Countdown star Nick Hewer shares tales about The Apprentice at Buxton International Festival's Book Weekend

Nick Hewer, star of TV's Countdown and The Apprentice, will be talking about the ups and spectacular downs of British celebrity life as part of a weekend of author talks in Derbyshire.
Nick Hewer.Nick Hewer.
Nick Hewer.

Business expert Nick will provide behind-the-scenes tales about working with his friend Lord Alan Sugar, whose invitation to join him on The Apprentice took his life in a new direction with a career in television.

His talk will be the finale to Buxton International Festival’s Book Weekend and will take place at the town’s Pavilion Arts Centre on November 24 at 7.30pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Called in true Countdown style My Alphabet: A Life From A to Z, Nick’s book covers running his own highly successful PR company, working for Amstrad and travelling the world from Mongolia to Sierra Leone.

A, obviously, is for Apprentice, but he has a cautionary tale to tell of F for fame. Not only does he expect his own career to end at Z for Z-list celebrity, but he writes of how often the mighty soon become the fallen.

“Through Alan and The Apprentice I got to meet interesting, sometimes extraordinary people,” he said.

“Many were iconic figures, but strangely almost all fell from grace in short order soon after I met them.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair ceased to be a “blazing light”; media baron Rupert Murdoch fell heavily to earth after the phone hacking scandal involving his News of the World paper, and Sir Philip Green of BHS infamy became Sir Shifty in the eyes of the public after his former staff lost their pensions.

• Buxton Book Weekend events are on November 23 and 24. Authors taking part include former Home Secretary Alan Johnson on the pop music which became the soundtrack to his life; Richard Van Emden on the final year of the First World War; Peter Moore discusses how Captain Cook’s ship The Endeavour changed the world; Kate Hubbard shows how Bess of Hardwick used four marriages to become one of the most powerful women in English history and Adrian Tinniswood focuses on the domestic history of the royal household.

For more details, click here