The BBC has demanded that the makers of The Apprentice tighten up their vetting process after a candidate on the upcoming series was found to have made racist and sexist posts on social media.
A new series of The Apprentice will begin on the BBC later this month, with 20 candidates competing for the chance to win £250,000 and go into business with Lord Alan Sugar.
However, just weeks out from the start of the new series, it has been discovered that one of the candidates, Levi Hodgetts-Hague, posted racist and sexist comments on social media.
Racist and sexist posts from new The Apprentice candidate discovered on social media
In posts uncovered by The Sun, Hodgetts-Hague branded Muslims “dirty” and called women “slags”.
The 33-year-old from South Yorkshire has apologised for the posts, which were deleted after the newspaper alerted the BBC.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We were completely unaware that this contestant had made such abhorrent comments.
“We have asked the independent production company for further assurances on their social media checks given the process has not been completed to a satisfactory standard in this instance.
“The views presented are totally unacceptable and we are taking this extremely seriously.”
One post from Hodgetts-Hague, which is said to have been posted in October 2012, refers to radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza’s extradition from the UK to New York on terror charges.
It reportedly read: “Thank f*** that extremist dirty Muslim preacher getting took out of this country. Just a waste of money and waste of space. F*** off.”
Another post from May 2013 included the hashtag “#IslamAJoke.”
Other posts reportedly see him express support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and describe women as “skets” and “dogs”.
A statement issued to The Sun on Sunday by Hodgetts-Hague said: “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.
“I would like to apologise for my actions, as well as to the production team for failing to bring this account to their attention.”
The Apprentice production company says it will review its vetting process
Despite using “reputable third-party providers to carry out comprehensive background and social media checks”, the production company responsible for making The Apprentice, Naked, has said it will review its vetting process after the discovery of Hodgetts-Hague’s posts.
A spokesperson for Naked said: “We pride ourselves on producing a series that promotes diversity and inclusion and has done throughout its 20 series.
“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 as part of our rigorous due diligence before casting.
“On this occasion, these checks failed to flag the offensive posts, therefore we will be reviewing this process moving forward.”
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When does the new series of The Apprentice start?
Series 20 of The Apprentice begins on January 29.
The series will see 20 new candidates compete for the chance to win £250,000 and go into business with Lord Alan Sugar.
For the first time ever, the boardroom will take place in Hong Kong for episode one.
The first full-length series of The Celebrity Apprentice is also coming to BBC One and iPlayer in 2026.
Series 20 of The Apprentice starts at 9pm on January 29 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
