Claude Littner admits Lord Sugar walked out on him during a job interview

Claude Littner, the business executive who is joining Lord Sugar for the new series of BBC1’s The Apprentice, confesses that relations between them haven’t always run smoothly.

Although the pair are longstanding colleagues, Littner recalls his first ill-fated interview with the tycoon, telling Radio Times: “He had my CV in front of him. We sat at a table and he didn’t look at me at all. He didn’t ask me any questions, so after a few minutes I said, ‘Would you like me to tell you a bit about myself?’ He just looked of the window and started whistling.

“I realised that this was probably not going to work out, so I stopped talking. He got up and walked out, and as he went he just said ‘Bored’.”

Despite this less-than-promising start, Littner went on to join forces with Sugar at his technology company, Amstrad, as well as serving as chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur during Sugar’s chairmanship of the club.