Style icon has designs on Apprentice success
- Published: 04 June 2008 17:07
- Author: Katherine Rushton
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 04 June 2008 17:07
Uber-designer Philippe Starck is set to take the Alan Sugar role in an Apprentice-style show set in the world of design.
The BBC2 series, commissioned from Twofour, will follow 10 would-be designers living in Paris over the course of a year as they compete for a placement with the French style icon.
Instead of a boardroom firing session, however, the yet-to-be-named show will eliminate contestants in a "much more organic way". A BBC spokeswoman said: "It is much less formatted. There are no teams and there is no formal eviction. There will be an organic process of whittling down until Starck is in a position to offer a placement to one or more competitors."
The 6 x 60-minute series will have more of a documentary feel and participants will be challenged to come up with their own individual designs that could have "a life after the show".
The BBC will launch its search for contestants later this week.
Lisa Edwards will executive produce the series for the BBC and TwoFour director of programmes Joe Houlihan will do the job for the indie.
Edwards said: "This series will focus its eye on the rich and relatively untapped territory of product design. We are very excited to have a designer as prolific as Philippe Starck at its heart."
Starck is one of the world's most famous designers and is known for his sleek New Design style. He is also famous for creating stylish, functional items that can be mass-produced, such as the Juicy Salif juicer, designed for Alessi and hailed as an icon of industrial design.
The show is planned to air in 2009.
