A contestant on Lord Sugar's Apprentice show who claimed 'I'm very, very aggressive' is a convicted thug who assaulted two men, biting one's ear, it emerged today.
James Hill, 27, beat up a bus driver who was talking to his girlfriend, hitting him with 'punch after punch' in an unprovoked attack that left the victim scarred for life. Months later, he was involved in another brawl in which he bit a man's ear.
Today the would-be star from Chesterfield, who hopes to win the £250,000 top prize in the Apprentice, said he 'very much regrets' the two assaults, for which he was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence after admitting them at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court.
Hill apologised after his first victim, who asked not to be named, told how Hill attacked him after he chatted to his girlfriend in a bar owned by the entrepreneur's father.
The victim, who said he knew the young woman as she worked at a local soft play centre, told the Sun: 'Hill stormed over and began throwing his fists - he threw punch after punch.'
He said he fell to the floor and looked up, only to see a boot coming towards his face.
Hill was dragged off by bouncers who told the victim he should call the police.
He said: 'He was always starting fights and they wanted someone to teach him a lesson.'
As Hill waited for his court case, he got into trouble again, this time biting a man's ear on Christmas Eve 2008.
After the second attack, Hill was arrested and appeared at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court on March 2 2009, where he was charged under his full name of Anthony James Hill and admitted two counts of assault.
In July that year he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended, ordered to pay his victims £300 and £200 respectively, and told to pay £755 costs.
Now Hill, who started out in business washing cars, now runs several businesses including selling vending machines and running his own bar and restaurant.
He describes himself as enthusiastic and energetic, and said: 'Me and Lord Sugar could build an empire together. I think I am him when he was my age.'
A new series of the reality business show launched this week, with 6.6million viewers watching Hill battle it out against 19 other would-be high-fliers to win £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.
However the victims of his attacks are said to be aghast at the prospect of Hill becoming a highly-paid celebrity.
The bus driver he assaulted said he was surprised the BBC had left Hill take part, while the victim of the second attack didn't want to comment on it but his father said he thought Hill's criminal past might make him a less attractive winner from Lord Sugar's point of view.
A spokesman for The Apprentice told MailOnline: 'It is a spent conviction under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore James was eligible to apply for the programme.'
A spokesman for Hill said: 'James is not proud of what happened. He was young and irresponsible and very much regrets - and has learned from - his actions.'
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17-10-2014, 04:05 PM
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The Apprentice Thug - James's Criminal Record
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