The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner reveals what you DIDN’T know about the show

Since 2005, The Apprentice has been one of Britain’s most beloved reality shows, with millions tuning in each year to see which contestants Lord Sugar will fire and ultimately hire.

The premise is simple, with budding businessmen and women competing in a series of tasks to impress Lord Sugar.

Until the sixth series, candidates would compete for a job with the billionaire’s company, but in recent years the prize was changed to a £250,000 investment in his business.

Many of the show’s stars have become household names, while others have been embroiled in various scandals.

Now, with season 17 in full swing and already another scandal caused by Reece Donnelly’s mysterious exit from the show, MailOnline spoke to former trainee candidate Thomas Skinner, who revealed exactly what fans aren’t seeing on the show.

Thomas rose to prominence after appearing in series 15 in 2019, making it through week nine of the process despite being on the losing team nearly every week of the series.

His happy-go-lucky demeanor, willingness to graft and pithy comments made him an instant fan favorite and it was clear Lord Sugar had a soft spot for the star as well.

The mattress vendor also stepped in to help winner Carina Lepore launch her bakery business during the final.

However, speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Thomas revealed that it wasn’t all fun and games behind the scenes, with candidates living in isolation and unable to contact friends and loved ones.

The filming process for The Apprentice can take up to three months, and Thomas reveals that while the assignments are condensed into hour-long episodes, each would actually take three days to film.

He explained, “It seems easy when you see it on TV, but it’s really hard when you’re there.”

‘You don’t have a phone, you don’t have internet. You can’t go and call your family or your friends, so you’re kind of stuck.

“You can’t ask for any advice, so everything you do is improvised.”

He also revealed that producers often make suggestions to contestants off-camera, explaining, “They kind of trick you into looking a bit silly.”

‘They have to make a TV show, it has to be entertaining,’ he reasoned.

Contestants are also prohibited from discussing the task when they’re back in the house, ensuring juicy conversations are saved for when the cameras are rolling and they can’t predict which team won the task.

You have to get down to business! Thomas explained, but insisted that the producers provided adequate aftercare.

“It was good,” he revealed. “I’m used to grafting and moving on, so it was fine, but they took care of everyone.”

One way that producers ensure that contestants maintain good behavior is by banning alcohol during the process.

Earlier this month, news broke that candidate Reece Donnelly was kicked off the show after drinking alcohol on a flight to Dubai, during a task, leaving Lord Sugar fuming.

Thomas confirmed that the producers enforced a strict ban on alcoholic beverages during filming, explaining, “I can’t comment on what happened to Reece, but we definitely weren’t allowed any alcohol when we filmed my series.”

When it comes to assignments, candidates are warned what days it will take to shoot, but a frequent question from viewers is how they manage to get ready so quickly.

In each episode, the candidates are seen to be woken up by a phone call in the early hours when they are told that they need to be ready to leave the house in 20 minutes.

However, Thomas revealed that they are warned the day before what time the phone will ring, allowing candidates a head start.

He explained: ‘Everyone gets up a little early to start getting ready, then jumps into bed and pretends to be asleep when the phone rings!

‘All the girls have their faces full of makeup under the sheets!’

While only one person can walk away with Lord Sugar’s investment, aside from the stunning double win in 2017, Thomas said he still keeps in touch with a few candidates after the show and is seen as a mentor to many of the former stars of the show. program.

He’s a good guy! said Thomas. ‘I have his number, we have a chat from time to time.

I’ve asked him for some advice and I’ve also sold him a few things!

Thomas, owner of Bosh Beds in Essex, credited the show with taking his business “all over the country” and revealed that his best advice to future contestants would be to just “be yourself”.

He explained: ‘You just have to be confident and try to do things you’re not good at. Like I have dyslexia, but you just have to try your hardest and learn to do what you can.

‘Just have fun because it’s an amazing opportunity. Even if you don’t win and you get fired from the process, you’ll be fine, so just be yourself and enjoy it.’

You’ve been using your positive attitude while working on your business during a time of financial uncertainty and a cost-of-living crisis.

“Everyone should remember that hard times don’t last and move on,” he reasoned.

Since appearing on the show, Thomas has appeared on shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats and Celebrity MasterChef and is suggested to appear on the upcoming series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

The entrepreneur has also earned a large following on Twitter who have left behind his hearty and unusual breakfasts at Dino’s Cafe in New Spitalfields Market.

Among its unusual morning feasts are a meatloaf, carbonara, and a full Christmas dinner.

Speaking about the sudden buzz around his unusual morning snacks, he revealed that he went viral by chance after a colleague filmed him eating a steak and kidney pie at 5am and shared it online.

He explained: “I get up really early in the morning and always want a decent breakfast, but they made my partner laugh so he filmed it one day and I must have gotten about 100 messages from followers thanking me for sharing it.”

“They said it had helped them wake up in the morning and put them in a good mood and if they make just one person happy then I’m happy so I kept making them.”

“Every day I’ll post them and if I don’t I get messages from people saying they had a bad day because I didn’t upload a video!”