The Apprentice rocked by race row as Shazia Hussain makes formal complaint about co-star

THE Apprentice has reportedly been rocked by a race row as a contestant has made a formal complaint about their co-star.

Shazia Hussain, who is appearing on the most recent series of the hit BBC programme, alleges she was racially abused.

A source close to the show has claimed that fellow contestant and candidate Mark Moseley was behind the alleged incident which the source claims left Shazia ‘distressed’.

The 39-year-old pest control businessman is reportedly the subject of an investigation by show bosses after he was reported.

A TV insider told the Daily Mail: “Shazia was really upset by the way she was treated and at times didn’t feel safe living in the Apprentice house.

“She can’t believe in this day and age she would be subjected to racially motivated bullying.

“Candidates were shocked that Mark was able to carry on filming the show despite animosity building behind the scenes.”

The source added that the alleged incident was caught on camera – but producers decided against broadcasting it.

When contacted by The Celeb Report, a spokesperson for The Apprentice said: “The Apprentice has a zero tolerance on racist bullying.

“The duty of care and welfare of all candidates is of utmost importance and when action is required, we take it.

“All candidates sign up to strict code of conduct and if there was evidence of racist bullying candidates would be immediately removed from the process. We take all complaints very seriously.”

Meanwhile, a show source told us: “All candidates receive training before they enter the process as part of established protocols. Top-up training also takes place during filming.”

The Celeb Report attempted to contact Mark but received from response at the time of publishing.

Viewers of the show will know both Shazia and Mark are still in the running to become as Lord Sugar‘s next business partner.

Technology recruiter Shazia had previously revealed she had made a ‘bullying’ complaint to producers.

At the time a spokesperson confirmed the report and said an investigation was launched once the complaint was made and that Shazia “received in-person support from senior members of the production team”.

In a now-deleted TikTok video, the entrepreneur brought up the subject of inclusivity and diversity after she faced criticism from fellow candidates during a task.

The episode in question saw the teams scramble to create cartoon characters for two to four year olds, with Shazia suggesting the name Yogita.

Shazia had said in the video that it was “very important to have a name that was representative of the entire population out there”.