The Apprentice On The Isle of Wight Review

It's been a while since I watched the Apprentice, but I'll always make an exception for an Isle of Wight themed episode.

Indeed, if BBC Four announced an eight-part series on the history of gravel that was filmed in Bembridge, then I would watch it intently and run a streaming event with commentary and insight.

The Military Road featured on The Apprentice

A mostly accurate tour of the Isle of Wight

Last night's episode of the Apprentice was a real treat, with lots of local nuggets that went a little deeper than the usual Isle of Wight TV appearances. 

Things started well, with the contestants looking pleased when it was announced that the next task was on the Isle of Wight.

I later realised that they would have looked equally pleased if it had been announced they would need to collect nine items from Narnia.

Only one of them had been to the Isle of Wight and several of them didn't know what an iguanodon was (and thought that a SUP was a fish). I suspect the editor cut out a bit where the contestants confused the Isle of Wight with the Isle of Man.

The starting point was at The Hut in Colwell, which had been emptied of the Insta crowd to allow them to plan their challenge.

They then raced their way round:

• Grace's Bakery, where they bought themselves six Isle of Wight doughnuts (also known as birds' nest). You can read our flaky history of the Isle of Wight doughnut here. They visited the large Newport branch and also spent a fair amount of time trying to find the branch in Ryde High Street.  
• Adgestone Vineyard, where one team coughed up nearly full price for a bottle of Something Blue whilst the other team cleaned out the goats to get a hefty discount. You can find out more about visiting the vineyard in our guide to an Isle of Wight food and drink tour. Adgestone Vineyard also featured on Isle of Wight: Jewel of the South and Countryfile a few years ago.
• The Garlic Farm, where one team spent ages picking their own garlic (not something generally offered for visitors) and the others got a similar price by grinning and winking at the staff.
• Eddie's Surf Academy, in the overflow parking bit at Yaverland, where they bartered over a paddleboard.
• Ryde High Street, including a visit to The Old Ryde Sweet Shop for some rhubarb and custard. Incidentally, when they were asked to find these I assumed they would need to race to the Needles, which has a sweet making factory.
• Wight Bike Eco Solutions, where the team had to be find a cassette for a bicycle. Cycling on the Isle of Wight is an absolute treat. 
• Jurassic Jim's in Shanklin, which features in our guide to dinosaur themed days out

There were also a couple of spots I wasn't familiar with, including (according to a Wightlink guide) a visit to Richardsons Yacht Services, where they bought a dusty paddleboard.

Adgestone Vineyard's Something Blue featured on The Apprentice

Shanklin's Military Road

As usual, there was some geographical confusion, brought about by the editor's desire to stitch the whole thing together with pleasant sweeping shots.

One image, of a car travelling along the Military Road in the West Wight was used rather liberally and gave the impression that it was in both Shanklin and Ryde.

I can get over this, and it's something you'll see in pretty much every TV programme featuring the Isle of Wight (see our tour of Isle of Wight TV locations).

Overall, I thought it was a terrific piece of TV for an Isle of Wight fan. Maybe the BBC will move The Traitors castle to Carisbrooke for the next series?