Lembit Opik does the business for Sir Alan to raise charity cash

Mar 10 2008 by Hannah Jones, Western Mail

POLITICIAN Lembit Opik has returned to working in a shop for a special celebrity edition of The Apprentice.

The MP for Montgomeryshire and Lib-Dem front-bench spokesman for Wales and Northern Ireland, who once ran a ladies’ shoe shop before he won a seat in Westminster, spent three days trying to set up and run a business in London as part of the BBC One special, Sport Relief Does The Apprentice.

Viewers can see Lembit and other famous faces work over two gruelling days to raise cash for Sport Relief, under the eagle eyes of entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar’s aides, Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford.

Along with team members Phil Tufnell, Kelvin MacKenzie, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Nick Hancock, Lembit had to come up with a name for the business, and then stock the shop with items which they thought would turn the highest profit.

A girls’ team, featuring Clare Balding, Lisa Snowdon, Jacqueline Gold, Kirstie Allsopp and Louise Redknapp, were also given the same challenge, with each group battling not to be the one to hear those fateful words, “You’re fired”. Mr Opik yesterday described the rough and tumble world of politics as “far easier than setting up a shop and facing Sir Alan”.

“I can only describe him as being like a teacher looking after a group of incapable kids on a school holiday,” said the MP. We had to do the challenge in 72 hours and it was really hard work. At the same time it was hilarious.”

The show is on at 9pm on Wednesday on BBC One.