Anti-bullying charity Kidscape has spoken out against BBC reality TV show, The Apprentice.

Kidscape director Claude Knight claimed that scenes of wannabes being humiliated by their fellow contestants on the show can encourage school ground bullying.

“These shows are about public humiliation and The Apprentice takes it to an extreme,” Knight told the Daily Star Sunday.

“Young people will take the behaviour they see in the programme into their everyday lives and the catchphrases come into the language. Kids think: ‘It’s on TV so it must be OK’. It gives bullying a credibility.”

Kidscape was specifically speaking about two scenes that are due to air this Wednesday night. The episode will see Jenny Celerier and Lucinda Ledgerwood at loggerheads and at one point, Lucinda ends up visibly upset after being described as a “fungus” by Jenny, who then threatens to shove a dummy down her throat.

Knight added: “You could get this message across about running a business successfully without this bullying stance. My suspicion is that they manipulate it. The producers encourage aggressive behaviour and the contestants go along with it because they want their 15 minutes of fame.”

The claims have been rejected by programme makers Talkback Thames.

A spokesman said: “The programme makers do not condone bullying. The ability to work together as a team is one of the key skills Sir Alan is looking for. The Apprentice has a very strong following of young people and has encouraged them to take an interest in business and enterprise.”