel believes, directly impacted Lord Sugar’s assessment of her performance. “And in the boardroom, I remember Lord Sugar saying something like, ‘you know, you say you are such a great salesperson. Guess what? You are the worst salesperson here. You sold nothing.’ And I thought, oh my God, they did that on purpose.”
Anzel asserted that the entire scenario was orchestrated to portray her negatively. “The whole thing was already scripted, and I was sadly on the receiving end of it, made out to seem like a bad salesperson.” She pointed out the irony, given her established success in sales. “Because I did say in the boardroom, I have sold millions of units worldwide. I do a lot of TV shopping. I have a pretty good track record when it comes to sales.”
She observed a pattern of behaviour on the show: “So I think whenever you say you are good at something on the show, they do their best to make it seem like the opposite in reality.” Anzel recalled an exchange with Karren Brady, where she stated, “I sell millions of units worldwide.” Brady’s response, Anzel recounted, was, “yes, maybe in the real world or in your business, but not here.” This sentiment left Anzel deeply disappointed. “I was gutted that the type of business person you were in the real world was not really allowed on the show.”
Producers “Know Who Villains And Heroes Are”
Anzel further posited that producers likely pre-determine contestants’ roles. “I do think the producers know in advance who the villains and the heroes are going to be,” she revealed. “The fact that Tim called me ‘aggressive’ in the boardroom was intentional, so I was definitely made to be the villain of my season.”
Even seemingly minor details, such as wardrobe choices, were subject to producer approval and, Anzel suspects, strategic manipulation.
“I also remember bringing in different options for dresses for the boardroom and for my publicity shot as the producers had to approve everything you wore,” she explained. “I brought in a pink dress, a blue dress and a red dress, and it’s no surprise looking back they put me in the red dress for my publicity shot. They clearly wanted to make me the villain – the ‘aggressive American’ dressed in red like the devil.”
Anzel also highlighted the influence of music and editing in shaping viewer perception. “And now that I watch the show from a different perspective, the music they use underneath you being shown says a lot about how they want to portray you,” she noted. “Producers tell the editors how they want the storyline to play out and therefore affect how you should be portrayed and perceived.”
The practice of “vox pops” – pre-recorded interviews where contestants are asked questions – was another area Anzel identified for narrative control. “The other thing they do to control the narrative is in your vox pops, where they take you aside and ask you questions,” she said. “They will plant the idea or the answer they want from you in your head. So, for example, they will say something like ‘do you not think Steph was being horrible and such a bh to you?’ So then you say, yes, Steph was such a bh to me. So then you come across as horrible, but it’s really the producer feeding you what to say.”
“Pure Entertainment”
In conclusion, Anzel expressed her disillusionment with the show’s current format. “I think people still think there is some truth to the show. But by now, I truly think the entire thing is reverse engineered and manipulated,” she stated. “It is simply car crash TV at this point. It has nothing to do with your business plan, with you as a business person, and how you actually perform in the tasks. I think the whole show is prescripted and is pure entertainment. It’s just another reality show now.”
The Apprentice airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
