Stewart won't reveal ‘Apprentice’ catchphrase

Paroled domestic diva says there will be no boardroom on her show

Louis Lanzano / AP file

Martha Stewart said it took awhile for her to figure out what she would use in place of Donald Trump's signature phrase. She even asked her employees via company intranet for suggestions.

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updated 4:59 p.m. ET June 30, 2005

NEW YORK - There won't be any "You're fired" death knells sounded when Martha Stewart takes the reins of "The Apprentice" this fall.

The domestic doyenne will find her own way in her own reality series — but she won't say what it is yet.

The show will spotlight Stewart's working life and her attempts to find an aide through the TV process pioneered by Donald Trump through two seasons on NBC.

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"I think you'll find it quite different," Stewart said Wednesday during an appearance at the Promax&BDA conference of marketing executives in New York.

Stewart said it took awhile for her to figure out what she would use in place of Trump's signature phrase. She even asked her employees via company intranet for suggestions.

"I got some doozies," she reported. Among them: "You're not a good thing" and "You're a bad thing."

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But she wouldn't disclose what she will be saying when she cans contestants (and it won't be in a boardroom, she confirmed).

"I won't tell you. We're saving that for September" and the premiere, Stewart said.

Stewart was released from prison in March after serving five months for lying to investigators about a personal stock sale. She remains under house arrest until August, and is allowed out for 48 hours a week and for work only. She said she faced complications before addressing the Promax&BDA conference.

"I spent part of yesterday and today trying to convince my parole officer that this was essential business," Stewart said. "It took me quite a long time." But she said that she was able to convince him that the conference was essential to her business.

"Please back me up on that if he calls you," she said.

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