Jenny Bathurst: "I often feel like I’m a contestant on The Apprentice"

My favourite reality TV show of all time just has to be The Apprentice. I’m sure that due to its popularity and longevity you will be familiar with it but just in case you aren’t, the series follows budding entrepreneurs competing in various tasks in a bid to win a major investment from Lord Alan Sugar. Really, it’s a similar line-up of contestants every year: one man who is convinced he is the most handsome creature to have ever walked the earth, a group of women who don’t seem to understand the concept of being silent when someone else is taking, and always a group of people who are convinced the ground they walk on should be worshipped by all.

And, let’s be honest, we all laugh at them. That’s half the fun of it, isn’t it. Yes, that makes me sound like an opinionated and spiteful hag, but it’s true. We laugh at their ridiculous business decisions, their ignorance that seems so absurd from the comfort of your sofa and their cringey interactions with members of the public. I suppose we think it’s okay because they’ve chosen to put themselves on television and ultimately, the editors of the programme don’t make any efforts to hide any blunders, but it’s such enormous pressure for those individuals who are desperate to achieve their goals and know that their sacrifice for such an opportunity is to be laughed at by millions.