THE Apprentice candidate Levi Hague is one of the most talked-about contestants in the latest series.
He’s still in the running to become Lord Alan Sugar’s business partner on the hit BBC show, but has also stirred up plenty of controversy.
Who is The Apprentice star Levi Hague?
Levi Hague, 33, is a former Royal Air Force gunner from Doncaster who later worked as an HGV driver before moving into business.
He said: “People say I’m a man who’s lived a thousand lives.”
Hague is among the entrepreneurs competing in the latest series of The Apprentice to secure Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment.
His business plan involves personalised pet-cremation urns.
During the series he has been involved in some of the most dramatic moments in the boardroom.
These include a fiery clash between contestants after a task that saw tensions boil over.
Hague and PR guru Lawrence Rosenberg, 28, were spoken to by show producers following a confrontation.
A source said: “Tension was running high in the boardroom and it all came to a head back at the house.
“One candidate was shouting and swearing at the other and producers had to speak to them both afterwards.
“It all boiled down to loyalties.
“There was a lot of gameplay.
“One candidate mistakenly gave the impression that they wouldn’t bring the other back into the boardroom – but they went back on their word.”
A source close to production said: “The Apprentice is a competitive show, so moments of tension are not unusual on occasion.
“Viewers will see a moment where things get a little heated between Lawrence and Levi, but it was quickly resolved, with both returning their focus to reaching the end of the process.”
Away from the show, Hague also faced criticism after historic social media posts resurfaced online.
The tweets from over a decade ago were racist and sexist, with the BBC calling the comments “totally unacceptable”.
An MP demanded to know how Hague got on the show while anti-racism campaigner Mickey Ambrose branded Hague’s rants “vile”.
He said: “It’s an embarrassment. Are we really paying our licence fee to publicise a person like this?
“What he’s said is vile, it’s very discriminatory and he should never have been allowed on the show.”
In one rant in October 2012, Hague appeared to refer to hate preacher Abu Hamza being extradited from the UK to New York on terror charges.
Tagging far-right activist Tommy Robinson, he tweeted: “Thank f*** that extremist dirty muslim preacher getting took out of this country. Just a waste of money and waste of space. F*** off.”
In May 2013, Hague posted: “Just heard a right joke . . . Islam is a religion of peace. F*** LOL. Please tell me how beheading, bombing innocent people peace? #IslamAJoke.”
He also wrote: “Why is it, if you stand for your British beliefs in a British country like EDLTrobinson [Tommy Robinson] your (sic) hit with the Rascist [sic] brush!? #NoSharia #Joke.”
In a separate post, he added: “We need to unite with EDLTrobinson not against! We have had enough of the acts of Islam time for British people to make a stand.”
The tweets were publicly visible until The Sun on Sunday alerted the BBC to their existence. They were subsequently removed.
Despite the backlash, Hague remains in the competition.
Who is left in The Apprentice?
The latest series of The Apprentice began with 20 candidates competing for Lord Sugar’s investment.
As of March 12, the candidates still in the process are:
- Conor Galvin
- Karishma Vijay
- Dan Miller
- Priyeshi Bhatia
- Lawrence Rosenberg
- Kieran McCartney
- Harry Clough
- Pascha Myhill
- Rothna Akhtar
- Levi Hague
- Rajan Gill
And the contestants fired so far are:
- Nikki Jetha – fired Week 1
- Georgina Newton – fired Week 1
- Marcus Donkoh – fired Week 2
- Tanmay Hingorani – fired Week 3
- Roxanne Hamedi – fired Week 4
- Vanessa Tetteh-Squire – fired Week 5
- Megan Ruiter – fired Week 6
- Carrington Saunders – fired Week 6
- Andrea Cooper – fired Week 6
When does The Apprentice finish?
As of March 12, the BBC hasn’t yet confirmed an official end-date for the latest series of The Apprentice.
But the broadcaster did say the show would air weekly on Thursday nights for 12 episodes.
So by conventional logic, this series should end around mid-April, but we’ll need to wait for an announcement from the Beeb to be sure.
