Katie Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Katie Hopkins is a British reality television
contestant, businesswoman and journalist
, best known for her 2007 appearance on the third UK series
of TV reality programme The Apprentice
, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British businessman Sir Alan Sugar. Hopkins withdrew from the programme during the eleventh week. She was memorable on the programme for her controversial comments to other contestants and to the members of the public. She has made various media appearances since leaving the programme including taking part in I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
on ITV.
in Barnstaple
. She attended the University of Exeter
, studying Politics
and Economics
,; She has participated in Officer Cadet Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
but did not pass the course as a British Army officer and was deemed to be considered medically unfit to undertake duties. She was once a stand-by contestant for reality show Big Brother
and appeared in an un-aired television pilot
of the programme. Hopkins has worked as a consultant for organisations such as Guinness
, Smirnoff
, Moët et Chandon
, Reuters
, Thomson Financial
and Barclays.
; their daughter India was born there in June 2004. They returned to Britain shortly after India's birth and got married the following year. Their second daughter Poppy was born 21 August 2005.
After filming The Apprentice, Hopkins took up a job at the Met Office
in Exeter
. Here, she met Mark Cross, a married design manager, and soon staged photographs of them emerged depicting them apparently engaged in sexual intercourse in a field. This was widely reported in the tabloid press. Hopkins married Cross in an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings alongside David Van Day
's wedding. Her son with Cross, Maximillian William, was born in November 2008.
's offer of a place in the final episode of the programme, citing problems regarding childcare
provision for her daughters, and withdrew from the competition at the end of the penultimate task. The episode pulled in 6.2 million viewers, while the following You're Fired
! episode, in which Hopkins was interviewed, was watched by 3.1 million. (In fact, since Hopkins withdrew, she avoided being dismissed with Sugar's catch phrase
, "You're fired!".) However, despite her resigning on her own, Sir Alan later said in classic Sugar style that had she not resigned, he would have fired her anyway.
Hopkins was the project manager of her team on The Apprentice for two tasks, in week two and again in week nine. Her team won both of these tasks. She was criticised by Sir Alan Sugar for being a "loser", due to her being on the losing team frequently. She, however, defended herself by responding that whenever she led, her team won. Contestants Adam Hosker and Ghazal Asif brought Hopkins back to the "boardroom" in weeks seven and eight of the competition, both failing to get her fired.
and mocking her fashion sense and use of fake tan. Hopkins also accused Grimes of trying to turn The Apprentice into "The Kristina Show" and called her a "wench with a forked tongue". Comments were aimed not just at her fellow contestants but also at viewers of television shopping channel
s, maternity leave, the overweight and people with the names Mavis
and Derek
. Although these comments might have been offensive to some, she insisted in her You're Fired!
interview that it was only in the name of comedy, and suggested that she "just needed to vent a bit".
of the house in which the candidates were living, though Callaghan vehemently denied this. He later retracted his statement and confirmed that they had made love outdoors.
in the media, during her time on the programme. The tabloid
press criticised her, comparing Hopkins to such fictional characters as Cruella De Vil
, Widow Twankey
, Darth Vader
, J.R. Ewing
, The Wicked Witch of the West, Miss Piggy
, Catherine Tramell
and Patrick Bateman
. She has also been compared to real people, such as Ruth Badger
, Diana, Princess of Wales
, Simon Cowell
, The Princess Royal
, Margaret Thatcher
and Jade Goody
.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
and Notting Hill
writer Richard Curtis
expressed his distaste for Hopkins, jokingly vowing to kill her when he accepted his Fellowship award at the 2007 BAFTA awards
. Her fellow contestants have questioned why she took part in the programme. Simon Ambrose
, a fellow contestant, told Nuts Magazine
that he once "had a crush
on her", and also criticised Katie’s much-publicised personal life as he came from a "broken home
". Fellow contestant and rival Kristina Grimes said that Hopkins left the programme of her own accord as "she would have eventually got the axe". Ambrose also quoted Hopkins' friends' claim that her sole purpose in participating in the programme was to start a media career.
Hopkins, like all other Apprentice candidates, appeared on the accompanying spin-off programme
, The Apprentice: You're Fired!, receiving a mixed response from the studio audience. When video clips of her comments about other candidates were shown, Hopkins explained that they were "quite funny". Michelle Mone
, the founder of lingerie
company, Ultimo and a guest on the episode, verbally attacked Hopkins, calling her "exceptionally selfish" and made remarks such as "You've given businesswomen a bad name". After this incident, Mone was dubbed the "bra woman" by the media. In the final episode of The Apprentice: You're Fired!, Sir Alan branded Hopkins as sad and unemployable. Hopkins' comments on leaving the programme contained support for Simon Ambrose to win The Apprentice, and revealed a desire to "smash a glass ceiling" over rival Kristina Grimes' head.
arrangements led to him being accused of sexism by the Trade Union Congress, the Equal Opportunities Commission
and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. He was accused of violating the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act. This incident created a huge controversy and was well documented in the media. Sir Alan argued his case in an interview with GMTV
host Fiona Phillips, stating that he was well aware of the rules.
, the company behind Heat
and Grazia
magazines. In her News of the World interview, Hopkins played down media reports that she had broken marriages, but did reveal that she had had ten lovers and had sex with a man in the barracks
at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. She told the paper that Michelle Mone, who had verbally attacked her on The Apprentice: You’re Fired!, was probably "just happy to be out of the underwear factory for the day". She also told the paper that she lost her virginity aged 17 after leaving a convent school and that she hopes to be a Member of Parliament
for the Conservative Party
, like Margaret Thatcher
.
The day after Hopkins' final Apprentice episode aired, two prominent news stories emerged about her; stepdaughter Charlotte McKinney told the Daily Mail
that Hopkins had ruined her family and driven the teenager to anorexia by sending her cards with stick men drawn on them, and another Mail article reported that fans of the programme were accusing the BBC
of fixing her walk-out.
Hopkins revealed in an interview with BBC Radio Kent
that she had great respect for Sir Alan Sugar, and that she believed she would have won the programme had she been in the final episode. She also said that the media's attitudes towards her did not affect her, but did affect her family. When talking to Fiona Phillips
in an interview aired on GMTV Today on the morning of the final Apprentice episode, Hopkins suggested that, had she accepted Sir Alan's offer of a place in the final, she would have emerged victorious, despite that Sir Alan Sugar said that if she wanted to press on he would fire her, irrespective of who she was competing with. Hopkins told BBC Radio 1
that she has not yet ruled out a media career but has expressed an interest in starting a business venture.
She has appeared in an episode of 8 out of 10 Cats
and has also been a guest-star on Loose Women
and The Friday Night Project
. Hopkins wrote a column for the Express and Echo newspaper in Exeter, much to the criticism of its readers, but was eventually asked to leave after a poll was put onto the publication's website asking if she should continue with the post. She has most recently presented a Five Live Report on family life and working mothers for BBC Radio 5 Live
and contributed an article on the same subject to BBC Online.
Hopkins later declared that she is taking the organisation to a tribunal over the decision. She has stated that the media were informed of her dismissal only an hour after she was fired and believes she has been used as a scapegoat.
as a replacement for Malcolm McLaren
, who dropped out just before the show started. Reports of an appearance by Hopkins had appeared as early as June 2007. Hopkins was the second celebrity voted out of the camp on Thursday 22 November 2007.
Hopkins took part in one "Bushtucker trial" in which she won ten stars out of a possible ten. For her task she was forced to remain in a coffin suspended over a canopy that began filling with cockroaches.
as an Independent candidate. Hopkins has appeared on Question Time
on 10 June 2010 and 27 January 2011.
She has also appeared on the Young Voters' version of Question Time on 20 October 2010.
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
contestant, businesswoman and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, best known for her 2007 appearance on the third UK series
The Apprentice (UK Series Three)
Series Three of The Apprentice was a television series which aired in the UK on BBC One. The series began on 28 March 2007 and finished on 13 June 2007, with Simon Ambrose as the winner. Ambrose's prize was to work on a project to develop a hotel and golfing complex near Stansted Airport, whilst...
of TV reality programme The Apprentice
The Apprentice (UK)
The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as an apprentice to the British business magnate Lord Sugar in series one to six...
, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British businessman Sir Alan Sugar. Hopkins withdrew from the programme during the eleventh week. She was memorable on the programme for her controversial comments to other contestants and to the members of the public. She has made various media appearances since leaving the programme including taking part in I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (Series 7 UK)
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! returned on ITV Network for a seventh series on Monday 12 November, and ran until Friday 30 November 2007.Series six winner Matt Willis and his fiancée, Emma Griffiths, are presenting ITV2's I'm a Celebrity.....
on ITV.
Early life
Katie Hopkins was born to Roy and Anona Hopkins in 1975. As a child she attended a private school and then North Devon CollegeNorth Devon College
North Devon College was a further education college in Barnstaple, North Devon. It is now part of Petroc.-History:North Devon College first opened in 1952....
in Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
. She attended the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, studying Politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
,; She has participated in Officer Cadet Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
but did not pass the course as a British Army officer and was deemed to be considered medically unfit to undertake duties. She was once a stand-by contestant for reality show Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
and appeared in an un-aired television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the programme. Hopkins has worked as a consultant for organisations such as Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
, Smirnoff
Smirnoff
Smirnoff is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov , the son of illiterate Russian peasants. It is now distributed in 130 countries.Smirnoff products include vodka, flavored...
, Moët et Chandon
Moët et Chandon
Moët & Chandon , or Moët, is a French winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. The company holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Elizabeth II...
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial was an arm of The Thomson Corporation, which was one of the world's leading information companies, focused on providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers...
and Barclays.
Personal life
At University, Hopkins began a romantic relationship with fellow student Alan Hickman which lasted until 2001. Hopkins later left Hickman for her boss, Damien McKinney. He was a father of three and 15 years her senior. The couple left Britain to live in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; their daughter India was born there in June 2004. They returned to Britain shortly after India's birth and got married the following year. Their second daughter Poppy was born 21 August 2005.
After filming The Apprentice, Hopkins took up a job at the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. Here, she met Mark Cross, a married design manager, and soon staged photographs of them emerged depicting them apparently engaged in sexual intercourse in a field. This was widely reported in the tabloid press. Hopkins married Cross in an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings alongside David Van Day
David Van Day
David Van Day is an English singer and media personality, formerly a member of the pop duo Dollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls , and a latter-day version of Bucks Fizz....
's wedding. Her son with Cross, Maximillian William, was born in November 2008.
The Apprentice
In 2006, Hopkins was selected from over 10,000 people to be one of the final 16 candidates in series three of the reality TV show The Apprentice. The opening episode of the series, broadcast on 28 March 2007, attracted over four million viewers. She received particular media attention owing to her on-screen romantic relationship with fellow candidate Paul Callaghan – the first such relationship to feature on the show. She rejected Sir Alan SugarAlan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
's offer of a place in the final episode of the programme, citing problems regarding childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
provision for her daughters, and withdrew from the competition at the end of the penultimate task. The episode pulled in 6.2 million viewers, while the following You're Fired
The Apprentice: You're Fired!
The Apprentice: You're Fired!, sometimes named You're Fired!, The Apprentice: You're Hired! or You're Hired!, is a British television show made by the BBC and filmed at Riverside Studios as a spin-off from the reality TV hit The Apprentice...
! episode, in which Hopkins was interviewed, was watched by 3.1 million. (In fact, since Hopkins withdrew, she avoided being dismissed with Sugar's catch phrase
Catch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
, "You're fired!".) However, despite her resigning on her own, Sir Alan later said in classic Sugar style that had she not resigned, he would have fired her anyway.
Hopkins was the project manager of her team on The Apprentice for two tasks, in week two and again in week nine. Her team won both of these tasks. She was criticised by Sir Alan Sugar for being a "loser", due to her being on the losing team frequently. She, however, defended herself by responding that whenever she led, her team won. Contestants Adam Hosker and Ghazal Asif brought Hopkins back to the "boardroom" in weeks seven and eight of the competition, both failing to get her fired.
Comments and views
Hopkins gained notoriety on the programme for her comments toward other contestants. These include calling Naomi Lay a "dog", and wishing that fellow contestant Adam Hosker would get run over at the car salesroom in which he worked. Hopkins also derided fellow contestant Kristina Grimes by comparing her to a limpetLimpet
Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
and mocking her fashion sense and use of fake tan. Hopkins also accused Grimes of trying to turn The Apprentice into "The Kristina Show" and called her a "wench with a forked tongue". Comments were aimed not just at her fellow contestants but also at viewers of television shopping channel
Shopping channel
Shopping channels are television specialty channels that present shopping related content, particularly for home shopping enthusiasts.-USA:* America's Store* Home Shopping Network* Jewelry Television* QVC* Shop at Home Network* ShopNBC...
s, maternity leave, the overweight and people with the names Mavis
Mavis
Mavis is a female name. Its usage was initiated by Marie Corelli's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan1 which featured a character named Mavis Clare whose first name is said to be "rather odd" but suitable for Miss Clare as "she sings quite as sweetly as any thrush"...
and Derek
Derek
Derek is a male name derived from the same root as the Old German Theodoric, meaning power of the tribe or ruler of the people. Variants recently revived are Deryk, Deric, Derak, the Dutch form Dirk, popularised by the actor Dirk Bogarde, and the Low German Dirk...
. Although these comments might have been offensive to some, she insisted in her You're Fired!
The Apprentice: You're Fired!
The Apprentice: You're Fired!, sometimes named You're Fired!, The Apprentice: You're Hired! or You're Hired!, is a British television show made by the BBC and filmed at Riverside Studios as a spin-off from the reality TV hit The Apprentice...
interview that it was only in the name of comedy, and suggested that she "just needed to vent a bit".
Relationship with Paul Callaghan
While filming The Apprentice, Hopkins formed a relationship with fellow contestant Paul Callaghan. Various conflicting reports emerged about whether the couple had sex whilst participating in the programme. Reports originally suggested that the couple had had sexual intercourse in the atticAttic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
of the house in which the candidates were living, though Callaghan vehemently denied this. He later retracted his statement and confirmed that they had made love outdoors.
Response
Hopkins emerged as a hate figureHate figure
A hate figure is a person, normally in the public eye, who is widely disliked. The public's hatred for that person may be because of horrific acts but also sometimes may be unexplained ....
in the media, during her time on the programme. The tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
press criticised her, comparing Hopkins to such fictional characters as Cruella De Vil
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
, Widow Twankey
Widow Twankey
Widow Twankey is a female character in the pantomime Aladdin. The character is a pantomime dame, portrayed by a man; and is a comic foil to the principal boy, Aladdin – played by an actress.-History:...
, Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
, J.R. Ewing
J.R. Ewing
John Ross Ewing, Jr., more commonly known as J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was a central, nefarious figure on the hit CBS television series Dallas . J. R...
, The Wicked Witch of the West, Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
, Catherine Tramell
Catherine Tramell
Catherine Tramell is a fictional character, a psycho-killer, in the film Basic Instinct and its sequel, Basic Instinct 2 . She is played by Sharon Stone in both films...
and Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
. She has also been compared to real people, such as Ruth Badger
Ruth Badger
Ruth Badger is a British businesswoman, best known as the 2006 runner-up in the second series of the UK version of reality TV show The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British business magnate Sir Alan Sugar...
, Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
, The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and Jade Goody
Jade Goody
Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...
.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
and Notting Hill
Notting Hill (film)
Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...
writer Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
expressed his distaste for Hopkins, jokingly vowing to kill her when he accepted his Fellowship award at the 2007 BAFTA awards
British Academy Television Awards 2007
The 2007 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday 20 May at the London Palladium Theatre in London. They were broadcast live on BBC One in the UK...
. Her fellow contestants have questioned why she took part in the programme. Simon Ambrose
Simon Ambrose
Simon Ambrose was the 2007 winner of the third series of the British version of reality TV show The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British business magnate Sir Alan Sugar...
, a fellow contestant, told Nuts Magazine
Nuts (magazine)
Nuts is a weekly lad mag published in the United Kingdom. It was the first weekly lads magazine to be published in the UK and is sold every Tuesday...
that he once "had a crush
Limerence
Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
on her", and also criticised Katie’s much-publicised personal life as he came from a "broken home
Broken Home
Broken home is a term used to describe a household, usually in reference to parenting, in which the family unit does not properly function according to accepted societal norms. This household might suffer from domestic violence, a dissolved marriage, drug abuse, or anything else that interferes...
". Fellow contestant and rival Kristina Grimes said that Hopkins left the programme of her own accord as "she would have eventually got the axe". Ambrose also quoted Hopkins' friends' claim that her sole purpose in participating in the programme was to start a media career.
Hopkins, like all other Apprentice candidates, appeared on the accompanying spin-off programme
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, The Apprentice: You're Fired!, receiving a mixed response from the studio audience. When video clips of her comments about other candidates were shown, Hopkins explained that they were "quite funny". Michelle Mone
Michelle Mone
Michelle Mone OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur and model, who is best known as being the CEO of Ultimo.-Success with Ultimo:...
, the founder of lingerie
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
company, Ultimo and a guest on the episode, verbally attacked Hopkins, calling her "exceptionally selfish" and made remarks such as "You've given businesswomen a bad name". After this incident, Mone was dubbed the "bra woman" by the media. In the final episode of The Apprentice: You're Fired!, Sir Alan branded Hopkins as sad and unemployable. Hopkins' comments on leaving the programme contained support for Simon Ambrose to win The Apprentice, and revealed a desire to "smash a glass ceiling" over rival Kristina Grimes' head.
Sexism controversy
Sir Alan Sugar's questioning Hopkins about her childcareChildcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
arrangements led to him being accused of sexism by the Trade Union Congress, the Equal Opportunities Commission
Equal Opportunities Commission
The Equal Opportunities Commission was an independent non-departmental public body, in the United Kingdom, which tackled sex discrimination and promoted gender equality...
and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. He was accused of violating the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act. This incident created a huge controversy and was well documented in the media. Sir Alan argued his case in an interview with GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
host Fiona Phillips, stating that he was well aware of the rules.
Aftermath
After her appearance on The Apprentice, Hopkins signed two exclusive deals to sell her story: a newspaper deal with The News of the World and a magazine deal with EmapEMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
, the company behind Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
and Grazia
Grazia
Grazia is an Italian weekly women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Japan, the Netherlands, India, Bulgaria and Germany....
magazines. In her News of the World interview, Hopkins played down media reports that she had broken marriages, but did reveal that she had had ten lovers and had sex with a man in the barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. She told the paper that Michelle Mone, who had verbally attacked her on The Apprentice: You’re Fired!, was probably "just happy to be out of the underwear factory for the day". She also told the paper that she lost her virginity aged 17 after leaving a convent school and that she hopes to be a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, like Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
The day after Hopkins' final Apprentice episode aired, two prominent news stories emerged about her; stepdaughter Charlotte McKinney told the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
that Hopkins had ruined her family and driven the teenager to anorexia by sending her cards with stick men drawn on them, and another Mail article reported that fans of the programme were accusing the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
of fixing her walk-out.
Hopkins revealed in an interview with BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
that she had great respect for Sir Alan Sugar, and that she believed she would have won the programme had she been in the final episode. She also said that the media's attitudes towards her did not affect her, but did affect her family. When talking to Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
in an interview aired on GMTV Today on the morning of the final Apprentice episode, Hopkins suggested that, had she accepted Sir Alan's offer of a place in the final, she would have emerged victorious, despite that Sir Alan Sugar said that if she wanted to press on he would fire her, irrespective of who she was competing with. Hopkins told BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
that she has not yet ruled out a media career but has expressed an interest in starting a business venture.
She has appeared in an episode of 8 out of 10 Cats
8 Out of 10 Cats
8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...
and has also been a guest-star on Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
and The Friday Night Project
The Friday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
. Hopkins wrote a column for the Express and Echo newspaper in Exeter, much to the criticism of its readers, but was eventually asked to leave after a poll was put onto the publication's website asking if she should continue with the post. She has most recently presented a Five Live Report on family life and working mothers for BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
and contributed an article on the same subject to BBC Online.
Met Office firing
On 12 June 2007, the BBC reported that Hopkins had been dismissed. A Met Office statement said that she did not meet the required standards to complete her probationary period, and confirmed that her performance on The Apprentice and confessions about her private life were a factor in her dismissal. The spokesperson also stated that Hopkins was on a salary of less than £90,000, the salary she claimed for her job before the Met Office.Hopkins later declared that she is taking the organisation to a tribunal over the decision. She has stated that the media were informed of her dismissal only an hour after she was fired and believes she has been used as a scapegoat.
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Hopkins joined the 2007 series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (Series 7 UK)
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! returned on ITV Network for a seventh series on Monday 12 November, and ran until Friday 30 November 2007.Series six winner Matt Willis and his fiancée, Emma Griffiths, are presenting ITV2's I'm a Celebrity.....
as a replacement for Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
, who dropped out just before the show started. Reports of an appearance by Hopkins had appeared as early as June 2007. Hopkins was the second celebrity voted out of the camp on Thursday 22 November 2007.
Hopkins took part in one "Bushtucker trial" in which she won ten stars out of a possible ten. For her task she was forced to remain in a coffin suspended over a canopy that began filling with cockroaches.
Political life
Katie Hopkins ran unsuccessfully for MEP for the South West England ConstituencySouth West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
as an Independent candidate. Hopkins has appeared on Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
on 10 June 2010 and 27 January 2011.
She has also appeared on the Young Voters' version of Question Time on 20 October 2010.
External links
- The Apprentice at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...