Last year’s finalist on The Apprentice, Tre Lowe, has shared insights into the “rigorous” audition process behind the scenes of the hit BBC series.
The wellness entrepreneur and musician described the show’s selection procedure as unexpectedly intense.
In an interview with The Mirror on behalf of 10bet, Tre remarked, “It’s the most rigorous process I’ve ever gone through in my life, and I’ve gone through some trials and tribulations in my life.”
Tre shed light on just how challenging it is to secure a spot on the show, highlighting the significant reduction from thousands of applicants to the final 18 contestants.
“I mean, you’ve gone down from thousands and thousands of people, whittled down to 18 people. You’re literally just put through, it’s almost like a distillery or something like that, you just start off like big blocks of rock, and by the time it’s done, you’re just like this fine sand – only 18 particles of sand are left. That’s what it feels like,” he said.
Tre went on to detail the extensive evaluations candidates must undergo – including psychological tests – noting that those who make it onto the show aren’t always necessarily the best business minds.
“It’s so rigorous, it’s crazy. It’s way more intense than I expected, and you’re being evaluated from so many different angles that you don’t fully know what you’re being evaluated from. It’s not just purely business acumen, I’m sure there’s some great business people but they might be boring for TV, for instance,” he shared, reports the Mirror.
He also highlighted the various assessments involved, saying, “There’s all these different evaluations, there’s psychological evaluations, there’s lots of stuff that goes on, and each stage you’ve got to keep believing in yourself, believe that you’ve given the best that you can, but not knowing if it’s enough, you know.”
Concluding his thoughts, Tre said, “Yeah, it’s a great process, again very intense. Almost as intense as the final five. If anyone beats Linda Plant staring at you, I think that’s the scariest thing in the world.”
Now, Tre is poised for his comeback to The Apprentice tonight (February 6), taking on the role of mentor to aid the remaining contestants in creating a hit song.
He took to Instagram last week, sharing a teaser video of himself with the new hopefuls at a keyboard.
Eagerly anticipating the episode, he posted: “Buzzing for this episode! This time last year, I was in the boardroom as a contestant. Now I’m back mentoring the next wave of entrepreneurs, showing them how to craft a hit song and step up under pressure.
“To come full circle, sharing my music knowledge and mentoring these candidates as they navigate the competition, is an absolute privilege.”
The Apprentice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer