BBC News at Six has left viewers confused after an Apprentice finalist featured on the show to discuss how he’s been affected by inflation rates.
Reporters visited East Sussex to chat with everyday families about how inflation has impacted their finances.
While the rate has tumbled to its lowest in three years – 2.3 per cent – families across the country are still struggling to make ends meet.
Other interviewees said that ‘it’s been difficult for everybody’ and explained they must shop around for groceries at budget supermarkets to get the lowest prices.
It was a surprise then that Apprentice finalist Phil Turner and his wife, Theresa, who run a seven-figure business, appeared on the show from their luxury kitchen to explain how inflation rates are biting into their takeaway budget.
BBC news viewers were left baffled after Apprentice finalist Phil Turner, and his wife Theresa (pictured) discussed money struggles on the show, despite running a seven figure business
Phil, who featured in the latest series of Lord Alan Sugar’s The Apprentice, runs a successful seven-figure pie-making business owned by his family since the 1930s.
Despite his lucrative business, Turner’s Pies, Phil claimed that inflation rates are the ‘biggest hit’ to his disposable income, which he likes to splash on takeaways and holidays.
Talking on the show from his luxury kitchen with two seating areas and a upmarket Le Creuset pan resting on the stove, Phil said: ‘I think, to be honest, the inflation rates for us is the biggest hit.
He continued: ‘You have a pool of money that comes in every month and normally you set a bit side and that’s what we’ll have for holidays or takeaways, but a big part of that was just gone.’
Meanwhile, Phil’s wife said she’s glad they opted for a five-year mortgage plan.
‘We’re fixed for five years this time, previously we’ve only ever done two years… but we wanted to know where we were for the next five years because it could have gone up higher,’ she said.
Viewers were left confused over their appearance on the segment.
One said: ‘BBC News at 6 just went to an everyday family affected by interest rates but the husband was Phil from The Apprentice which seemed a bit of a weird/distracting choice.’
A second added: ‘Having a kitchen island should make you automatically ineligible for the “normal family” interview.’
The Apprentice finalist runs a lucrative pie business, Turner’s Pies, that’s been in his family since the 1930’s
Viewers commented on the couple’s ‘enormous’ kitchen, which featured an island and two seating areas
‘Everyday’ families don’t have kitchens big enough for two dining tables,’ a third wrote.
A fourth added: ‘Six stove burner! Le Creuset cast iron Dutch oven in the background? Nothing everyday about them.’
Another said: ‘Everyday family affected by inflation with an enormous kitchen of dreams.’
Father-of-two Phil, who had a disastrous record after losing eight out of 10 tasks, hoped to win over Lord Sugar with his Sussex-based pie shops, after saying his ‘biggest inspiration’ in life are his hardworking parents.
Phil, who was runner up, explained during his interview with Claudine Collins that his parents are his biggest inspiration, saying working with them has taught him to appreciate the sacrifices they have made, which he hopes to pass onto his own two children.
Holding back tears, he said: ‘I definitely think my mum and dad are my biggest inspirations. Standing there in a close environment working day in day out for them for a few years I started to really appreciate how much work they have done and how much they have scarified.
Viewers complained that Phil and his wife should not have been branded as an ‘everyday family’
‘My appreciation for them as parents and people went through the roof, just speaking about this makes me feel warm inside.
‘Family means everything, after having children it really starts to put things into perspective, you think, what am I leaving my children, what legacy can I leave? As I get older, I’m starting to realise that.’
And Phil admitted he couldn’t have achieved the success he has today without wife Theresa, who he affectionately nicknames ‘Tree.’
Phil and Theresa were childhood sweethearts after they met in year seven at school and now the couple have been ‘happily married’ for almost 11 years.
He said filming the Apprentice, which sees candidates live in a north London house away from their families and have restrictive contact with the outside world, was the ‘hardest’ two months, especially for Theresa, who managed the businesses in his absence.
Writing on Facebook, Phil, who owns five pie shops, said: ‘For those of you that know me personally, I’m sure you would agree that Tree is by far the better half of our partnership.
‘Giving up her dream job to raise our two amazing children and support me to follow my dreams is something that I sometimes take for granted but will be eternally grateful.
‘Tree and I met in year 7 at school and quickly became friends and partners a few years later. This June, we have been happily married for 11 years. Like every couple, we have our moments, I mean imagine having to put up with me for 20 years…
‘Being away filming for two months last year was one of the hardest things as a family we have ever been through and especially for Tree, as she took on a lot of my responsibilities and had no one to make her laugh.’