Date: 19 July 2006
You’re Fired! Apprentice Contestants Reveal All For Norwood
Four of the most charismatic and entertaining contestants from the recent hit TV show 'The Apprentice' delighted a packed crowd of more than 200 people in Central London on Tuesday 18 July 2006. They were given a unique behind the scenes insight into how it feels being subjected to one of the toughest interview processes imaginable at the hands of Sir Alan Sugar. The fundraising event, entitled “The Apprentice – Tales From The Boardroom”, held at the plush offices of prestigious law firm Allen and Overy, was organised by Norwood City Slickers, and raised more than £12,000 for Anglo-Jewry’s leading children and family services charity.
Syed Ahmed, Ruth Badger, Ansell Henry, Mani Sandher, and series editor Dan Adamson, were put through their paces by former BBC News presenter and reporter Emma Howard, who then opened up the floor to questions from the audience. When asked what it was like to take on such a notorious figure such as Sir Alan, Syed Ahmed demonstrated that he had lost none of his “self-belief” by responding: “It was like a game of chess between him and me – extremely tactical. I certainly gave as good as I got and that is why he respected me so much”.
Other questions covered issues such as whether there was any romance between the contestants – to which the unanimous response was “no” (mainly due to the 20-hour days) – and what advice the panel had for those who hoped to be selected for series three of the show. Ruth Badger, who was one of the final two contestants last time round, responded: “Under no circumstances should you lie about your achievements. Be yourself, otherwise you will be found out by Sir Alan and you won’t last the course”.
The evening was rounded off by a charity auction, during which the panel took turns playing auctioneer – enabling them to use their undoubted sales skills. At the end of the event, Ansell Henry spoke of his admiration for Norwood, in particular the charity’s fostering and adoption services, an area very close to his heart. He said: “I am very happy to show my support for Norwood. My brother recently adopted two boys and I have seen first hand the level of support that a family needs when going through this procedure. Anything that can be done to make the process easier is fantastic”.
Emma Sharp, Community Fundraiser at Norwood who organised the event, was extremely happy with the evening. She said: It was a sell-out tonight and everybody had a great time. The panellists were very entertaining and I would like to thank everyone involved.”
The event was sponsored by Allen & 0very, Accountants & Business Advisors BDO Stoy Hayward, Freemantle Media and Next Retail.
For more information please contact David Wosner, Public Relations Officer at Norwood on 020 8420 6900 or email: david.wosner@norwood.org.uk
