Apparently so. Lord Sugar has described former Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins as “Piers Morgan on steroids” in a recent interview.

Katie, 40, who appeared in the 2007 series of the BBC show and now has her own TV show, has been criticised for remarks she made about Syrian refugees escaping conflict.

Lord Sugar, 68, said in an interview with The Times Magazine that Katie uses controversial comments “to make herself famous”.

Lord Alan Sugar
Lord Alan Sugar (Yui Mok/PA)

Earlier this year Katie compared migrants to cockroaches in her column, and has previously demanded that fat people pay extra tax. However, when discussing her TV show – If Katie Hopkins Ruled The World – she claimed she isn’t trying to play a pantomime villain.

But Lord Sugar said: “Her niche is to be obnoxious and controversial and it’s a shtick. She’s just trying to make herself famous. She’s chosen a niche in the market for herself. She’s become Piers Morgan on steroids, if there could be such a thing.”

Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins
Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins (Andreas Branch/AP/Ian West/PA)

Lord Sugar also said it was hard to work out a contestant’s personality when choosing them for the BBC show, which returns for its 11th series later this month.

He said: “You don’t know what the real characters are like until you get into the Apprentice process and I think we’re a bit more streetwise now.”