Trump slates "failure" Branson

Apprentice star Donald Trump has slated Richard Branson's new reality series as "a total failure."

Rebel Billionaire made a disappointing ratings debut on Tuesday night, with an average of just 5.1 million viewers tuning in for the first two episodes.

The real estate mogul told Extra: "Branson's ratings were terrible, down the tubes... The Apprentice is the hottest show there is. Richard Branson, your ratings speak very loudly, and you just got fired! It would seem hard to believe they could keep him on the air. It's a big failure.

"I don't believe he's a billionaire. I don't see how a person can be a billionaire when they own their own airline. I would imagine most of his money is going into his airline to keep it afloat.

"I wish him a lot of luck in the businesses. But, I can tell you, on television, he's a total failure."

Despite higher ratings, Trump's show isn't completely without misfortune: audience figures for its second season are down over a quarter on the first.