The Celebrity Apprentice Australia 2012 Interviews With Nathan Jolliffe and Lauryn Eagle

by Jessica Chandra 2

Series two of The Celebrity Apprentice is in its second week, and just like the first series, it’s got people talking. (The most recent conversation point? David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff’s sudden exit last night after only three episodes.) We recently caught up with the show’s youngest celebrities, Nathan Jolliffe and Lauryn Eagle, who talked to us about those intense boardroom scenes and which of the other stars surprised them the most. Read what they had to say after the jump.

Nathan Jolliffe

Did you watch The Celebrity Apprentice last year?
I did. I saw bits and pieces.

So you kind of had an idea of what you were getting yourself into?
I did and I didn’t. I didn’t realise that the boardrooms were going to be so intense. I thought it was going to be a bit more set up than what it really is. It’s just as hard as it looks and Mr. Bouris is just as intimidating as how he comes across.

How do you feel about how you’re portrayed?
After The Amazing Race it’s sort of easy going into reality TV situations. You’ve just gotta understand they can make you look however they want to, but at the end of the day you say these things, so you can’t be too mad at yourself.

Who surprised you the most out of the other cast members?
I think Dicko. He put up this really big front from what I could gather. I didn’t know too many people — I knew of them, but they would not know who I was — so I went in there and had nothing to lose. There were some really big egos and it was cool to see how we could break them down and work with people’s energies the right way.

Lauryn Eagle

How do you feel about how you come across on the show?
There were a couple of things I was worried about how I would be portrayed, but I’m quite happy because I was myself. I was myself the whole time so if people hate it, that’s fine, that’s who I am, and I just embrace who I am. It’s definitely clear that there’s some girl conflict — Tania Zaetta and I don’t get along, Charlotte and Tania don’t get along, and it builds up. I’ve seen a couple of episodes and it’s an editor’s dream — the tension builds up every episode and ends up exploding.

Did you know what you were getting yourself into?
I did. I watched it last year. I thought that I could handle it. I thought I could handle people, and I love people. I did discover a lot about myself and how to embrace other people’s energy. It was hard.

What’s the most surprising thing you learnt about yourself?
I think I learnt how tough I was! I was quite resilient — I’d get knocked down, I’d get criticised by some of the girls, and then also by Mr. Bouris, but then I’d take a day and recover and come back. I’d keep fighting every day and you’ll see the results. I never give up.

What were the boardroom scenes like for you?
Because I’m the youngest, I probably felt like I got the run of it the most, and I was probably in the bottom group the most out of everyone. It was very confronting — they analyse and criticise you, and you have to take it on board, you can’t be one of those egotistical females. You have to take it on board and be humble, and learn to change and adapt to different environments. If you can do that, you get in the boardroom and it gets easier every week.