'Apprentice' star caught up in cheating row

Apprentice star Claire Young was accused of cheating by a rival contestant on the programme.

The retail buyer faced claims that she had broken the show's rules when the final six candidates filmed a "supercars" task, which saw Sir Alan Sugar's potential apprentices renting out expensive vehicles to members of the public.

The cheating row centred around claims that Young had telephoned friends off-camera to drum up business for her team. Such a move would have counted as a breach of Sugar's rules, which state that all phone calls must be made while the cameras roll.

A show insider told The People: "The other contestant claims Claire made a couple of cheeky phone calls to mates. The others went up the wall.

"Claire pleaded her innocence to show bosses saying some of her jealous rivals had got the wrong end of the stick. In the end they believed her and no action was taken."

The car task can be seen in the next episode of the BBC One reality show, which airs on Tuesday night at 9.00pm.