Ex-Apprentice contestant says he was manipulated by show’s producers

“A producer held up a sign, written on a bit of paper, that said ‘Remember Daniel, Lord Sugar told you it’s about sales. Make sure Felipe knows about it’ – with loads of exclamation marks.

“I took that as they wanted me to argue. I just went with it and let them manipulate me to stay in the show longer.”

Mr Lassman, an alum of King Solomon High School, owns weeklyquiz.co.uk, an entertainment firm which specialises in writing questions and providing quizmasters for pub quizzes.

He told the JC his intention was to use his appearances on the Apprentice for publicity, and he has seen interest in the company skyrocket since.

With a nod to an episode in which he dressed as a hot dog, Mr Lassman said: “It’s difficult to say whether I would recommend the show to others.

“For me it worked really well – being remembered for the one-liners and being seen as fun got the company’s name out there. But if you were a serious lawyer, running around dressed as a hot dog might not be a good idea.

“I wanted the exposure first and you do expect them to make it an entertaining show, but I felt that going on the show could only do me good.”