Kerri-Anne: I would never compete on Celebrity Apprentice

She’s perfectly happy to appear as a mentor, but there’s no way Kerri-Anne Kennerley would be a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice.

“Never. I have been asked, but no,” she tells TV Tonight.

“I think those people are very brave, (as they are on) I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in Africa. And I know my name was thrown around by everybody and sundry (there too). Yes I was asked a couple of times. Never would I do it. And it was the same with this.

“I did Reality TV which was the original Live television for 30 years and I’ve done all the stunts I want to do. I love to interview people more than anything. Knowing what they go through I think is really, really tough. It’s not a place I want to go.

“I was delighted when they asked me if I’d like to be an advisor. That interested me. To be an advisor and watch human nature at its best and worst I found fascinating.”

“Everybody goes into those shows for their own career reasons.”

Kennerley, along with Shelley Barrett, CEO and founder of ModelCo, is one of two advisors to boss Mark Bouris while 12 personalities raise money for charity. But as she explains, they all have other reasons for appearing on the show.

“Everybody goes into those shows for their own career reasons. Every single one,” she says.

“It’s for deep-seated personal reasons: a few bucks or a career move. Or both. That’s also called show-business, and it’s not a criticism.

“Mel Grieg went on it because she wants a job. Unashamedly. She said, ‘I haven’t worked for 3 years.'”

Kennerley says the former radio host was so good at a challenge at TVSN she has even tried to help her get a job.

“Matt Cooper went into it as a fabulously talented ex-football player who now owns a gym,” she continues. “He wants to promote his gym and himself as a personality on The Footy Show.

“James Mathison hasn’t been on television for a while and that’s an area he wants to do.

“Esther Anderson is a Gold Logie nominee. She’d love to come back to Australia and get another job.

“Geoffrey (Edelsten) I think only went into it to help make Gabi (Grecko) a star. He’s wandering around half the time, to be quite frank, looking a little lost. The boys looked after him and called him ‘grandpops.'”

But with the pressure of the challenges, long days and egos involved, sparks will fly.

“If you do Reality Television make sure you go in knowing every aspect of your personality will be on national display, whether you like it or not. I don’t actually have a lot of sympathy for people who don’t get that. Because they’re all professionals.”

Previous contestants including Brian Mannix and Peter Everett have both complained about the demands -or even manipulation- of the show.

Kennerley, who attended every challenge says there’s no question the celebrities were under pressure, but draws the line at manipulation.

“In the first week Fremantle shot 129 hours and you have to get that down to 43 minutes. That’s the ratio upon which everything is shot. The Boardroom has 8 cameras for every reaction,” she explains.

“I was there for every challenge, so if there was a call then we were all getting up at the same time. So yes they are long days, probably 6 days a week.

“The manipulation, I’m not so convinced about because I’m not allowed to interfere or tell them what to do. They do exactly what the project manager tells them to do.

“If I saw things being so complete unfair, I don’t know how I’d react. Everybody was in exactly the same boat. And the longer they stayed in the more tired and exhausted they got.

“It can take up to 5 hours to literally pick apart who did what, who spat the dummy, who decided they were too good to do something.”

“Blake will be one of the first to come out whinging.”

As viewers become more savvy to the tricks by Reality producers -including via storylines on UnREAL– Kennerley defends those on the FremantleMedia show.

“There were 2 story producers on the road with earpieces. But I didn’t hear those said-producers throwing lies at anybody. With the challenge they are given a copy of the rules and they are the same for the producers as they are for the contestants,” she insists.

“But there will be a few people who will come out and say ‘Manipulation, manipulation!’ They’re probably the ones who folded under pressure and it wasn’t very pretty.

“Blake the Bachelor is Mr. Swarthy. Terribly charming with that fabulous voice. (You’ll see) what he would and wouldn’t do,” she notes.

“Blake worked in Reality TV on The Bachelor, and I do think they’re capable of winding people up. He might have come into this show with that sort of concept.

“I can guarantee you Blake will be one of the first to come out whinging about manipulation. But I spent 12 hours a day watching that man.”

Reality is a double-edged sword. As Deni Hines knows too well, Celebrity Apprentice has the power to make or break careers.

“I’ve known Deni since she was about 10 or 12. She is a fiery young woman, and was a fiery young teenager,” she recalls.

“I was watching that show with her and Jesinta Campbell, and I remember thinking ‘Deni don’t fall for it.’ Jesinta was baiting her.”

Yet there are others who will show another side to their personality as they undergo challenges for charity.

“I think people have always under-estimated Sophie Monk. She’s made a very good living for herself, coming from the Gold Coast at 18,” she says.

“She is so good at marketing and creative. She’s fabulous. A lot of them are, but they just had to find the area of their strength.

“Or Richard Reid who has a huge personality… watching him in front of a whole group of people I’m sure he never thought he would have to do.

“I’d never met Matt Cooper. But talk about the world’s most charming gentleman. An absolute team player. So for him to have to throw somebody under the bus or cut one from the pack, to save himself, he found really, really difficult. It’s just not in his nature to bag anybody for what they may or may not have done.

“You’d like to think you would do anything if it was for charity. So they can make ridiculous fools of themselves, but it’s ok because it’s for charity.

“It’s extraordinary television because these people are wild personalities, very competitive by their nature. So they work together with one boss but when they get into the Boardroom it is absolutely adversarial and gladiatorial.

“But I would never be prepared to put myself through that. I know how hard it is! And also I don’t have to!”

Celebrity Apprentice airs 8:40pm Wednesdays on Nine.