The Apprentice Aotearoa was nearly a very different show - until Trump got in the way stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It took a lot of persuasion before Cassie Roma agreed to be part of
The Apprentice Aotearoa. “As an American queer woman, to be associated with a brand that’s associated with you know who took a lot of convincing,” she says. “But, the production company and TVNZ put a lot of heart into it, saying, ‘This going to be a very Kiwi production. It’s going to have a different tone and tenor’. So I was like, ‘Yeah, okay, I’ll give it a go’.”
Tom Hollow/Supplied
Cassie Roma says she took some persuading to sign up for The Apprentice Aotearoa.
Pero, 60, is already fielding jokes from friends about having his sights set on becoming Prime Minister. But he says the New Zealand show is based more on the UK version – helmed by Lord Alan Sugar – than its more sensational US counterpart. “Who wants to be like Donald Trump?” he says. “It had to be Kiwi styled, it had to be aimed at the way we operate and true to the way I operate. Now, having done the 12 episodes, I can stand back and say we did it proudly, Kiwi-style, and I feel like we’ve done a good job.” That said, he admits the first time he uttered the show’s catchphrase ‘You’re fired!’ was nerve-wracking.