Claude Littner knows exactly what it's like to get on the wrong side of Lord Sugar.
The fearsome business executive has won legions of fans over the years for his scathing remarks and savage put downs during the interview stage of The Apprentice.
The 72-year-old proved such a hit that he took over the role of Lord Sugar's trusted aide from Nick Hewer in 2015 - and is the only person to having grilled the final five candidates in every series.
But Claude was forced to pull out of being his sidekick this year after suffering a horror crash on his bike, so he was replaced by series one winner Tim Campbell.
They might be incredibly close friends and colleagues now, but they got off to a very awkward start during Claude's ill-fated first interview with Lord Sugar.
We're used to seeing Claude dissecting candidates' CVs with a fine tooth comb and pointing out all their mistakes, so it's funny to imagine him in the hot seat.
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According to Claude, Lord Sugar wouldn't even look at him or speak when he nervously sat down for his interview.
"He had my CV in front of him. We sat at a table and he didn’t look at me at all," Claude told Radio Times in October 2015.
"He didn’t ask me any questions, so after a few minutes I said, ‘Would you like me to tell you a bit about myself?’ He just looked of the window and started whistling."
It dawned on Claude that his efforts were not coming off so he shut his mouth - and was stunned by what happened next.
He continued: "I realised that this was probably not going to work out, so I stopped talking. He got up and walked out, and as he went he just said 'bored'."
Amazingly, Claude somehow managed to get a job with Lord Sugar despite his less than impressive start and quickly rose up the ranks.
Claude was chairman and chief executive of a number of Lord Sugar's companies, including Amstrad International, Amstrad Spain and Dancall Telecom.
When the Amstrad boss was majority owner and chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, he appointed Claude as Chief Executive from 1993 to 1998.
Claude rose to fame after appearing in the interview stages of The Apprentice from the very start and then becoming Lord Sugar's aide in 2015 alongside Karren Brady.
Unfortunately, Claude suffered a horror crash while out on his bike in April last year and was left fearing his leg would be amputated.
He was "pottering along" near his home in north London when disaster struck, explaining: "I must have been doing no more than 10 kilometres an hour on this sort of two-track road. The next thing I knew, I was on the left-hand side of the street, my bike was in the middle of the road and I didn’t know what happened.
"I suspect I hit a pothole or something like that, but I must have blanked out at the moment of impact, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground."
An ambulance rushed Claude to the trauma unit at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, where surgeons successfully managed to save his leg after initially telling his loved ones they would need to amputate it.
Speaking to PA, he continued: "My wife and my sons were there as well and [the doctors] decided they were going to amputate my leg.
"And then they had another chat about it and they said, 'Look, let’s get him into theatre right away tonight and let’s see if we can save his leg'. And I went into theatre and it was a very long operation and they didn’t take my leg off."
One person who was concerned for Claude's welfare was Lord Sugar, who revealed his close pal was doing "very well" after a six hour operation.
"He’s gone through a terrible experience. I’ve lost count of the operations that he’s had," he said on Lorraine in July last year.
"The irony of it is he was simply going out on a ride on his bike. Not racing, not going fast or anything like that, just doing eight or nine miles an hour [and] came off. Horrific accident.
"He’s so upset that he couldn’t join this series but he’s doing alright. We talk every couple of days."
Due to The Apprentice's intense filming schedule, Claude was unable to take part in filming for the latest series, although some might have been secretly relieved.
Lord Sugar added: "Obviously the candidates, while sympathetic that Claude was not here this year, I guess must have secretly thought, 'Oh, thank God for that!'"
Having spent weeks glued to the sofa watching the current series, Claude will return to our screens tonight for the interview stage after being hounded by Lord Sugar to come back.
He explained: "It was quite funny how it came about; Alan arrived at my house one day – although he phoned me almost daily – and he just said, 'You will do the interviews, won't you?' and I replied, 'Yes, of course'.
"The moment it came out of my mouth I was thinking, how on earth am I actually going to do it? The truth is, by the time it came to filming I was feeling better but the team had been so kind and gone to so much trouble so I could be involved."
Claude confirmed he has been watching the series air along with The Apprentice fans and joked that it was "disappointing" that the men were thrashed by the women.
"From a personal point of view, I’ve got to say it’s disappointing how well the girls are doing against the boys! Karren is obviously delighted," he said.
"But in all seriousness, it really is very engaging and captivating and that’s credit to the production team, the crew; everybody who is involved. They’ve made a great series in such challenging circumstances and it’s good to see such a positive reaction from viewers to the show being back.”
"I’ve enjoyed it so far and the candidates have been a mix of outrageous with very little chance of getting investment, to the few who emerge over time and viewers can start to see investable qualities. It’s certainly well-proven and a number of good candidates do emerge and blossom."
*The Apprentice airs tonight on BBC One at 9pm
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