Donald Trump praises Sugar's 'Apprentice'

Donald Trump has claimed that the UK Apprentice is the best international version of the show.

The businessman insisted that he is partly responsible for the success of the BBC version as he encouraged producer Mark Burnett to recruit Sir Alan Sugar.

"He does a good job over there," Trump, who fronts the original US programme, told Seven magazine. "I chose him with Mark Burnett. We have tried this format in lots of countries with different entrepreneurs and Alan has done it best."

Trump also attacked Martha Stewart and Richard Branson for launching "copycat" versions of his show in the US.

"When my show became a success I had all these people trying to copy it. Martha Stewart, Richard Branson. They all failed," he said. "I really like Richard even though he tried to copy my show and failed. His show bombed whereas mine was the number one rated. The Apprentice has just been renewed for two more years."