Hired! We’re Repping The Apprentice’s Dillon St. Paul All The Way!

We knew we recognised that Blue Steel gaze… and whaddaya know? When the press preview pictures of this season’s Apprentice candidates dropped at STELLAR HQ, we clocked STELLAR’s former art director Dillon St. Paul immediately.

He’s already made waves from his time on 2010’s Fade Street, and now, in his second foray into reality TV, he’s going up against 17 candidates to win a highly-coveted €290k investment from Lord Alan Sugar. So, what made him take part? “Well, I had an awesome idea that I knew’d never see the light of day without major investment,” he reveals. “I’d seen the show before and I thought to myself that I’d probably do quite well on it, and not being shy of a camera or three, I thought to myself – just go for it.”

We can attest that DSP isn’t the shy, retiring type, and we know he’s gong to be the breakout star of this series, just like he was when he was hanging with Louise and Vogue on Fade Street. Speaking of which, how different was it from his previous foray into telly? “That seems like 100 years ago,” he says. “It was just a bit of fun for me, but on The Apprentice it’s very serious business altogether and it’s literally work, work, work 24/7. This time the focus is very firmly on each of the candidates – and that includes me.”

So far, we’re loving how Dillon’s described himself as, “the business equivalent of a diamond,” and “quite Machiavellian,” so clearly, he must have a game plan. “I don’t really,” he says, musing, “I guess I just intend to work hard, stay driven and focused.”

You get a lot more bees with honey, so being nice doesn’t hurt if it helps you get the best from your teammates.

“What I can say is that you get a lot more bees with honey, so being nice doesn’t hurt if it helps you get the best from your teammates. If your game plan is to be aggressive and obnoxious with other candidates you won’t go far, because ultimately you’re working as a team,” he says sensibly. And from working on women’s magazines, this guy gets girls. We know he’s gonna have bonded with some of the birds: “there were kind of two,” he confides. “Jessica is my super-bestie. But Gráinne is my secret bestie,” he grins.

And as for Lord Sugar – is he as scary-terrifying as we reckon he must be? “Lord Sugar is awesome in every sense of the word. I respect him greatly,” Dillon asserts. As the season progresses, we’ll see Dillon face off to the judges each week. “We literally live, breath and eat tasks, you’re so busy trying to succeed, you forget the cameras are there, and usually end up looking like a bag of cats by the end of the day,” he says.

So what else can we expect? “Trust me, there’s plenty of drama, laughs – and no doubt tears, so brace yourself, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride,” he laughs.

Follow Dillon on Twitter @dillonstpaul to get his insider track as the season progresses.

This article first appeared in STELLAR’s November issue. Our December issue is on sale now!

• Dillon St. Paul
• The Apprentice