A RASPING, no-nonsense voice, eye-wateringly high stilettos and shoulderpads from here to the other side of Christmas.

That’s Hilary Devey for you, but what she lacks in subtlety, she more than makes up for in business-minded intelligence.

Having built up a haulage business that reputedly turns over £100m a year, she came to the public’s attention as one of the entrepreneurs on BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.

However, she has hot-footed it over to C4 to pass some of that knowledge on and get young people into their dream jobs in The Intern.

The idea behind the series is to give talented and ambitious candidates a leg-up on the ladder in their chosen career by giving them the chance to win an internship with some of the UK’s most exciting employers.

Why would she? She has worked nearly every day of her life to get to where she is now, and notched up a wealth of heartache along the way, having spoken openly about the breakdown of three marriages, among other experiences.

She has been recalling one of her first memories, telling Radio Times: “I was about three or four and I remember the bailiffs coming in and taking every single piece of furniture. They took everything.

They took the cooker. They took the beds. They took the sofa which my brother and I were sat on.

“From the age of seven, I was forced to work in the bar all weekend. On school nights, I would have to clean the bar, restock the shelves and cook a meal. Did I mind? You didn’t think about it. My brothers were expected to go to school. It wasn’t regarded as important for me.

“So I was kept away from school to help run the family business. In retrospect, what an opportunity.” First up, three young people attempt to impress a hotel group by dealing with a celebrity caught in a compromising position, a wife who thinks her husband is having an affair and a guest whose swanky car is towed away.

Devey watches on hidden cameras to see if the candidates have what it takes.