A PRANKSTER’S joke application for The Apprentice television programme backfired when he was granted an interview for the show.

Comedian Phil Lucas submitted a bizarre application for the next series of the hit BBC show only for the producers to offer him an interview.

The Hove funnyman impressed selectors for the show despite telling them he didn’t care about the corporate world, hates wearing suits and had no desire to go into business with Sir Alan Sugar.

Mr Lucas also apparently impressed the producers despite saying he could not wake up at 6am and be dressed in 20 minutes and so would instead remain comatosed in a “pair of Nutella-stained jogging bottoms”.

He also named the most impressive thing he had ever done in business as directing TV presenter Jayne Middlemiss to the musical DVD section in HMV.

The application was enough to secure Mr Lucas an audition for the 11th series of the show on Sunday at 1.30pm at the London studios of the producers Freemantle.

Sadly his Apprentice dreams could be dashed as he is unable to make Sunday’s meeting because of a pre-booked sight-seeing trip in Bristol, and he is yet to hear back from producers on a possible rearranged date.

Mr Lucas joked he hoped to use the opportunity on the show to promote his dream to build the Jamiroquai Virtual Insanity theme park.

The show’s organisers should have paid more attention to The Argus and they would have realised that Mr Lucas has form when it comes to practical jokes.

The 45-year-old has featured in the paper on countless occasions for several eye-catching jokes including submitting a number of hilarious planning applications for a 40m high otter’s head on Brighton beach.

He also made plans for a museum of taxidermy.

In August 2012 Mr Lucas tried to lift the city out of post-Olympic blues by putting up motivational posters encouraging residents to take inspiration from cunning foxes and lions.

Mr Lucas said: “I was just bored one day and filled in the application form, I never intended it to be a prank, I just wondered what would happen.

“I forgot about it for a month and then I got an email basically calling my bluff.

“I really like the show and I always thought it would be really good if they had somebody on who was the complete polar opposite to the people they usually get on.

“Every word on my application is true so it’s probably the only truthful application they got.

“I would have been useless on the show, I would have been the worst candidate possible.”