The Apprentice winner claims Alan Sugar ‘went ballistic’ and stormed off set

Mark Wright, who won the series back in 2014, described the incident as a ‘power move’

A former contestant on The Apprentice has claimed that Lord Alan Sugar once “went ballistic” for no reason, before he walked off set for 25 minutes.

The story comes from Mark Wright, who won the 2014 edition of the BBC reality series, and went on to partner with Sugar in a joint business venture.

Speaking on the On a Mission podcast, Wright recalled the alleged incident, which took place while filming one of the “boardroom” showdown scenes.

“One day out of the blue [Sugar] just went ballistic for no reason,” Wright said, per The Mirror. “He just went completely psycho, and he walked out of the boardroom and left everyone in there – the film crew, production, Karen and Nick and all the contestants and left us there for 25 minutes.

“He just did a psycho rant and left the room and then he came back in, and I was like ‘that was magic,’ he just gained back control of the environment like that!”

Wright went on to voice his admiration for his TV mentor, describing the incident as a “power move”.

“I absolutely loved it and he’s the master of the power move!”

The Independent has contacted a representative of Sugar for comment.

The entrepreneur went on to speak fondly of Sugar’s tutilege.

Alan Sugar on ‘The Apprentice' (BBC / MGM / Warner Bros / James Gourley)

“It’s amazing because what I learnt from him, money can’t buy. He’s being so ruthless on me because he’s trying to demonstrate where I need to go,” he said.

The Apprentice recently finished airing its 17th series on BBC One.

Following complaints from viewers that the show’s treatment of its candidates had become “too nasty” during the “interviews” episode, a spokesperson for The Apprentice issued a rebuttal.