[Neil Jones]

Arguably showing him was a bigger punishment than cutting him out of the series completely.

I've seen episodes over the years but last year was the first I saw in full but it feels like a spoof reality show considering job inept the contestants are and the tasks are like a Year 5 school project. It's like Masterchef casting people who can't cook and getting them to cook beans on toast.

When they research candidates for programmes like this, do they actually 'vet' them? I'd assume they'd look through all public social media channels for anything 'questionable' before casting them.

The website suggests they do vet them:

After [the regional interviews], around 30 candidates are assessed by a psychotherapist, references are taken and other checks made. It is from this group that the final line-up is chosen.

The candidates might look "inept" but it must be remembered they are squashing what may normally takes an insane amount of time into two or three days. Product research and development normally takes months (or years), not hours so its hardly surprising half the projects (the ones they pitch and design themselves) come across as a bit half-arsed sometimes.

That and they do the tasks near enough back to back, not over a period of 12 weeks as the show presents it. So yes you might get to stay in a house the size of a ship, but ultimately you'll probably spend most of it in bed asleep...