Alert – The Apprentice winner Marnie Swindells says BBC aftercare felt like a ‘checkbox exercise’ and reveals why she thinks new candidate Amber Rose has already blown it with Lord Sugar – News Alerts

The Apprentice winner Marnie Swindells has issued a warning to the candidates on the new series of the BBC show.

Season 19 kicks off on Thursday night with 18 new hopefuls fighting it out for Lord Sugar’s £250,000 invesntment.

Two years ago Marnie was the lucky winner, and while the gym owner has enjoyed a successful collaboration with Lord Sugar, she has some criticism of the show’s aftercare, labelling it ‘a checkbox exercise’.

Speaking with Office Freedom Marnie said ‘more could be done around the aftercare and making sure people’s heads are okay throughout the process.’

‘I expected a little bit more support at times and it felt like a checkbox exercise. I think they do genuinely care, but whether they have enough resources and protocols in place to protect from people having a bad emotional experience with it, I’m not sure.’

‘You go from being an absolute nobody, then overnight the whole of the UK has an opinion on what you’re doing and is watching you intensely – not just on Thursday nights, but throughout the week they want to know what you’re doing and who you are. It’s a serious roller coaster and journey.’

The Apprentice winner Marnie Swindells has issued a warning to the candidates on the new series of the BBC show

Marnie said that in her opinon contestants ‘need a thick skin’ to go the show and added that ‘the emotional impact should also be taken extremely seriously.’

‘They do test that and carry out interviews with you alongside psychologists, but throughout the process, I didn’t feel like we were always listened to,’ she said.

Marnie also had her say on the new batch of candidates, specifically Amber-Rose Badrudin, who has already hit the headlines thanks to reports of her rule break during filming.

Asian mini-mart owner Amber-Rose was reportedly caught in a hotel room with a co-star while working on a task abroad, despite the show enforcing a strict ‘no touching rule’ with the contestants.

Muddying the waters further, is Amber-Rose’s relationship with her ex-boyfriend and current business partner Michael Nguyen – with eyebrows raised over the timings of the split and whether she had been unfaithful on the show.

She has insisted that the reports of her being in a hotel room with a co-star have been ‘twisted’ and that it had ‘not come from the BBC.’

While she didn’t deny the incident had occurred, she insisted she was ‘not read the riot act’ by producers or reprimanded for any sexual behaviour.

Marnie thinks that Amber-Rose may have already blown it with Lord Sugar though, calling the alleged incident ‘absolutely ridiculous’.

Marnie also had her say on the new batch of candidates, specifically Amber-Rose Badrudin, who has already hit the headlines thanks to reports of her rule break during filming

Marnie thinks that Amber-Rose may have already blown it with Lord Sugar, calling the alleged incident ‘absolutely ridiculous’

‘To achieve a spot out of hundreds of thousands of applicants and you’ve made it to the final 18, then you’re going to jeopardise that over a momentary pleasure that could wait? I can’t see any valid reason to prioritise that in those circumstances,’ she said.

‘I have no patience for it whatsoever and I hope that Lord Sugar reflects on it that way as well. I would imagine he has no tolerance for that – there’s no place for it.’

Marnie pointed out Lord Sugar’s advisors Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell are always feeding back to the business tycoon on the contestants, calling Karren in particular ‘very astute – nothing gets past her.’

‘They’re both Lord Sugar’s eyes and ears on the ground – he puts a lot of faith in them and they do not disappoint.’

‘They report back every little detail, as do the producers. It’s not just what’s happening in the tasks that get reported back.’

‘Our behaviour, who we are as people, and how we respond in every single situation are being fed back to Lord Sugar – that’s why your true character is always under assessment.’

Representatives for The Apprentice have been contacted by for comment.

The Apprentice airs on BBC One at 9pm on Thursdays.