Celebrity Apprentice viewers witnessed an emotional boardroom moment as Thomas Skinner appeared to fight back tears, only for Lord Alan Sugar to deliver a characteristically blunt response. As the 12 new contestants introduced themselves, Lord Sugar turned to Skinner, who previously appeared as a regular candidate, and quipped: “Since when did you get celebrity status?” Skinner replied simply: “I don’t know.”
Lord Sugar continued: “He was here as an ordinary candidate, now he’s here on Celeb Apprentice, but of a wheeler-dealer. He sells Christmas cards on New Year’s Day.” As Skinner became emotional, Baroness Karren Brady interrupted: “Are you crying?” Skinner admitted: “I don’t get upset, really, it’s just I didn’t see this show six years ago, and it’s changed my life, and I’m back here.” Lord Sugar then joked: “It is exciting for me too, as you’re the only candidate I might end up firing twice.” Skinner replied: “I hope not. Fingers crossed.”
Fans were split online. One wrote: “Bless Thomas Skinner crying on the show - he’s a good guy with a good heart and appreciates all the opportunities he’s had from this show.” Others were harsher, saying: “Bro gets his stuff taken out of context and just gets cooked randomly,” and “Thomas Skinner crying was so cringe.” Another added: “Yep, Thomas Skinner is indeed the golden goose.”
The emotional moment came as the latest batch of celebrity candidates were unveiled for the festive spin-off. The famous faces include AJ Odudu, Angela Scanlon, Charlie Hedges, Eddie Kadi, Jake Wood, JB Gill, Kadeena Cox, Matt Morsia, Rob Rinder, Sarah Hadland, Shazia Mirza, and Tom Skinner. The celebrities are split into two teams and flown to Lapland, where they must create gingerbread biscuits, design branding, shoot an advert, and pitch to retailers.
On Skinner's team, their penguin-shaped cookie attracted ridicule on social media, with viewers claiming the green-iced penguin appeared to be wearing a bra. One wrote: “The penguin looks like it’s wearing a trainer bra.” Another added: “It’s a penguin in a bra.” Others questioned the creative choices, with one viewer quipping: “It’s a well known fact that penguins never wear green…”
