The Apprentice star Tre Lowe has given fans a glimpse into the show's "rigorous" audition process that isn't shown on screen.

The wellness entrepreneur and musician, who made it to the final five candidates on the hit BBC series last year before being fired alongside Paul Midha and Flo Edwards, described the application process as "very intense".

Speaking to The Mirror on behalf of 10bet, he said: "It's the most rigorous process I've ever gone through in my life, and I've gone through some trials and tribulations in my life."

He added: "I mean, you've gone down from thousands and thousands of people, whittled down to 18 people.

"You're literally just put through, it's almost like a distillery or something like that, you just start off like big blocks of rock, and by the time it's done, you're just like this fine sand - only 18 particles of sand are left. That's what it feels like."

Tre also revealed that potential contestants undergo several evaluations, including a psychological test, to determine who would be best for the show - and it's not always the best business minds that make the cut.

"It's so rigorous, it's crazy. It's way more intense than I expected, and you're being evaluated from so many different angles that you don't fully know what you're being evaluated from. It's not just purely business acumen, I'm sure there's some great business people but they might be boring for TV, for instance," he explained.

"There's all these different evaluations, there's psychological evaluations, there's lots of stuff that goes on, and each stage you've got to keep believing in yourself, believe that you've given the best that you can, but not knowing if it's enough, you know."

Tre concluded: "Yeah, it's a great process, again very intense. Almost as intense as the final five. If anyone beats Linda Plant staring at you, I think that's the scariest thing in the world."

Tre is set to make an anticipated return to The Apprentice tonight (February 6), as he helps the remaining candidates make a hit song.

The star took to Instagram last week to share a sneak peek of the episode, posting a video of himself at the keyboard alongside the new contestants.

"Buzzing for this episode! This time last year, I was in the boardroom as a contestant. Now I'm back mentoring the next wave of entrepreneurs, showing them how to craft a hit song and step up under pressure," the caption read.

"To come full circle, sharing my music knowledge and mentoring these candidates as they navigate the competition, is an absolute privilege."

The Apprentice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer