Mackenzie: Sugar 'much nastier in real life'

Former editor of The Sun Kelvin Mackenzie today said that The Apprentice's Sir Alan Sugar is much "nastier" than he appears in the show.

Speaking at a MGEITF session this afternoon called F*ck off, I'm a TV God, Mackenzie quipped that anyone who had done business with Sir Alan knows that he is "'difficult' at the best of times."

He added : "He's much nastier in real life. Anyone doing business with Alan, afterwards they feel quite damaged."

Of the editing of the BBC One show, Mackenzie said it had portrayed Sir Alan in a much better light than he thought it would. "It's first time I have seen editing work for you rather than make you like a dick," he said.

Mackenzie also talked about how he had so far failed to get his own business-reality TV show idea made, where he would help turn around a local newspaper operation, by "being like Alan."