The regular series has been delayed because of the BBC's fears about impartiality during a General Election, given the fact Lord Alan Sugar had an advisory role with the (now defunct) Labour government. In its place, post-election, we have pint-sized version
Junior Apprentice (
BBC1/HD, Wednesdays @9pm) , where 10 teenagers are taken from the classroom and find themselves in Lord Sugar's infamous boardroom... I had a few concerns about
Junior Apprentice when I heard about it, fearing a dilluted version of the adult show that, literally, treated everything with kid gloves. The relief is that
Junior Apprentice absolutely justifies its existence and doesn't do a disservice to the
Apprentice brand or what viewers have come to expect from this show. Lord Sugar (no longer a lowly "Sir") wasn't appreciably softer on the kids, who themselves weren't the distractable bunch of immature chancers you might have been expecting. They were literally like shorter versions of the adults that have appeared on this series, albeit with squeakier voices. It was also a lot easier to get to grips with the candidates, too; a testament to whomever whittled the thousands of applicants down to 10 clearly delineated youngsters. Or perhaps the footage's editors just did a better job at giving everyone enough screentime to leave an impression. It usually takes me three or four weeks to feel at ease with the regular show's adults, but I feel quite at home with these teens already. And that's certainly a benefit considering there are only six episodes in this series. The first task was a simple one to ease them in. Lord Sugar had purchased £500-worth of cheese for the gender-split teams to sell at a venue of their choice. The team who made the most profit would win. Simple. The boys ("Instinct") appointed Jordan as their leader and took their produce to Whitecross Market, while Hibah eventually volunteered to lead the girls ("Revolution") and set-up a stall at Covent Garden market. The usual arguments and head-slapping business mistakes ensued. Project leader Jordan (already running an internet business at the age of 16) had problems with face-to-face delegation, the boy's slabs of cheese proved very unpopular, but country boy Tim had success with his "credit crunch lunch boxes" idea. Unfortunately, Tim hadn't prepared many beforehand and found it difficult to make more given the windy conditions. A poor excuse that would come back to bite him. Towards the end of a very disappointing day, the boys decided to offload their remaining cheese at reduced prices, making the terrible mistake of offloading a cooler-full of cheese for £250 that was actually worth closer to £400, and a whole basket of cheese for... er, a quid. The girls did a lot better at Covent Garden, primarily because 16-year-old Zoe was revealed to be a natural with customers, although her domineering spirit often overwhelmed her teammates and reduced Hibah to tears at one point. In the boardroom, the results showed that the girls had netted a profit of £143.88, but the boys had actually lost £201.10. Jordan brought Tim and Rhys into the boardroom to explain their failure, believing that apathetic Tim's inability to make more lunches cost them business, and that Rhys' choice of location was to blame for the poor sales. In turn, Jordan's inability to delegate effectively and sell well was criticized, prompting Lord Sugar to agree that he lost control of the task before firing him.
Junior Apprentice's real strength is how it doesn't feel like a dumbed-down version of the "proper" show, with the exact same style and temperament to everything. Lord Sugar wasn't noticeably easier on the kids, beyond assuring Jordan that he has nothing to feel ashamed about just because he was the first to be fired. And that was an appreciated moment of softness to counteract any teasing the kids may encounter when they're sent home, which I was totally in agreement with. While I'm almost certain there will be flavours of the adult series this
Junior version doesn't replicate (will they seriously be given one of those nightmarish "job interviews" in the penultimate week?), for the most part it was the exact same show. To its credit. An adult businessman even cheated the kids by paying half-price for cheese he knew was worth double the price, so they obviously can't rely on the sympathy of grownups! Incidentally, this series marks the debut of Karren Brady, who replaces the outgoing Margaret Mountford as Lord Sugar's female aide. Karen proved to be just as constructive as her cult predecessor, but also less of a grouch. There was always something amusing but aloof about Margaret, but Karren just feels warmer. She's a great addition on the evidence here, just as the
Junior spin-off is to the
Apprentice franchise. I will continue to blog about
Junior Apprentice every Thursday, over at
Dan's Media Digest.