‘Real reason’ Dr Jana left The Apprentice revealed as sources close to the star say he was ‘set up to fail’
HE left Lord Sugar and The Apprentice’s candidates stunned when he walked out of the boardroom in shock scenes last week – after telling the tycoon he wasn’t the “right fit” for the show.
Now, sources close to Dr Jana Denzel have revealed that the dentist was happy to walk away from the process because he felt they were being “set up to fail” by production staff in the series of tasks.
“Jana felt that he was being tripped up in tasks designed to make him look bad,” the insider alleged.
“He understands reality TV has to be about entertainment, but was unhappy about how unfair and staged it felt.
“He raised concerns to the production staff, expecting some support, but felt that he was shrugged off and instead warned about being disruptive to the integrity of the show.
“It was this that first sparked Jana’s interest in walking away from the competition.
“He felt he had been labelled as troublesome and misbehaving for speaking out to production against the way filming was taking place, and that this all weighed heavily on him.
“Not only this, he felt his contributions to the tasks were repeatedly being brushed over in the boardroom, leading to him questioning whether he and Lord Sugar would be aligned in working together.”
Jana’s exit from the show followed our exclusive reveal that the dentist had been given a dressing down by production after using the offensive term “coloured” during a task.
But the show insider insisted this was an honest mistake that Dr Jana did his best to rectify immediately.
The source continued: “He doesn’t deny that he made an ill-informed choice of words, but Jana was trying to be inclusive in creating a character from a minority background for their ad campaign in episode five.
“Jana’s comment wasn’t aimed at anyone – he wanted the others in his team to know he was keen to have inclusivity at the forefront of their design.
“He was immediately picked up on his choice of words in a friendly way by another candidate and, of course, apologised, before immediately amending his language to use the correct term, a person of colour.
“However, action from the production team was far from swift, and he wasn’t reprimanded in any way until much later after the show, when he was called back in and offered an opportunity to receive extra training.
“He signed up for this willingly.”
A representative of The Apprentice declined to comment when approached by The Sun.
Last week, Dr Jana, who owns his own company that specialises in cosmetic dentistry with dozens of A-list clients, hinted that he had a tense row with Lord Sugar before his dramatic departure from the show.
The dental studio owner, who had been a standout candidate throughout the series, lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes process, following tension first struck by the businessman calling Jana “very quiet”.
Jana admitted to Yahoo: “That one line is really what hit me.
“In task one, I set an Apprentice record at 48% in negotiations. In task two, I was put in charge of negotiations again and led us to a win. Task three was my best yet, but I only got a 10-second feature.
“It wasn’t me branding myself as the king of negotiations, my fellow candidates said it in the boardroom.
“A business partnership is like a marriage – you have to be a good fit. If Lord Sugar can’t see my contributions when all my candidates can, then maybe we’re not a great fit.”
It comes after former show candidate Amy Anzel exclusively told us how she felt she too had been “set up” by show producers, alleging that mock buyers on the show had been told “not to buy from her”.
Amy slammed the show being “manipulated” and staged, furiously hitting out: “The amount of manipulation in that show is unbelievable, like setting up the stage, so candidates make mistakes.”
While another former candidate, Lewis Ellis, launched a scathing attack on the BBC One series, claiming he was made to “look like a d***head” and slamming the series as “the most toxic thing he’s ever experienced.”
Gladiator Legend and comics complete line-up for Celebrity Apprentice
A MIXED trio of stars complete the line-up for this year’s Celebrity Apprentice special – they are two comedians and one seriously scary bloke.
I can reveal that Gladiators star Legend — real name Matt Morsia — will feature, alongside funnyman Eddie Kadi and stand-up favourite Shazia Mirza.
A TV insider said: “The producers have really tried to bring together an eclectic mix of people for this year’s Celebrity Apprentice.
“Although Eddie and Shazia are established names, Legend is something of a shooting star, becoming hugely popular as one of the Gladiators on the rebooted Saturday night series.
“The only common denominator is that they have clearly tried to select from within a pool of BBC shows and BBC talent — particularly when it comes to former contestants on Strictly.”
Other famous people taking part who have appeared in the dance contest are Sarah Hadland, Rob Rinder, AJ Odudu, Jake Wood, Angela Scanlon and the winner of the most recent series, JLS singer JB Gill.
The Apprentice has also dipped into its own past by adding Thomas Skinner — a contestant from the 2019 series — to the line-up.
The dozen who will go face to face with taskmaster Lord Sugar later this year also include Paralympian Kadeena Cox and Radio 1 DJ Charlie Hedges.
I exclusively revealed last year that another spin-off celebrity series of The Apprentice was being made by the Beeb.
It’s the first one to have been produced in six years and the producers have yet to officially confirm the final line-up.
It is believed the show, which will raise funds for charity, will be Christmas themed, as it will air around the festive season, with one of the tasks taking place in Lapland.
Good luck to the brave dozen — they’re going to need it.
Katie ex role is next Jen
THE first season of hit thriller The Ex-Wife ended in a shock cliffhanger involving a car crash three years ago.
Now Paramount+ has finally given a first look at Katie McGrath as shady ex Jen, the role previously played by Janet Montgomery.
The Merlin actress will join Tom Mison and Celine Buckens as married couple Jack and Tasha.
The new series will pick up three years on from last series’ finale with Tasha on the run in Cyprus with daughter Emily. Meanwhile, Jen has moved on with a new man. Jordan Stephens returns as Sam.
A synopsis for the second season, out later this year, teases that Jack has been released early from his prison sentence for kidnapping Emily in a bid to reconcile with Jen.
COMING up with his smart casual look for his time as Doctor Who was a breeze for David Tennant. He turned on the TV for inspiration.
He told the Off Menu podcast: “Jamie Oliver was on Parkinson wearing a suit with trainers, and looking really cool, so that’s where the idea came from.”
GRAND Designs will return for two series this spring and autumn, after the success of its 25th anniversary in 2024.
The first one features three new builds and two revisits. Host Kevin McCloud said: “It’s great to be back for two series full of astonishing projects from great architects.”
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