Apprentice contestant's dumped wife says she is 'paying for his 15 minutes of fame'

The wife of one of the new Apprentice contestants has told how he dumped her and his two children to appear on the hit TV series.

Ian Stringer is said to have walked out on wife, Kirsty, just three weeks after she gave birth to their second child, having cheated on her while she was pregnant.

Then he gave up his job and £35,000 salary to go on the hit show - and abruptly stopped paying the bills and mortgage, she said.

The 26-year-old wannabe Apprentice was watched by six million viewers last week bragging: "There are two types of people in the world - winners and... I don't know how to spell the other word. I can't even say it."

But Kirsty, 28, claimed he really IS a loser - for abandoning his toddler son and daughter in a quest to become Sir Alan Sugar's £100,000 a year Apprentice.

She said: "Ian should not be prancing about on The Apprentice. He should have been looking after his family.

"The BBC should never have let him take part... what about the effect it has all had on me and the children. And all for the sake of a TV show."

"I couldn't believe it when he was going on about being a winner, not a loser, on the show.

"Ian's the biggest loser of all. He's thrown away his marriage and given up on his family.

"His behaviour has been absolutely appalling. He cheated on me when I was pregnant. What kind of man does that? The stress has been awful.

"His little daughter was missing her daddy and would wait for him by the door in the evening and get upset when he didn't come home.

"Even some of his own family are disgusted with him."

Now, as Ian, a 26-year-old IT expert, battles 15 other hopefuls to win the fourth series of the BBC1 show, Kirsty has been forced to sell their smart three-bed terraced house because of debts.

And she has just six weeks to find a place to rent with children Isla, two, and Owen, one.

When he gave up his job with computer firm Maxon last September he promised to pay the £1,133-a-month mortgage plus another £100 a month towards bills so the children would not have to move.

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But he has paid the full amount only once. Kirsty, off sick from her £9,500 a year part-time job as a crown court clerk, is on full sick pay at the moment, but that will run out soon, and she will have to depend on benefits.

Ian is said to be leading a new life with a 23-year-old called Angela, with whom Kirsty claims he cheated on with while she was pregnant.

The paper claims his only income is part-time work as a weekend football commentator for BBC local station Three Counties Radio.

"He has talked to me about The Apprentice" says Kirsty. "And he was very unflattering about Sir Alan, saying he is a lot shorter in real life than you think.

"I only hope he fully appreciates the price his family has paid for his 15 minutes of fame."