Who was the Events Company on The Apprentice 2024?
The Apprentice is now onto its 18th series, proving its timeless popularity with the UK audience. From its diverse business challenges, variety of contestants and the iconic Lord Alan Sugar line – ‘You’re fired.’
In 2023 6.45 million viewers tuned in to watch Goldsmith graduate Marnie Swindells secure the £250,000 investment and partnership with Lord Alan for her boxing business based in London.
Excitingly, this year our very own founder and director Julia Charles was invited to appear on The Apprentice! Sharing her expertise as a guest judge in the field of virtual escape rooms.
So Who is Julia Charles from BBC The Apprentice?
Julia has been managing and producing events across the UK and internationally for over 20 years with her brother and partner in crime Michael Charles.
Originally she founded the company D4M which you may recognise Julia for her appearance on Dragons Den back in 2008 when she secured a £75,000 investment for her growing events business.
Now directing Julia Charles Event Management alongside her brother Michael Charles. The powerhouse duo are a creative force to be reckoned with. Passionate about transforming event spaces into spectacular guest experiences.
Having worked alongside stars such as the Sidemen, created award-winning exhibition designs, and produced immersive themed events for luxury island parties. Take a look at their catalogue of previous events.
Both also boast impressive accolades in the events industry, including being recognised as one of the top event planners in the UK and being nominated for Creative Entrepreneur of the Year 2023.
In Julia’s words;
“We harvest the most abstract and outrageous fruits of your imagination and put them together to create a living, breathing event that couldn’t be more familiar to you, but that you can’t quite believe is taking place in real life.”
Find out more about this impressive partnership and how together they founded Julia Charles Event Management.
Virtual Escape Room Judge – Julia’s The Apprentice Experience
Julia was invited by the production company to appear as a guest judge with her experience delivering global virtual escape rooms. Giving her perspective on the corporate and commercial aspects, creating an escape room designed for product launches and brand activations. Boosting general brand awareness for large organisations such as Blue Chips.
What was The Apprentice Task?
The two teams were tasked with producing a virtual escape room which could be sold as an event experience. With this, the contestants had to come up with a storyline, concept, design and the execution of a final product – all within a very short time frame.
In Julia’s words;
“The contestants did incredibly well, they had to create a virtual escape room from scratch. Writing the script, coming up with a unique concept, and then producing the actual game itself – including the gamification and design. I think both teams delivered fantastic results, particularly for the short time frame given. I do believe given more time that they would come up with something quite amazing. I genuinely do mean that. Understanding the amount of work that goes into a custom virtual escape room I made sure to consider this when judging.”
Stand Out Virtual Escape Rooms With Unexpected Twists
Historically viewers of The Apprentice will know that the contestants can come up with some truly wacky and ingenious ideas! With her out-the-box thinking, Julia reflected on what the contestants produced:
“There were some elements of the games which were amazing, but some in particular had me dying ( in the best sense!) Parts for example where a helicopter was crash landing and you have to run from this bear chasing you! These parts just made the game so much more playable and exciting. For me I would have played that entire escape room – you know if you don’t get the code right you’re going to get eaten by a bear – that’s pretty cool.”
Julia’s main takeaway from appearing on The Apprentice show
Apart from getting to judge the contestant’s virtual escape room creations, Julia says that her biggest takeaway from the show was the amazing connections made while being on set.
“I think possibly from my experience of appearing on The Apprentice my biggest takeaway was the fact that I have made some really good connections with the other judges. The opportunity meant I got to meet more people in our field and look at potentially how we can work together in the future.”
Discover the whole interview discussing Julia’s experience behind the scenes at The Apprentice.
And if you haven’t already make sure to watch Julia’s guest appearance on The Apprentice on BBC iPlayer here.
Create your Virtual Escape Room with Julia Charles Event Management
If you are intrigued about creating your Virtual Escape Room, then why not do it with The Apprentice expert judge herself? Julia and Michael alongside their creative team can create and manage your escape room from scratch.
Not only do we specialise in virtual escape rooms for corporate events such as product launches. With our event theming expertise, we also design and deliver bespoke live escape rooms – including stage and set design and custom props and puzzles.
Alternatively, we can organise a team day with our escape room locations across the UK depending on your requirements. Each location has its own very special twist to engage your employees!
Or have the escape room experience come to your workplace or venue with our mobile escape rooms. We can also transform your existing event spaces for short and long-term events.
If you are looking for a more straightforward online escape room then take a look at our escape room games your teams can take part in with a variety of themes and scenarios.
Our team is on hand to help with any of your escape room enquiries.
Julia Charles Event Management – What We Do
We offer end-to-end event services, from concept to execution, encompassing event management, production, and captivating entertainment for live and virtual corporate and private events.
Our commitment to excellence is non-negotiable.
Establishing partnerships with top-tier service providers is just the beginning. Our true strength lies in creative insight and expertise in concept and design. We take your initial idea, and infuse it with a unique vision and impeccable craftsmanship, ensuring our services surpass expectations.
Our Core Values:
- Deliver WOW through service
- Embrace and drive change
- Create a fun workplace
- Be adventurous, creative and open-minded
- Be honest
- Build a positive team and family spirit
- Have a passion to be the best at what you do
- Pursue growth: run it like you own it!
Get in touch with our team to enquire about your next event.
Our Escape Room Services include:
- Escape Room Concept and Design
- Set Design and Build
- Theming, Props and Scenic
- AV and Lighting
- Event Technology including programming
- Event Management
- Live Entertainment
- Signage and Graphics
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