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The Apprentice 2019 star Thomas Skinner previously charged with handling £40,000 of stolen goods

26 September 2019, 11:09 | Updated: 26 September 2019, 11:10

Thomas Skinner is a candidate on this year's Apprentice. Picture: BBC

Thomas Skinner, who is a contestant on this year's series of The Apprentice, was previously charged with handling stolen goods

The first episode of The Apprentice 2019 is just around the corner, but the BBC One show has already been hit by scandal.

It has emerged that one of the contestants - Thomas Skinner - was previously charged with handling stolen goods.

The Sun reports that pillow salesman Thomas was charged with handling 4,992 tubes of Body Shop cleansing gels worth around £40,000, as well as 2,000 diazepam tablets, back in 2011.

Bosses at the BBC were aware of his conviction when casting him for the show, and were satisfied that his conviction had been spent.

Thomas himself told the publication: “Many years ago before I had my business, I used to work on the markets.

The Apprentice 2019 will start on 2 October 2019. Picture: BBC

“I was young and naive and bought stock from a source I didn’t know. I wasn’t aware the stock was stolen and paid the consequences for the mistake I made.That is now well in my past, and I have had a string of successful companies since then.

“I now only buy from trusted sources and employ five people. I was put in situations I didn’t fully understand when I was younger.

"But they have made me the man I am now. I am a changed man.”

The Apprentice returns to BBC One on October 2nd at 9PM.

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