Every week on The Apprentice, contestants receive a challenge brief from a randomly selected industry and then are judged based on their performance. In the third week, the task involved creating a virtual escape room from scratch, encompassing scriptwriting, developing a unique concept, and executing the game itself, including gamification and design. Despite the limited time, both teams presented intriguing concepts that kept the pitches lively.
The episode of The Apprentice had its fair share of memorable moments (the “dancing bears”, of course). But did you find yourself curious about the cool venues where the virtual escape room testing was done? Both venues were actually real escape rooms and the consumers were some of the industry’s best in escape room design and testing.
Far from the usual boardrooms, bars, or cafes, these escape rooms were no other but two of our very own No Escape locations! These two venues made their television debut and were the focal point of the episode. Isn’t that exciting?
Now anyone who plays the escape rooms can brag about the fact that they’ve been on a TV famous venue!
But who exactly is No Escape, and who are the people behind it? Let’s learn more about No Escape and what else do they offer.
About No Escape
No Escape stands out as a well-known entertainment company, focusing on creating captivating thematic escape rooms. These rooms provide customers with immersive and unforgettable experiences. In an escape room setting, teams collaborate to solve a series of puzzles, utilising clues, hints, and strategic thinking to achieve a specific objective within a set time limit. With an impressive clientele of over 50,000 satisfied customers, ranging from families and friends to colleagues and adventure enthusiasts, No Escape offers an exhilarating choice for various occasions such as date nights, birthday celebrations, anniversaries, team-building events, and a distinctive way to spend quality time.
🏆 Over 3000 excellent 5* reviews on TripAdvisor
🏆 Travellers' Choice by TripAdvisor
🏆 Critics' Choice by TimeOut London
🏆 London's Best Immersive Games by Evening Standard
🏆 Worldwide Bullseye Award for Best Horror
🏆 Award for Best Design
As seen on the hit show, The Apprentice!
The two TV-famous No Escape venues are "The Gates of Hell” situated in our partner establishment, Purgatory Bar, located in the heart of Victoria, London. And “The Darkest Hour”, recently upgraded and relocated to Holloway Road, where No Escape also has two more escape rooms.
Here's more about the two escape rooms that we saw in episode 3 of BBC The Apprentice:
The Gates of Hell: Seal the Gates of Hell to thwart the descent of demons upon Earth, preventing widespread havoc. With merely one hour at your disposal, can you banish the malevolence lurking behind The Gates of Hell and save the world from impending doom?
The Darkest Hour: Assume the role of secret agents assigned by MI6 to investigate Winston Churchill’s private lounge. Racing against time, you and your team have only 60 minutes until a bomb detonates, extinguishing all hope. The darkest hour has arrived—can you rescue London before it's too late?
What else has No Escape to offer?
London’s largest escape room company
No Escape is the largest brand of escape rooms in Greater London that offers the most variety of games. Here are all of our venues and games:
Aldgate Venue
The Butcher - This scary escape rooms turns into a real crime scene when you enter. With a difficulty 4/5, this room is great for the adventurers who aren’t afraid of challenges.
The Haunted Toy Store - People tell stories of weird noises and strange happenings, toys found in odd places and children going missing. Can you face your fears and overcome the fiendish challenges that await?
Holloway Venue
The Killer - Join tonight's premiere, "THE KILLER," where you and your team are the only audience members. Unexpectedly, you find yourselves trapped in a dark cell, realizing the movie was a setup for a revenge plot. With just 60 minutes on the clock, can you outsmart the killer and secure your place in the final cut? Experience suspense, strategy, and thrills in our escape room!
The Darkest Hour - Become MI6 Secret Agents on a critical mission in Winston Churchill's lounge. Uncover the lost command center from the Cold War, where a ticking nuclear device awaits. With just 60 minutes, race against time to stop a rogue terrorist and save London. Difficulty: 4/5 | Size: 2-6 Players.
Oxford Street Venue
The Dentist - You arrive for your appointment only to find yourself trapped! Explore the cosmetic surgery and use clinical reasoning to extract the roots of this dark mystery.
The Demon Barber - Infiltrate Mrs. Lovett's infamous pie shop to uncover the secret behind her sudden success. Locked in the adjoining barber shop, you have 60 minutes before she opens for business. Escape the trap and reveal the truth before you become the next victim. Can you crack the mystery in time? With a difficulty 2/5 this game is perfect for beginners.
Victoria Venue
The Gates of Hell - Battle demonic forces in a high-stakes challenge! Assemble a team of 2-6 players to seal the Gates of Hell and thwart the descent of demons upon Earth. With a difficulty level of 5/5, you have just one hour to banish the evil and save the planet. Can you conquer The Gates of Hell in time?
And more new games coming soon.
Highly Recommended
No Escape has over 3000 excellent 5* reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook including some of the most recent ones:
“Brilliant afternoon spent sleuthing. Fun, enjoyable and a great time by all.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend! Very friendly service and help given when needed.”
“A fun themed room where every puzzle makes sense and doesn't leave you frustrated or confused.”
“We visited Demon Barber and Dentist today. We enjoyed both - especially Dentist! Some really novel innovations which is always nice.”
Who were the judges during week three of The Apprentice?
One of our co-founders, Darrell Johnston, was also featured on the episode as one of the judges to whom the two teams had to pitch. Amused by the "dancing bears," Darrell acknowledged that the team's presentation was “entertaining.”
Darrell and his team specialise in crafting distinctive experiences that cater to collaborative teamwork and mystery-solving, all under the pressure of a ticking timer. They have a proven ability to test players' skills and provide challenges that push even the most adept participants to their limits.
One of the judges alongside Darrell was Julia Charles from Julia Charles Event Management, a company focused on events management, specialising in the global delivery of Escape Rooms. Co-founder Julia Charles is also the managing director of Julia Charles Event Management, an organisation dedicated to providing escape rooms all around the world.
Within the larger events sector, Julia is a well-known personality. With an entire career devoted to events, Julia is a visionary whose unwavering enthusiasm and experience have brought her company to the forefront, transforming ambitious concepts into breathtaking event realities for her clientele.
A Dragon's Den winner
In 2008, she appeared on Dragons' Den and successfully secured an investment by James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne . Amazon, Swarovski, and MTV are just a few of Julia's esteemed clients.
Because of Julia's natural leadership abilities and dedication to nurturing new talent, an environment of trust, respect, and ambition has grown at work. She has assembled a motivated and competent team and created an atmosphere that is conducive to creativity.
The other two experts on the judges panel were Tom Lionetti-Maguire from Little Lion, a company that combines storytelling, live performance, and digital technology to deliver immersive and interactive entertainment experiences, and Karl Woolley from Framestore, a company that specialises in creating and producing visual effects and immersive experiences.
During the episode, some of the consumers featured were members of our team. Their remarkable knowledge and quick judgments were evident, particularly when one of the teams inquired about the duration they would play the game.
One of our consumers promptly responded, "I would play for 5 minutes, and then I would be asking for a refund.”
Did you see the episode? Did you spot our rooms? If you're up for some excitement, dive into episode 3 of the BBC Apprentice now available on-demand on BBC iPlayer!
