Industry | 2009.06.08
I won't leave The Apprentice, says Sugar
As Margaret Mountford exit confirmed, Conservatives say Sugar\'s government role means he should leave hit BBC1 business reality show
Sir Alan Sugar yesterday rebuffed calls by the Conservatives for him to step down from The Apprentice because of his new government role, as his assistant Margaret Mountford confirmed she is leaving the show.
The entrepreneur turned TV personality insisted his role as Labour\'s enterprise tsar was "politically neutral" and he expects to be back fronting next year\'s sixth series of The Apprentice for the BBC.
However, Sugar – who will be a member of the House of Lords by the time next year\'s BBC1 series airs – will by then be without acerbic adviser Mountford, who confirmed on last night\'s The Apprentice – You\'re Hired! that she is quitting the show to complete a PhD in papyrology.
"I would like to concentrate on finishing this before I need a Zimmer frame to get on the platform to receive it," she said.
Mountford will be sorely missed by Apprentice fans. Along with Sugar\'s other business adviser on the show, Nick Hewer, she became a reluctant star with her dry asides and arched eyebrow providing an understated but highly effective commentary on the daft things the contestants did.
Sir Alan, who was appointed as enterprise tsar by the prime minister, Gordon Brown, during Friday\'s reshuffle, told BBC1\'s Andrew Marr Show yesterday the position was "politically neutral", although he is expected to take a seat in the House of Lords.
He was responding to a letter sent by Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, to BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons, saying Sugar\'s roles fronting The Apprentice and advising the government were "totally incompatible".
Sir Alan said he had spoken to the BBC in advance for guidelines on the issue. "It\'s very simple - all I am is an adviser, I\'m not a policy-maker.
He added: "I wouldn\'t join the government. I don\'t see this as a political thing ... as far as I\'m concerned I\'ve just got a passion to help out young people, to help out businesses and act as a kind of giant Dragon\'s Den if you like – although not with my money."
But Mr Hunt said presenting a programme and working for the government on the same issue was "totally incompatible with the BBC\'s rules on political independence and impartiality".
"Sir Alan Sugar needs to make a choice between his role in The Apprentice and his role as the government\'s business tsar," he added.
"I have written to Sir Michael Lyons and asked him as a matter of urgency to explain who at the BBC gave guidance to Sir Alan and whether he had informed them that he would be a Labour peer."
Sir Alan had earlier denied that his appointment had been a publicity stunt. "It\'s a shame it looks like that, but I\'m sure that ... you know I\'m not the type of person to be used," he added.
"I have a passion and commitment to try to help small businesses and enterprise to see if we can get things moving again."
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