The Apprentice 2019 star Thomas Skinner was charged with handling £40,000 of stolen goods

EVERY year when LORD SUGAR and the BBC unveil the new Apprentice contestants, there’s always one with a questionable back story.

And just a day after the line­up was revealed, I’ve found it.

I’m told early standout character Thomas Skinner, was ­previously in bother with the law over handling stolen goods.

Pillow salesman Thomas, who is from Essex, was sentenced in court after being charged with dishonestly handling 4,992 tubes of Body Shop cleansing gels worth nearly £40,000 and having 2,000 diazepam tablets.

In the same trial, a mate of his from the same area was accused of having nearly 10,000 cleansing gels worth £76,000.

When contacted, the BBC said it was aware of Thomas’s past mistakes as part of its extensive background checks, and that the conviction is now spent.

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And fair play to Thomas, he told me he is not the man he was in 2011.

He said: “Many years ago before I had my business, I used to work on the markets.

“I was young and naive and bought stock from a source I didn’t know. I wasn’t aware the stock was stolen and paid the consequences for the mistake I made.

That is now well in my past, and I have had a string of successful companies since then.

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“I now only buy from trusted sources and employ five people. I was put in situations I didn’t fully understand when I was younger.

"But they have made me the man I am now. I am a changed man.” Good on Thomas for owning up to his mistakes and moving on.

I hear he’ll be well-known for the right reasons when he’s up in front of Judge Sugar this series.

•   The Apprentice starts on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC1.

READ ON FOR MORE OF ANDY HALLS' BIZARRE TV COLUMN

Kelv: I'd cha-cha with chap

HE has already topped the leaderboard performing with dance partner Oti Mabuse, and now Strictly favourite Kelvin Fletcher is ready to dance with a man.

The actor, who played Andy Sugden in Emmerdale for 23 years before he quit in 2016, said: “Most people in the creative industry are gay or they are a lot more fluid with their gender or sexuality.

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“When you work with someone you follow them and I have never had an issue with the sex thing. So to dance with a guy, that would be amazing.”

It comes after rumours Kelvin would dance with ice skater Matt Evers on ITV’s Dancing On Ice, but instead he stepped in on Strictly for biscuit heir Jamie Laing, who quit after a foot injury.

Squeezy does it, Amanda

AMANDA Holden gets up close and personal with Harry Redknapp and his hunky son Jamie on A League Of Their Own.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge hosts a Mr & Mrs-style mini-quiz on tomorrow's edition of the Sky One show, where they are grilled on how well they know one another.

I don’t blame her for wanting to give Jamie a bit of a squeeze over Harry . . .

Flack's Cape-r

CAROLINE Flack claims next year’s winter Love Island in Cape Town will be the hottest series ever.

The telly host is raring to travel to South Africa for the brand new version of the show in January.

Speaking for the first time about the series, Caroline said: “I literally cannot wait. It is going to be so hot, probably the hottest one yet.

“Cape Town, can you believe it? Love Island’s twice a year now. It’s going to be mad.”

Footie fans walk the walk

GOOD on a group of Fulham and Reading football fans, who are walking the 38 miles from ­London’s Craven Cottage to the ­Madejski Stadium before the teams meet on Tuesday night.

The ten-strong group are doing it to raise awareness of suicide prevention, especially in men, where it is the biggest killer of those under 45.

You can follow their progress on Twitter at @WalkAndTalkMMH.

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