The final of The Celebrity Apprentice's festive special for BBC Children in Need has ignited a firestorm of controversy, with legions of fans accusing the show of being 'fixed' after the winners were announced on Tuesday, 30 December.
A Festive Task in Lapland
The first of two special episodes, which aired on Monday 29 December, transported twelve celebrities to Lapland. Their mission was to create and market a unique Christmas gingerbread biscuit, complete with an advertising campaign and jingle.
The contestants were split into two rival teams. One squad was led by project manager JB Gill and included Tom Skinner, Matt Morsia, Shazia Mirza, Angela Scanlon, and Sarah Hadland. Their opponents were managed by Rob Rinder and featured Charlie Hedges, AJ Odudu, Jake Wood, Kadeena Cox, and Eddie Kadi.
JB's team invented 'Gary the Penguin', a biscuit with a controversial blend of bubblegum and white pepper flavours. Rob's team countered with 'Jolly Mc Trouble', featuring vanilla and Christmas pudding notes, although their batch was reported to be slightly overbaked.
The High-Stakes Pitch and Surprise Victory
In Tuesday's finale, both teams presented their creations to a panel of industry retailers at a London venue. The promotional efforts were star-studded; JB's group enlisted Rylan Clark and Gladiators stars for their live pitch, while Rob's team played video messages from A-list supporters including Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.
Despite Lord Sugar praising Rob's team for their compelling product backstory and Jake Wood's advert, victory was awarded based on advance orders. JB's team secured a staggering 452,000 orders, dramatically outperforming Rob's team, which managed 355,500 units.
Viewer Backlash and Boardroom Fallout
The result provoked immediate and fierce criticism from viewers on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Many were baffled by the outcome, given the winning team's unusual flavour combination and an advert that prominently featured Tom Skinner screaming in a penguin costume.
One furious viewer posted, "Fix, how did they win with that crap?!" Another echoed the sentiment, questioning, "How the f*** did that team win with that diabolical advert." A third commented, "Shocked that the Gary The Penguin team won. They had the worse TV advert and their flavours were disgusting."
However, not all feedback was negative. One supporter of the winners noted, "I'm pleased Gary the Penguin won as even though their ad was awful, the product made far more sense (and the jingle was catchy)!"
Following the loss, project manager Rob Rinder brought Kadeena Cox and Jake Wood back into the boardroom, where Lord Sugar ultimately decided to fire Rob. The Celebrity Apprentice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
