Lord Alan Sugar has blasted the Conservative party for putting pressure on the BBC to delay his show. Sugar’s Apprentice reality TV show usually airs in March, however due to his new role as ‘Business Tsar’ and possible conflicts with the 2010 general election, the BBC have pushed it back to June next year.

Lord Sugar told The Mirror: “They’ve delayed it for some political reason which is a bit of a joke in my opinion.

“Somebody from the Tory party complained to the BBC about me being an adviser to the Government and the result is that the television programme can’t be transmitted until the General Election is over.

“It is very frustrating because the programme itself has got nothing in it that is political at all, but unfortunately the BBC are frightened of the Tory party.

“They’ve been bullied by the Tory party and they can’t stand up to common sense.”