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| Alan Sugar only does Apprentice for PR, Stella English tells tribunal | Alan Sugar only does Apprentice for PR, Stella English tells tribunal |
| (4 months later) | |
| Lord Sugar told a winner of The Apprentice that he only stars in the TV show for the PR and did not "give a shit" about her. | Lord Sugar told a winner of The Apprentice that he only stars in the TV show for the PR and did not "give a shit" about her. |
| Stella English, 34, the winner of season six of the hit BBC1 show in 2010, told an employment tribunal that Sugar said to her that he would not be renewing her contract with his firm Viglen in an unscheduled meeting on 28 September 2011. | Stella English, 34, the winner of season six of the hit BBC1 show in 2010, told an employment tribunal that Sugar said to her that he would not be renewing her contract with his firm Viglen in an unscheduled meeting on 28 September 2011. |
| During cross-examination English, who is suing Sugar for constructive dismissal, said: "He said to me: 'Look, if you think Lord Sugar is shitting himself and that's why you're here, that's where you're mistaken – I don't give a shit. I've met my obligations to you. | During cross-examination English, who is suing Sugar for constructive dismissal, said: "He said to me: 'Look, if you think Lord Sugar is shitting himself and that's why you're here, that's where you're mistaken – I don't give a shit. I've met my obligations to you. |
| "I only do it for the PR and I don't give a shit. I did it for the BBC and the integrity of the show and a bit of my own PR and a bit of yours too. But the fact is that I don't give a shit." | "I only do it for the PR and I don't give a shit. I did it for the BBC and the integrity of the show and a bit of my own PR and a bit of yours too. But the fact is that I don't give a shit." |
| English, of Whitstable, Kent, said she could not believe that Sugar was not taking her life and future seriously. "At this point I thought we were living in the real world, not in a game show," she said. | English, of Whitstable, Kent, said she could not believe that Sugar was not taking her life and future seriously. "At this point I thought we were living in the real world, not in a game show," she said. |
| Sugar has denied the allegations and told the East London Employment Tribunal Service that English was an "untrusting and suspicious person" who was full of "conspiracy theories". | Sugar has denied the allegations and told the East London Employment Tribunal Service that English was an "untrusting and suspicious person" who was full of "conspiracy theories". |
| Reading out his own statement at the hearing , the millionaire businessman said he was surprised when she told him she was not enjoying the £100,000 role working for him that she had won. | Reading out his own statement at the hearing , the millionaire businessman said he was surprised when she told him she was not enjoying the £100,000 role working for him that she had won. |
| "I began to think that perhaps the reality of work rather than the glamour of showbusiness was beginning to bite with her," he said. "Her time in the limelight was beginning to fade." | "I began to think that perhaps the reality of work rather than the glamour of showbusiness was beginning to bite with her," he said. "Her time in the limelight was beginning to fade." |
| Speaking of her suspicions that he had not really chosen her to be the winner, Sugar said: "She assumed the whole thing was a charade and I had no interest in her." | Speaking of her suspicions that he had not really chosen her to be the winner, Sugar said: "She assumed the whole thing was a charade and I had no interest in her." |
| He said: "It was clear to me now that she thought that everyone was out to trick her. She thought during the whole process that she was being lied to and that the other candidate has been chosen as the winner." | He said: "It was clear to me now that she thought that everyone was out to trick her. She thought during the whole process that she was being lied to and that the other candidate has been chosen as the winner." |
| Sugar said English confronted him with the idea that semi-finalist Chris Bates had won the competition because she had not filmed a segment of the show showing her leaving his office in a chauffeur-driven car. | Sugar said English confronted him with the idea that semi-finalist Chris Bates had won the competition because she had not filmed a segment of the show showing her leaving his office in a chauffeur-driven car. |
| "She always came across as quite reserved and detached and, some might argue, cold. At other times she would come to me with some very odd conspiracy theories." | "She always came across as quite reserved and detached and, some might argue, cold. At other times she would come to me with some very odd conspiracy theories." |
| He said she believed his PR agency had leaked information about her family to the press. | He said she believed his PR agency had leaked information about her family to the press. |
| Sugar said that English attracted a lot of stories in the media as soon as the series was aired in the autumn of 2010, and before she had got anywhere near the final, including one that her fiance was connected to the Stephen Lawrence murder case. | Sugar said that English attracted a lot of stories in the media as soon as the series was aired in the autumn of 2010, and before she had got anywhere near the final, including one that her fiance was connected to the Stephen Lawrence murder case. |
| Sugar said it was not true that she told him she thought her role at his IT division Viglen was that of an "overpaid lackey," as she claims. | Sugar said it was not true that she told him she thought her role at his IT division Viglen was that of an "overpaid lackey," as she claims. |
| "That bit is a complete reconstruction or better described as a figment of her imagination," he said. | "That bit is a complete reconstruction or better described as a figment of her imagination," he said. |
| He also denied English's claims that Viglen chief executive, Bordan Tkachuk, replied: "Nice girl. Don't do a lot" when he asked what he thought of her during a meeting between them. | He also denied English's claims that Viglen chief executive, Bordan Tkachuk, replied: "Nice girl. Don't do a lot" when he asked what he thought of her during a meeting between them. |
| "This is typical of her struggling to deal with the truth or facts," he said. | "This is typical of her struggling to deal with the truth or facts," he said. |
| Sugar said he thought English had been doing well at Viglen but still had a lot to learn. He gave her another role at internet set-top box company YouView after she resigned from Viglen in May 2011. | Sugar said he thought English had been doing well at Viglen but still had a lot to learn. He gave her another role at internet set-top box company YouView after she resigned from Viglen in May 2011. |
| Earlier English told the tribunal she had felt pressurised by Sugar to take the second job. | Earlier English told the tribunal she had felt pressurised by Sugar to take the second job. |
| She said he told him he needed a quick answer as the papers were going to print a story that she had quit the next day. | She said he told him he needed a quick answer as the papers were going to print a story that she had quit the next day. |
| "I wasn't in a relaxed comfortable position," she said. "I would say that's a fairly pressurised situation. | "I wasn't in a relaxed comfortable position," she said. "I would say that's a fairly pressurised situation. |
| "It was a completely new idea. Something that I hadn't had any forewarning about, therefore it was something I needed to consider." | "It was a completely new idea. Something that I hadn't had any forewarning about, therefore it was something I needed to consider." |
| The hearing continues. | The hearing continues. |
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