The Apprentice is approaching the end of its 18th series and while the drama-packed reality show appeals to some, it has faced complaints that the format has become stale.
One former candidate who took part in the second series back in 2005 shares this view, claiming the BBC show "had its day about five years ago”.
Raj Dhonota, 49, took part in the series back when it was in its early days, but admitted he hadn’t watched it before or since and wouldn’t have taken part if he knew sooner the show was “more about entertainment”.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, the entrepreneur explained: “Had I seen the first one, I wouldn't have gone onto the second one, but at the time that it came out, it was kind of a completely new show and it was targeting entrepreneurs and I thought it was right up my street.
“But it turned out to be more entertainment than business and I think I'm quite boring in that respect, from the entertainment perspective.”
When asked about the future of the reality series, he admitted: “I think the show had it's day about five years ago! It's time for a change.”
A former The Apprentice star has claimed the show has 'had its day'
BBC
The businessman continued: “Even if the new angle still had [Alan Sugar] at the helm... From what I've understood, you know, it's gone downhill since the first [series].
“I think maybe bring a new agenda to make it up to date, or a different angle.
“One of the things that I've learned from the entrepreneurs that I've worked with is they always say it’s great watching documentaries about the Facebooks and the Googles and the large companies, but you never see that journey.
“You never see that journey through to success. And what I'd like to do in my new business, and I'm thinking about it as a kind live stream maybe, is to showcase my next journey with my next venture, including all the challenges."
Raj appeared in the second series of the show in 2005
Anna Gordon Photography
Reflecting on the show, the business expert explained how he thinks the series isn’t the right platform to showcase talent in business.
“I mean, just in terms of tasks, it's probably not changed much but they were pretty much schoolboy tasks,” he recalled.
“The time was really quite short, I don't think they gave you the opportunity to express your talents. The conditions are really quite restrictive, so you don't have free reign on the show.
“You have a certain number of avenues that you can choose from and obviously you choose one of those avenues and you get pushed down on that.
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The Apprentice is currently in its 18th series
BBC
“So sometimes I think the public say, ‘What an idiotic choice,’ but they don't appreciate there are only a certain amount of choices you’re allowed to make on the show."
He went on: “I must admit I did enjoy myself on the show, it's there and not many people get that opportunity, I don't want to sound ungrateful.”
He also described Sugar as “astute” and “really quite fair” despite his "harsh" persona.
Looking ahead to his own future, Dhonota is planning to move to California to launch an exciting new tech venture.