The Apprentice: Harrison Jones reveals surprising reality of BBC show in BTS expose

The 28-year-old businessman opened up about what it’s like beyond the cameras on the BBC reality series, which, every year, sees hopefuls compete for the chance to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar, 71.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Harrison, who is on the verge of launching the business he took to the show, revealed it’s “more intense” than viewers at home realise.

“I’ve watched it for years and it’s a lot more intense than I would have ever imagined,” he admitted. “Because I’ve never been involved with anything to do with TV, I didn’t know the work that went into it and different processes that would go into a five-second bit of filming.

“It was quite an eye-opener as to all the work that goes into that show,” he continued.

The entrepreneur, who made it to the final five on The Apprentice last series, said the schedule can be gruelling, confessing: “It was hard, long hours as well.

“I didn’t expect them to be that long,” he added. “But I loved it."

Despite the days being long and hectic, Harrison insisted everything fans see accurately represents what happened.

“It is exactly what it is, there’s nothing set up where you’re told what to say,” he said.

However, there’s plenty that doesn’t make the final edit, as Harrison went on to explain how much gets cut.

“The tasks are about two or three days and you see maybe 20 minutes on TV,” he said.

“You can imagine the amount of stuff that doesn’t go on there, it’s quite interesting to see what makes it and what doesn’t.”

Saying he “didn’t have a clue what to expect” when he went into the process, he added: “There’s a lot of time missing, probably about 36 hours of filming. That was interesting.”

Speaking out on what the viewers at home didn’t get to see, he quipped: “Probably all the clever things that I said.

“Some of the dozier comments were miraculously put on,” he laughed. 

Although he didn’t manage to win Lord Sugar as a business partner, The Apprentice contestant Harrison Jones managed to score an investment through the show.

Revealing all to Express.co.uk he explained: “I didn’t win bit but I ended up getting the investment through the show anyway. It was directly through the show.

“It was a private investor,” he explained. “And after I got fired from the show, I put a few things about my business up, what I was looking to do.”

Through a LinkedIn post, investor Alan Betteridge got in contact after being impressed with his work on the show.

“He said he thought I did well on there and he could imagine working with me,” Harrison said.

Harrison is set to launch his healthy eating brand Equals Health with the help of the investment.

The Apprentice is set to return to BBC One later this year.