Imagine television without reality business shows.

A world deprived of the unceasing spectre of Theo Paphitis squandering his children’s inheritance.

Devoid of the smoke-damaged ramblings of reptilian being Hilary Devey.

Diminished by the loss of the definitely-not-scripted boardroom put-downs that issue from barrow-boy-cum-corporate-dream-slayer Surallan. Sorry, that should be Lordshugga (‘Shugsy boy’ to his mates).

Perish the thought.

You’ll be relieved to know there aren’t any plans to apply the scheduling axe of doom to either The Apprentice or Dragons’ Den anytime soon, but the judgement of the stars of both shows has been thrown joltingly into question.

Let’s start with Dragons’ Den. These guys don’t just throw their money at anyone. The slightest chink in your pitch and they’re oot, right?

Don’t be so sure. Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis obliged the pleasingly-named Jean-Claude Baumgartner with £230,000 when he came on the show touting his ‘satnav for skiers’ idea.

Turns out he made the whole thing up. The business the Dragons invested in didn’t actually exist. So, naturally, Baumgartner splashed the cash on a pimpin’ crib in Hampstead lavished the rest on his ladyfriend.

He won’t be on any more fraudulently-funded adventures for a while though – he’s just pleaded guilty to bullshit in the first degree (pretty sure that’s the legal term) and is facing 32 months in jail. We have no doubt that, with a name like Baumgartner, he’ll make plenty of new friends.

Now onto The Apprentice… Reports have emerged that 2010 winner Stella English is taking Lordshugga to court for constructive dismissal.

In a recent interview, English warned:

Lordshugga has forgotten one of the first rules of business –never underestimate someone who’s got nothing to lose.

She has claimed that when she asked Lordshugga for feedback after being posted to his IT company Viglen, he responded:

I’ll tell you the feedback, shall I? Yeah. Nice girl, don’t do a lot.

Then, when her contract came to an end, he confusingly referred to himself in both the third AND first person in the same sentence, saying:

If you think Lordshugga was s****ing himself when you left the Viglen job, you’re wrong, ‘cos I don’t give a s***.

No official comment on the news of legal action has been offered by either party. But it’s in the Daily Mail, so, erm, we’ll see what happens shall we?

For now, the shiny world of business-based reality TV remains intact. But could a few more incidents like these bring it all to an end? And are you really willing to pretend you wouldn’t miss these shows? Tell us what you think!