I was on The Apprentice and living in the £17m mansion is like being in prison

THE Apprentice 2022 star Navid Sole has compared living in the show's £17million mansion to being in prison.

Despite the BBC splashing out £100,000 a month to house Lord Alan Sugar's ambitious candidates, 27-year-old Navid insists it's far from luxury living.

Eighteen entrepreneurs battling it out for a £250,000 investment live together in the eight-bed, nine-bathroom mansion in Hampstead, North London, during filming.

It's on The Bishops Avenue — dubbed Billionaires’ Row - and is thought to be the most expensive pad used by the hit BBC show.

But in an exclusive interview with The Sun, pharmacist Navid has told what it's really like to live there.

"It's a multi-million pound mansion, but half of the amenities weren't working and they wouldn't fix them, it's like what the hell?", said Navid.

"The lighting was awful, some lights wouldn't even turn on or off and there was a sauna and steam room that were broken.

"You have to share rooms. So I was in there with four boys and in the night I could hear the boys farting, it was just so uncomfortable.

"I'm quite tall, I'm 6ft - and the beds are so tiny. My legs were constantly sticking out at the end.

"I'm the kind of person who needs four pillows and two duvets. It felt like I was in a military camp.

"At night I'd have to tiptoe out to the toilet so I wouldn't wake anyone up. It would take about 40 minutes to take a p*** because I was always conscious of trying to get back to my bed without bumping into anything.

"I've not been to prison before, but I think it's the kind of vibe it's giving, from what I've seen in movies."

Aside from issues Navid describes inside the mansion, he says there are strict rules in place.

"It's very full on and intense," he adds.

"You have 4am wake-up calls and only have 20 minutes to get ready.

"You'll have a cup of coffee or a bagel and that's it you're off.

"You have to be mentally prepared, have your multi-vitamins and drink lots of water.

"You can't even speak to family members apart from a once a week phone call.

"There's a chaperone who has five minutes on the stop watch and when time's up they'll tell you to hang up.

"I didn't realise The Apprentice process would be so rigorous."

A show spokesperson said: "Duty of care to our candidates is of the utmost importance to us. We take the welfare of anyone involved in The Apprentice extremely seriously and have thorough and robust measures in place to ensure everyone feels supported. We have a dedicated welfare team who are there to support candidates through the process."

Navid was fired by Lord Sugar after the third task.

He went on to star in Celebs Go Dating and won an army of fans with his unique laugh and special friendship with co-star Sinitta.

Navid bravely told the dating agents he was a virgin and didn't know if he was more sexually attracted to men or women.

Despite not finding love at the end of the process, the reality TV star described it as an "incredible experience", adding he couldn't thank the team behind the scenes enough for "giving me this opportunity".