‘I was on The Apprentice

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Having been on our screens for nearly 20 years, The Apprentice has become a TV staple for viewers up and down the country. Whether it’s Lord Sugar’s infamous “you’re fired” elimination, tense talks in the losers’ café or laugh-out-loud funny mishaps, the BBC One show is known for taking fans through a whole host of emotions.

But while it may make for light-hearted viewing, as candidates battle it out in teams to secure a £250,000 investment in their business, things can get a little tense in the boardroom as contestants secure Lord Sugar’s backing.

And one person who knows that all too well is former runner up Kathryn Burn who appeared on last year’s show. After attempting to earn the investment for her pyjama store, Pyjamily, Kathryn reveals all about her time on the UK’s toughest interview process…



Kathryn Burn appeared on The Apprentice in 2022

Kathryn Burn appeared on The Apprentice in 2022

“I applied for the show in January 2020 and started filming in July 2021 before the show aired early last year. I filmed throughout the summer and had such a crazy experience but I couldn’t speak to anyone about it, which was weird.

I’ve watched the show for years, so before I went into the process I mentally prepared myself for the early mornings and late nights. I knew that I’d be pushing myself while on the show.

You’re not allowed to take clocks or watches in the house, so I didn’t know what time it was when I woke up – but it was filmed in June and it was still dark outside. When I went downstairs I could see the time on the cooker and it was 4.30am and when I got back from filming it would sometimes be 9-10pm at night. It was intense.

Being a fan of the show, I put a lot of thought into how I’d cope with the early mornings. You genuinely only have 20 minutes to get ready but if I’ve got the time, I could take three hours to get ready. Every night I used to get my outfit out and pack my bags. I didn’t wear that much makeup on tasks and I’d put my hair in a plait so that it was ready quickly in the morning.



Kathryn made it to the final of the BBC One show alongside Harpreet Kaur

Kathryn made it to the final of the BBC One show alongside Harpreet Kaur

Things could get tense in the boardroom but when you apply, you don’t apply to go home, you apply because you want the investment. I hold grudges badly. If someone throws me under the bus, I don’t let it go. I thought it was going to be savage but it wasn’t like that at all.

A senior executive said that the way to enjoy the experience is to let things go. If you’re going to hold on to one little thing that someone said, you’ll ruin the experience for yourself. When it came to the boardroom, it was never personal. As soon as you stop filming, you all have a hug and a laugh and call it done.

We became like a second family and spent our down days together. Once we filmed in the boardroom, we’d get a down day. A task could take anything from one to three days and then we’d go to the boardroom the following day before having a day off. However, sometimes we would go straight into a new task.



Kathryn said she and her fellow contestants became a

Kathryn said she and her fellow contestants became a “second family” to each other

On days off, I just used to relax because it was such an intense process. You need to rest because you don’t know when your next day off is going to be – it could be in three days, a week or over a week’s time. I would do my washing and maybe put on a film in the cinema room. I also liked baking banana bread, so the team would make sure that I had all the ingredients for that.

When we filmed it was summer and we couldn’t leave because of Covid, so we had to stay in our bubble. The garden was beautiful, so we would put on music and we would do workouts as a group. Other times, we’d sit there and chat. However, you’re not allowed to talk about tasks when you’re in the house and there’s a team of five other people who lived with us to make sure that we stuck to this rule.



Even when there were enough bedrooms in the house, Kathryn and Harpreet still chose to share a room

Even when there were enough bedrooms in the house, Kathryn and Harpreet still chose to share a room

Because there were so many of us in the house, the girls all slept in a room together. It was like having a girls’ night every night and I loved it. Luckily, all the girls got on really well and we’d get into bed and have a little chat in the mornings and on our days off I’d get the coffees and someone else would get the bagels. It was like having a sleepover every single night. Even when we could have our own rooms, Harps (Harpreet Kaur) and I stayed together.

Being on The Apprentice changed a lot and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Now I’m on the other side, I’m so much more confident and I can feel a shift in who I am as a person.”

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