THE mum of Apprentice TV hopeful Reece Donnelly tonight insisted the wannabe tycoon is nothing like his murderer brother.
Debbie Donnelly, 51, said she fears her son’s achievements could be overshadowed by his half-sibling’s dark criminal past.
Reece with his um Deborah Donnelly
Nico Donnelly was convicted of the murder of Jamie Johnstone
He is one of 18 contestants on this season of The Apprentice
And she insisted Reece, 25, is a good lad driven by a passion to help kids thrive through the theatre school he established in 2018.
Proud Debbie, of Cambuslang, near Glasgow, spoke out after it emerged Reece’s brother Nico, 29, is behind bars for the 2016 blade killing of Jamie Johnstone, 21, in the city’s Sandyhills.
She said: “My Reece is a completely different person.
“My worst fear is that his achievements are tarnished.
“I know what happened in the past was bad but it was nothing to do with Reece and all he is trying to do is help youngsters. That’s his dream.
“He has built and opened his own theatre school and his own college.
“He’s been an actor from age six and, when all this happened with The Apprentice, I can’t help worrying as it can be a horrible world out there.
“All you have to do is look and you will see the things that Reece has done are amazing.”
Reece landed a place as one of 18 contestants on the hit BBC show, fronted by Lord Alan Sugar, after producers were impressed by the success of his Theatre School of Scotland, which gives kids a shot at stardom.
Debbie said: “Reece works so hard. He’s up at 6 o’clock in the morning and he has a place in Edinburgh, a place here and a place in London.
“He had jobs from when he was 13, going to school, working in the Indian and the pizza place and he ran a nightclub from when he was 17.”
Reece — whose showbiz pals include A Place in The Celeb Report host Jean Johansson — revealed he didn’t know his half-brother as he expressed sorrow for those devastated by his crime.
And he insisted he only found out recently about Nico’s murder conviction.
In a statement, he added: “Nico is an estranged half-brother. I was only recently made aware of this news.
“My heartfelt condolences go out to the families affected.”
Debbie insisted she tried to be a good mum to her sons before Nico’s horrific attack saw him caged for life.
Although she refused to talk about the crime, she said: “I tried to bring my boys up the best I can.
“But if they get in with the wrong people and do stupid things . . . my main concern now is Reece.”
Describing the joy working with youngsters brings to her son, she added: “Reece took a whole load of kids to New York and gave them the time of their lives and they did a big parade. It was outstanding.
“This boy has done so much for these kids to try and help them, to try to make a better life for them and give them experiences they’ve never had.”
The winner of The Apprentice gets a £250,000 investment into their business and a 50-50 partnership with Lord Sugar.
