A former footballer is already beating the competition in a new television reality show.

Former Millwall FC player Ansell Henry, 34, a sales manager from Brighton, has survived the first week of BBC2's new series of The Apprentice.

In the show he is trying to convince Amstrad chairman and self-made millionaire Alan Sugar that he is the best candidate for a job in his firm, which would come with a six-figure salary.

The contestants split into two groups during each episode and compete against each other in a task set by Mr Sugar.

Mr Ansell grew up in South London and left school aged 16 to play for Millwall. He left after four years when he broke a leg and later moved to Brighton.

The first episode of the series aired on Wednesday and Mr Ansell was praised for his leadership skills.

The show drew in 3.6 million viewers.