Sir Alan

I know you read DS and I hope that you can settle an argument between my son and myself.

He thinks the board room is in London, as the film just before the candidates arrive shows London.

I think it is in Brentwood.

It is Brentwood, you can see it written on the doors when the sacked one walks out to get into the taxi

It’s somewhat confusing. The outside helicopter shots are Canary Wharf, (East London) but Amstrad is based in Brentwood (Essex), which is around 10 miles away. ‘The boardroom’ is a film studio, possibly shot somewhere in East London. Oh and knowing someone who lives near Brentwood – they don’t have the two doorman (outside Brentwood house) when they’re not filming!

I have noticed that they are sometimes wearing different clothes when they leave the office. Also when they are filming at Brentwood they have lots of kit set up. I think they film all the candidates arriving and then film them one at a time leaving the building at the same time and just edit the correct bit in for that weeks show.

I drive past the office avery day and they do not have 2 doormen on the outside and the car park is never empty.

Yeah The Boardroom is in a studio

I always thought it was in Canary Wharf hence the reason why the show the building and Citibank just before the boardroom scene.

I think this is the impression someone ( either the production company or Amstrad ) want to give.

The part of the Brentwood office they show is probably the best looking part of the building, the rest is nothing special.

The boardroom is a set in a studio in West London - in previous series the post-firing car journey voxes along with many other generic car shots have been filmed on the A40 Westway

Alan Sugar's office is in Brentwood Essex, there is no link between the boardroom there and the one in the series, the contestants are just filmed leaving the building. That isn't Alan's PA either, she's an actress!

The magic of television

I think it's more to connotate 'big business' and it looks impressive with all that glass

The real boardroom is much more wood than glass in fact.

the house they are living in is in Kensington Gardens so although Brentwood House is in Brentwood, I assume they hire a place in the City

it costs a fortune to have those Corps of Commissionaire guards all dressed up like that as well you know, they don't always wear that uniform

It seems they film all the contestants walking out of the building to the taxi before they start filming the first episode, which is why they have different clothes.

Also the taxi only drives round the block while they film the fired contestants interview, then theyre taken back to their hotel.

Yeah, it's been said in interviews and things before that they film them all leaving Brentwood House right at the start of the city and then cut it in. It was clear from previous tasks that were time specific to getting back to the boardroom that it couldn't possibly be the one in Essex. and having spent 17 very long years in that town, I wish it was the kind of place with those doormen!

The geographic location of Brentwood, the house, or the studio is irrelevant. The programme is filmed over a much bigger time-scale than the narrative suggests. It could be for instance that the task may take place on a monday and the boardroom scenes are shot on the following Thursday.

Remember that just because the episodes says that the contestants have gone straight from the task to the boardroom, dosen't necessarily mean that they have, in fact they probably haven't. The time-limit on the tasks will be kept to, but it's all pieed together to look like the whole episode happened in a day
Last edited by Toxteth O'Grady : 04-04-2007 at 03:02

Sralan doesn't have a big enough office to fit that glass table in.

So the doormen aren't a permanent fixture to the Amstrad building then!?

Not on the outside anyway, drive past every day of the week and they are not there.

Do they only film one task a week then?

And I bet that crappy 'emailer' phone she uses probably doesn't work either, lol! (Has anyone ever seen one of those in the workplace?? I certainly haven't!)

BTW someone said in another thread that Alan and Margaret don't really work for Sir A and never have (they worked for firms who've dealt with him - Alan in PR and Margaret in law).

Is this a fake set-up or what??!!

Maybe a behind the scenes TV shw would be a good idea. or doesn anyone on here know an ex contestant who can shed some light!!

A lot of companies have their main premises outside London because its cheaper. They then lease or rent offices on a single floor of a big office development like Canary Wharf.

This usually consists of just a board room, secretary's reception , toilet, kitchen etc. Its mainly just to impress visiting clients and to have a central London location for meetings near the airports and tube.

It seems a bit odd to film Canary Wharf if it has nothing to do with Amstrad. As Sir Alan owns loads of expensive properties in the west end I'm sure he could afford the standard busines board room in central London.

Most of these big developments are not filled by the main occupying company so they are always keen to let the remaining space as that proves more economical.

Saying all that it could just be a television Studio. Bet Donald Trump has his own boardroom.

I remember reading an interview with Tim who won series one in a Sunday paper a few months ago - and I'm sure he confirmed that the boardroom is a set, and the 'secretary' is an actress.
He said that the real offices where he is working are very unglamorous - just a scruffy warehouse somewhere on the fringes of London.

didn't anybody see 'Tim in the firing line'??? they showed the inside of brentwood offices, very unglamorous. in fact, sir alan was in a dingy office rammed full of papers on a tiny pc table (the kind you see in an argos catalogue wit pull out keyboard tray).

having said that, who cares.. SAS isn't short of money. if he wanted somewhere glamorous im sure he would get it. why spend unnecessary money on workers like the plonkers you find on the apprentice!

The secretary is an actress?! It's hardly great acting is it?! Her wooden delivery completely astounds me on every episode!

No she isn't.

How would you deliver such belting lines as "You can go into the boardroom now?". It's hardly Arthur Miller, is it?
Last edited by mrbike : 27-04-2007 at 13:11