Ryan-Mark Parsons

Ryan-Mark Parsons, FRSA (born 4 April 2000) is a British media personality. He is best known for being the youngest-ever candidate on the BBC One reality series The Apprentice (2019). He also featured in a controversial debate on Good Morning Britain (2020).[1][2][3] Parsons has made several appearances on television and radio as a celebrity panelist or expert.

Ryan-Mark Parsons

FRSA
Parsons at Television Centre, London in 2020
Born (2000-04-04) 4 April 2000
London, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
EducationBabington House School
OccupationMedia Personality
TelevisionThe Apprentice
The Apprentice: You're Fired!
Good Morning Britain
London Live
BBC London News
HonoursFellowship of Royal Society of Arts
Websiteryanmarkparsons.co.uk

Early life

Parsons was born on 4 April 2000 in London, United Kingdom. He was educated at Babington House School and chose not to go to university. Before his media career, Parsons was a Brand Ambassador for Gucci within Harrods and Aspinal of London; alongside several internships at the Palace of Westminster, Matrix Chambers, 5 King's Bench Walk, AIG and NHS.[4][5]

Career

2019: The Apprentice and You're Fired!
Main article: The Apprentice (British series 15)

Parsons joined The Apprentice, aged 19, as the youngest-ever candidate since the show began in 2005.[4][6] Parsons' performance was praised by Sean O'Grady, Associate Editor of The Independent, stating the "cherubic Ryan-Mark Parsons is the real winner of this series".[7]

During Week Six, Parsons tested one of the rollercoasters at Thorpe Park, which caused thousands of viewers to react online. According to Hello!, 13,000 Twitter mentions and 10,000 hashtags were used, which made this scene one of the most talked about TV moments of 2019.[8][9]

Parsons appeared on The Apprentice: You're Fired! hosted by Tom Allen, alongside guests Dominic Holland, Tomeka Empson and Claudine Collins.[10]

Aftermath

Parsons was fired 'with regret' in Week Eight of The Apprentice and the episode overall gained 6.6 million viewers.[11] In his exit interviews, Parsons caused controversy after calling fellow candidates a "waste of space" and "desperate".[12][13][14][15] Weeks following the series, Parsons had several altercations with fellow contestant Lottie Lion, such as when she criticised Parsons for "charging fans for photos".[16][17] Around a similar time, Parsons was hospitalised after he dropped "£1000 caviar on his foot".[18]

Various pictures surfaced of Parsons in December 2019, including eating at McDonald's at one of their London restaurants with a knife and fork. The story was subsequently reported by a large number of online newspapers and quickly became viral; popular US-based celebrity podcast Who? Weekly addressed the story in the episode "British reality star Ryan-Mark Parsons (he likes McDonald's)".[19][20]

In May 2020, Parsons and co-star Lion took to Instagram live stream, during which Lion impersonated a Venezuelan accent and was accused of racism. Parsons issued an apology for causing any offence for his laughter, but didn't uphold the incident was 'racist'.[21][22]

2020: Good Morning Britain
Main article: Good Morning Britain
Further information: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

On 23 January 2020, Parsons featured as a celebrity panelist in an exclusive Good Morning Britain debate over whether "Australia should 'sell koala fur' to fund bushfire aid". Parsons made the argument that the dead koala fur could be sold "to raise money for the injured animals in the rescue centres".[23] This was criticised by animal rights activist, Wendy Turner Webster, who called his idea "grotesque",[3] alongside presenter Susanna Reid labelling the suggestion as "sick".[24] He was met with strong public and media backlash from UK, Australian and New Zealand press, denouncing Parsons for his "vile" and "disgusting" views.[25][26]

gollark: Ah, I see.
gollark: Explain what?
gollark: Not Doc®, a-dork-able.
gollark: Some offense, but this may be why people dislike you.
gollark: It's customizable, does not do that much I agree with, and has a nice package manager.

References
  1. "BBC One - The Apprentice, Series 15 - Ryan-Mark Parsons". BBC.
  2. "The Apprentice 2019 contestants: meet Lord Sugar's remaining candidates". The Telegraph. 9 October 2019. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  3. Shields, Bevan (24 January 2020). "'Grotesque': British entrepreneur shot down over plan to sell koala fur as bushfire fundraiser". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  4. "Meet Apprentice 2019's Ryan-Mark Parsons, the show's youngest ever candidate". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  5. "The Apprentice 2019: Former Matrix mini-pupil set to become youngest-ever contestant". Legal Cheek. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  6. "The Apprentice Line Up Has Been Released So We've Made Some Predictions Based Mostly On Their Suits". Grazia. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. "This year's Apprentice winner is worthy and, most unusually, likeable – review". The Independent. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  8. Shenton, Zoe (7 November 2019). "The Apprentice contestants tested a rollercoaster and it was hilarious". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  9. "The most talked about TV moments of 2019 have been revealed – and they might surprise you". HELLO!. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  10. "Steam Train". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. "Weekly top programmes on four screens (from Sept 2018) | BARB". Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  12. "The Apprentice candidate Ryan-Mark Parsons speaks out after being fired". The Independent. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  13. "The Apprentice's Ryan-Mark Parsons claims other fired candidates are "desperate"". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  14. "Here's who was fired from The Apprentice 2019". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  15. "A tribute to Ryan-Mark: The Apprentice King who was gone too soon". UK. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  16. "Ryan-Mark slams Apprentice co-star Lottie in signed pictures dispute". Evening Standard. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  17. Silverstein, Adam (31 December 2019). "The Apprentice's Lottie Lion and Ryan-Mark feud over charging fans for photos". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  18. "The Apprentice star Ryan-Mark Parsons is hospitalised after dropping £1000 of caviar on his foot". OK! Magazine. 30 November 2019.
  19. Newman, Vicki (4 December 2019). "Apprentice star Ryan-Mark baffles fans as he eats McDonald's with knife and fork". mirror. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  20. "Who? Weekly: The Peloton Wife, Ryan-Mark Parsons & K.T. Tunstall? on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  21. "The Apprentice candidate Lottie Lion apologises for 'racist' Instagram video". The Independent. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  22. "Ryan-Mark apologises to Jemelin Artigas over Lottie Lion 'racist' claims". Metro. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  23. "The Apprentice's Ryan-Mark Parsons claims koala fur should be sold for charity". Metro. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  24. "Apprentice star branded 'sick' after suggesting koala fur should be sold for charity". Daily Mirror. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  25. "'Disgusting suggestion': Businessman's plan for dead koalas slammed". NZ Herald. 24 January 2020. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  26. "Businessman slammed over 'vile' plan for koalas killed in bushfire crisis". 7NEWS.com.au. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
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