Controversial The Apprentice candidate Levi Hague has provided a detailed account of a severe illness that struck him during filming for the current BBC series, forcing his temporary absence from the boardroom. The 33-year-old former gunner and HGV driver, one of twenty candidates this season, explained he was "isolated" from fellow contestants after becoming violently sick.
The Sickness Incident Explained
In a recent episode, Lord Sugar informed the remaining entrepreneurs that Levi would not participate due to sickness. Hague has since returned to the competition and used his TikTok platform to clarify the circumstances. He described contracting food poisoning after a late-night meal, leading to intense symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting.
"The night before the task, we got in pretty late, about 10 o’clock at night, couldn’t be bothered to cook," Hague recounted. "I were being lazy, and I had some spaghetti bolognese, either that or some chicken, whatever. I got food poisoning, really bad. Diarrhea and vomiting."
Immediate Isolation Measures
The illness manifested dramatically upon arrival at the filming location. "The place where we went to do the boardroom, you have a little chill out room before, and I spewed up getting out the car," he said. "More or less spewed up when we got into the chill out room, so they isolated me straight away, so I wouldn’t spread it to any other contestants."
Hague was subsequently moved to a hotel to prevent contagion, where he remained for four to five days. He praised the production team for their care, noting they conducted hourly checks and provided water and food. His recovery required strong antibiotics, and he humorously compared his weight loss to that of an Ozempic user, mentioning he stopped counting after 21 toilet visits in one day.
Historical Social Media Controversy
This revelation comes amid separate controversy surrounding Hague's past online behaviour. Reports have surfaced that he shared offensive tweets in the early 2010s, including racist and sexist remarks. The posts allegedly referred to Muslims as "dirty," used derogatory terms for women, and labelled police officers as "pigs," while expressing support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
These tweets were visible on his X account until The Sun on Sunday contacted the BBC, after which they were removed. In a sincere apology, Hague stated: "I am ashamed and embarrassed to have made these posts over a decade ago and I offer my sincere apologies to all who I've offended, as well as my fellow candidates, for the truly awful language and views that they contain. I take full accountability for the publishing of those posts. They are not a reflection of the values I uphold today."
Production Responses and Vetting Issues
Hague admitted he did not disclose the account during the show's vetting process. The BBC responded firmly, stating they were "completely unaware" of the comments and found them "totally unacceptable." They have requested further assurances from the independent production company, Fremantle, regarding social media checks, noting the process "has not been completed to a satisfactory standard in this instance."
A spokesperson from Naked, the production company, added: "We pride ourselves on producing a series that promotes diversity and inclusion. Levi's historical posts contain language which is unacceptable and Levi has been spoken to about this behaviour. He has apologised and insists that these posts do not reflect the man he is now. We work with reputable third-party providers to carry out comprehensive background and social media checks on all of our candidates. On this occasion, these checks failed to flag the offensive posts, therefore we will be reviewing this process moving forward."
Current Competition Status
Despite these challenges, Levi Hague remains in The Apprentice competition after five candidates—Nikki Jetha, Georgina Newton, Marcus Donkoh, Tanmay Hingorani, and Roxanne Hamedi—have been fired by Lord Sugar. The show continues to air on the BBC, blending business challenges with personal dramas.
