The Apprentice returns for its landmark 20th series and to mark the occasion, there will be 20 candidates looking to impress Lord Sugar and secure his £250,000 investment in their business plan as well his priceless mentorship. And to kick things off in style, for the first time ever, Lord Sugar’s boardroom will move to Hong Kong after the candidates complete a task in one of the world’s most vibrant trading hubs.
Back alongside his formidable advisors Baroness Karren Brady CBE and Tim Campbell MBE, Lord Sugar will whittle down the 20 candidates across 12 episodes in a bid to choose the candidate that will receive his life changing investment.
The stakes are high from the offset and the first task kicks off with a fan-favourite buying challenge. What follows is a demanding run of tasks that takes the candidates across London and beyond, testing their instincts for branding, selling and negotiation. Viewers can expect to see the candidates create a children’s books, sell live on television and host a corporate away day on the Red Sea in El Gouna, Egypt, before tackling a second helping of the discount buying task on the Isle of Wight. It all leads to interviews week, where the final five face Lord Sugar’s closest associates, their business plans stripped back and examined in detail.
Interview with Lord Sugar
Congratulations on reaching your 20th series. How are you feeling about that milestone?
Well, it is an amazing milestone. When we started recording this series, you start to think to yourself, ‘Wow, this is 20 years now’. What’s amazing, of course, is Tim Campbell is now one of my advisors, and he was the one that won it in the very first series, so it’s full circle, in a great way. I think the programme itself brings in a new audience every year, because 20 years ago, I had nine-year-olds watching it who are now 29. And the new generation of 16-year-olds are coming in and loving it. So the audience is growing. The audience is holding up, and that’s why the BBC keeps doing it.
But let’s not undermine the fact that the production people are brilliant. They come up with these amazing ideas year after year, they do a hell of a lot of work behind the scenes. I take it for granted because I just turn up at, say, St Paul’s Cathedral, and all the lighting is there, everything works, it’s all done. It’s quite amazing.
Did you ever imagine when you started this that you’d be still going strong all these years later?
I never imagined back in series one that I’d still be here two decades later. I didn’t know what to expect, I recorded it and then didn’t even know what to expect when it was broadcast. It was only then that I realised that it was going to be successful.
Do you still get the same buzz walking into the boardroom now as you did on that first day?
Well, the thing is, the initial format was that the winner would get a £100,000 a year job working for me but for series seven I changed it to the winner entering into a 50/50 business of their choice with me and I would inject £250,000. That’s what makes it exciting for me, even now. It’s really exciting because I’m starting from scratch again with these people and I’m teaching them what not to do and going over what it was like when I first started.
For the first time ever you have moved the boardroom out of London, what was the thinking behind that?
Yeah, in the first episode we go to Hong Kong, my old hunting ground! The thinking behind it was it’s the 20th series and what can we do that’s different? So I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I jump on a plane and surprise them in Hong Kong?’ It’s not as if I’m surprising them in Hounslow or something like that. They didn’t know I was there. They knew they were going to Hong Kong, which is fine, they’ve been to South Africa, they’ve been all over the world, we’ve sent them to many places. But I’ve never turned up. So all of a sudden they come into this boardroom and there I am. So that was a nice surprise for them. They were surprised but they weren’t unhappy with it – maybe a little excited.
How would you sum up this series?
There’s no one thing I can put my finger on, watch out for this or watch out for that because they’re all great episodes. One of the things about the series is the way that we’ve adapted to modern day things like AI or computer games. We’ve adapted to those things but still kept the same values of buying and selling goods and looking for things. They’re all great episodes. The first episode is excellent, and it was excellent because the boardroom was excellent. The events that occurred leading up to that boardroom were very, very good because there were conflicts among a couple of candidates that really played out well. And if I say so myself, I think I was very good in it!
Do you see The Apprentice as part of your legacy or just another successful business within your empire?
Well, I mean, it’s obviously something that I will remember forever, and I suppose I will be remembered for it forever. Although Donald Trump will tell you that he gave me the job (which he did not). But to be fair, he was the first one to do it in America. But, yeah, I might be remembered for it? I don’t know. I mean, that is a great achievement, I guess, to have helped so many businesses and inspired so many young people to consider business.
And it’s a great achievement, I think, getting to 20 series. One has to thank the BBC for continuing to invest in this great product because that’s what it is.
Interview with Baroness Brady CBE
Congratulations on reaching the 20th series, how do you feel helping the show reach such a great milestone?
I think it’s incredible to think we’ve reached the 20th series. That’s a real milestone for any television show. And I think it speaks volumes about the strength of The Apprentice as a format and as a brand, two decades on it’s still entertaining, it’s still competitive, and actually it’s still as relevant as ever.
And I think the show’s evolved with the times. The business world has changed massively since series one, and the show has changed with it, we’ve got more entrepreneurial candidates, they’re more digitally savvy, they are more aware of social impact and innovation. So I’m incredibly proud of what the show has achieved.
It’s not just about great TV, but it’s launched real businesses with real success stories. I think we’ve helped shine a light on ambition, hard work, and resilience, qualities that are more important now than ever before.
You’ve been involved in the show for so many years, when you first joined did you ever think it would still be going strong after two decades?
Definitely not. It’s such a great show, it’s such an honour and a privilege to be involved. I’ve always said I’ll be doing it as long as Alan’s doing it. Not more, not less. So it’s really great to be a part of it. It’s a great show.
He’s signed another three-year deal, does that mean you have too?
Yes, I’ll be with him. I’m not going anywhere.
What were your first impressions of the new batch of candidates?
Look, it’s hard to have first impressions because when you’ve done it for as long as I have, you know you can’t judge them just by the first boardroom. And this year there were 20 candidates so that’s a lot of people to get to know quickly. But they all made a strong first impression this series. They’re full of energy. They weren’t very nervous. Some are a bit overconfident. There’s a real mix of personalities. Everyone always asks me, do you know who the winner is when they walk into the boardroom? And of course we don’t, because we don’t know what they’re capable of just yet. That comes out in the process.
Episode one takes everyone to Hong Kong. What was that like?
What a fabulous place and what an incredible experience. It’s such a dynamic, fast-moving city, and it really pushed the candidates out of their comfort zone because the pace of business there is relentless. I think it gives them a taste of what it’s like to operate in a global market. The energy, the skyline and the culture add a completely different dimension to the show.
And you can see how that environment challenges the candidates to think differently, adapt quickly, and work with people from different backgrounds. I think it’s a reminder, even today, that business is international. Deals are global, opportunities are global. And understanding how to navigate that is a huge part of being successful. So it was tough, but that’s exactly why it was rewarding and it makes for fantastic television. That episode is so cinematic.
What can fans expect from the rest of the series?
Oh, it has everything! We’ve got a task that involves Big Zuu, there are tasks that really reflect what’s happening in the business world right now and of course there’s all the usual drama, chaos and tension you expect from The Apprentice. I really think fans are going to love it. I’m really excited for everyone to see it.
Interview with Tim Campbell MBE
How do you feel helping the show reach such a huge milestone as the 20th series?
Well, it’s all down to Lord Sugar and the fantastic team at Naked and everyone at the BBC, for keeping the legacy going. It was 20 years ago I first came onto the screen, but now we’re focusing on the next 20 candidates that we’ve got this year. I just think it is such a great testament to the power of the show, but also the British culture around how you can find the boy or girl that’s done good who gets the opportunity to change their life through the mentorship of a successful British entrepreneur.
Did you ever imagine when you stepped into the boardroom in that first series, that 20 series later you would be by Lord Sugar’s side and still involved in the show?
Oh, no, listen, thinking back 20 years ago, getting to anywhere near 40 or 50 years of age, you’d think you were ancient and done on the street! But the reality is that Lord Sugar has been able to show the resilience of a good idea, regardless of time, that it actually translates from the people who watched me back then to now their children are watching.
It’s about all the amazing young people that we get watching the show because of the 6.4 million people tuning in every week nearly 20% of them are young people. That is an incredible legacy.
What does the show mean to you?
I think for me, the show is a big part of my history, obviously, because that’s where I got an opportunity to work with the then Sir Alan, now Lord Sugar, and really cut my wings in the world of business. It means a huge amount for me to see what mentorship and guidance really can do. It’s a very transformative opportunity. I think it’s a great thing around British business and sustainability, and a focus needing to be on entrepreneurs and supporting entrepreneurs from the UK. I think part of the British culture is embodied in The Apprentice, right?
And what that means to me is that no matter where you start from, no matter who you are, no matter what you know, with the right opportunities and a lot of hard work and determination, and a fair bit of mentorship, a little bit of money, shall we say, you can find fantastic opportunities.
How has your relationship with Lord Sugar changed since series one to now?
Well, luckily, I’m not worried that he’s going to point a finger in my face, like these 20 candidates who are coming around the corner. I’m no longer on that side of the table! I’m really lucky that I can focus on assisting him as an aide, alongside the amazing Baroness Brady, analysing these 20 candidates to see who’s going to get the opportunity to be Lord Sugar’s next business partner. My relationship with him is much more relaxed. I’m not on tenterhooks every two seconds thinking what I’m going to do.
But it’s also amplified now in that as an aide, the responsibility I have is much more akin to a good friend, a confidant that you want to be able to pass on information, keeping candidates true because some candidates have different versions of reality when they actually perform the task! So it’s keeping them true, but it’s also giving him our insight, me having worked for him and Baroness Brady being a lifelong friend, going on holidays and supporting him in different ways. So we can give him a different perspective that we hope aids his decision in picking the next apprentice.
Do you and Baroness Brady ring each other at the end of the day saying, “Oh my God, they did this, they did that”?
Yeah! Sometimes we don’t get much time to because there are schedules which can be long, but the thing is, we all keep in constant contact with each other and Lord Sugar because obviously our responsibility as aides is to feed him what’s happening on the ground. So in Hong Kong or Egypt or when we’re running around doing amazing things on fitness, taking technology to the next generation, or going back to old fan favourites when I was on the series of selling to the public.
The reality is that Baroness Brady and I are constantly in contact, and sometimes I’m reading her notes on what’s happening and I’m like, ”what? Did that happen?” And she reads mine and says, “oh my God, I must be having a better day than you because of this… ” So we’ll keep constant contact and can share the horrors of the day!
Watch The Apprentice on BBC iPlayer
