The Apprentice is a British reality series created by Mark Burnett, which debuted on 16 February 2005. It is distributed by Fremantle and broadcast by the BBC. Part of the international franchise of the same name, the programme sees contestants compete in a series of business-related tasks set by business magnateAlan Sugar. Since the programme's sixth series, winners have received a £250,000 investment in their own business, while the prize for the first five series was a coveted job at one of Alan Sugar's companies. In the programme Sugar is aided by two close business associates, who observe candidates during tasks; the current aides are Karren Brady and Tim Campbell.
Originally airing on BBC Two, its first series generated favourable viewing figures and led to the creation of a companion discussion show, The Apprentice: You're Fired!,[3]. Impressive viewing figures after the second series led to the programme switching to BBC One.[4][5] The success of The Apprentice has led to it receiving its own merchandising, including a magazine and official books,[6][7][8] along with one-off celebrity episodes for Comic Relief,[9] and a spin-off, Young Apprentice, which ran between 2010 and 2012.
The programme is a staple of the BBC's annual television schedule, with the programme influencing the format of other British-based business programmes, such as Tycoon,[10] and Beat the Boss.[11]
History
In March 2004, following the success of the first season of NBC's The Apprentice, FremantleMedia announced its intentions to create a British version of the programme under the same name and format. The company offered several British broadcasters the chance to secure the rights to the new programme, with the most competitive bids coming from the BBC and Channel 4.[12] Negotiations finished on 1 April, when the BBC was announced as the winner of the bidding war.[13]
The BBC reached out to several successful business people to front the show, including Philip Green, Felix Dennis and Michael O'Leary, but each one declined when approached.[14][15][16] On 19 May, Alan Sugar agreed to helm the twelve episodes of the programme that had been commissioned, signing on for subsequent series after the success of the first.[17][18][19][20]
Format
Candidate selection
The show's initial stage, which is not filmed, consists of open auditions and interviews held across the United Kingdom, often attracting thousands of applicants.[21][22] A second round is usually be held in London, where applicants are asked to perform various exercises to test their business skills and gauge how they work as a team. Following this, between 20 and 30 applicants are chosen and assessed by a psychologist, receiving further background checks by the production team before the final line-up is selected.[23] The number of candidates who appear in a series has varied over the show's history, though each series begins with an equal number of men and women.
Tasks
In a series' first episode, the candidates are divided into two equal teams (usually men versus women for the first week) and are assigned a business-themed task to complete. Depending on the task's complexity, candidates can have anywhere between one and three days to complete it. Every series comprises ten weekly tasks, with the exception of the seventh and eighth series which featured eleven. Each episode covers a unique task, which is designed to test candidates on their business skills, such salesmanship, negotiation, requisitioning, strategy, leadership, teamwork, and organisation. Before each task, the teams meet Sugar and his aides at a location related to the task's theme, where they receive an instructive briefing. Common examples of tasks include purchasing a unique list of products on a limited budget; designing new products (such as children's books, toys, or fitness equipment); telesales; corporate events; and catering tasks. Before a task begins, each team assigns a project manager (PM) to oversee the team, make executive decisions, and mediate friction and disruptions. While the role of PM is largely selected by the respective teams, Alan Sugar has also been known to assign the role (usually after a particular contestant has requested the role in the boardroom after a failure). The choice can be influenced by several factors, such as a candidate's business background and its relation to the task. Often, Sugar will rearrange the teams at the start of tasks, to either balance out numbers as candidates leave the process, or to ensure a fair distribution of skills for a specific task.[24]
After teams decide on a PM, they split into sub-teams (often also assigning a sub-team leader). For many tasks, candidates are given industry-specific support to assist them, such as the use of shop or gallery space, kitchen facilities, or expert advice and guidance. Although team members are expected to work together, the competitive nature of the show means that candidates will often clash, leading to several instances of (attempted) tactical eliminations. During the execution of the tasks, each team is observed by one of Sugar's aides and, while they do not intervene directly in the teams' actions, they often appraise the teams to the camera, offering expert opinion and hypotheticals based on what they have witnessed.[25]
Boardroom
Upon a task's completion, the candidates reconvene in the "boardroom" with Sugar and his aides to discuss their respective performances and determine that week's winner. The general structure of these debriefs are as follows:
Result – This stage often serves as a collective performance review, where Sugar relays to the candidates his aides' observations and quizzes them on the feedback, while candidates also offer (or, are asked for) their own self-assessments on any issues encountered, as well as praise and criticisms of other team members. In tasks where a product, video marketing promotion, or brand is created, such items are provided in the boardroom for examination. After this initial review, the results of the task are revealed, with the winning team receiving a reward for their performance, while the losing team are dispatched to the "Losers' Cafe" to discuss the factors that contributed to their failure.
Task review – The losing team return to the boardroom for an extensive review of their performance, often singling out specific candidates as being responsible for certain major failures. Candidates discuss their respective performances and contributions, voice opinions about other members, and counter criticism if they feel it to be unjustified. After a period of discussion, the PM selects two members of the team to return with them for a final boardroom discussion (as the "bottom three"); a choice is not required if the team has only three members left in it. The PM's choice for who to bring back in with them is often based on responsibility for the team's loss, inexcusable mistakes, lack of contribution, and clash of personalities. After the bottom three are selected, the remaining team members are free to return to the candidates' accommodation, while Sugar and his aides privately discuss their observations and doubts about the task's failure and who is responsible; the bottom three wait in the boardroom's lobby while this discussion takes place.
Final boardroom – The bottom three face a final discussion with Sugar and his advisers, which focuses on further in-depth analysis and criticism of their actions in a task, their performance throughout the process so far, their relationship with other candidates, and any criticism raised against them. Sugar often asks the candidates who they think should be fired from the process, before he himself makes a final summary, often relaying his personal thoughts to each member about them. He then makes his decision on who to eliminate, pointing at them and famously proclaiming "You're fired!".[24][26] The surviving candidate(s) return to the candidates' accommodation, while the fired candidate(s) depart via a waiting taxi, conducting a brief interview to reflect on their elimination.
While the boardroom scenes differ for the Interviews and Final (see sections below), there are a number of general exceptions to the boardroom format after tasks:
Candidate firing – Sugar can choose to fire a candidate at any time in the boardroom if he deems a severe enough failure; thus, a candidate could be fired during the first or second stage of the boardroom debrief, rather than as a part of the bottom three. There have also been numerous instances of "double firings", where performances have been deemed so appalling that he fires more than one candidate in the same week.[24]
Reward – Sugar may withdraw the reward if the winning team's performance on the task is considered to be inadequate. In this case, they simply return to the candidates' accommodation after the results.
"Bottom three" selection – Sugar himself may choose who returns for the final boardroom discussion, rather than letting the PM decide. He has also been known to contradict PM's in their choices, sending initially-selected candidates back to "the house" if he feels they do not deserve a place in the bottom three.
Interviews
The Interviews stage of the process is the penultimate stage, in which the five remaining candidates each undergo a series of interviews with a selection of trusted associates of Sugar; for the seventh and eighth series, this stage was the final step in the process, featuring the four remaining candidates after ten weeks of tasks.
In this stage, candidates attend one-on-one interviews with each associate, who may each focus on a particular topic of discussion, such as the candidate's performance in the process, why they applied for the show, the content of their CVs, and their business plans (since series seven). Discussions often focus around brash or controversial statements that candidates have made on their CVs and applications for the process, with the interviewers determining whether such claims are truthful, exaggerated or deceitful.
After the interviews, Sugar receives feedback from his aides, and conducts a boardroom session to discuss the results with the candidates. Two candidates then proceed to the Final, with three being fired; there has only been one instance in the show's history where Sugar fired just one candidate in this stage, as the feedback during the fourth series' competition made it difficult to fire more than one.[27] For Series 7 and 8, where the Interviews were the final task, his decision determined who won the competition.
In this stage, the finalists compete against each other in one last business task, with the outcome determining the series' winner. Sugar's final decision rests on a detailed comparison of the two candidates, taking into account that task's performance, as well as their overall performance in the competition. The final also sees previous candidates from the series return to assist the finalists in their task.
Since the ninth series, the final task moved from being another generic business task to an actual launch of candidates' business plans they submitted for inclusion in the competition. In all versions, the finalists eventually reconvene in the boardroom, where the winner is decided by Sugar by pointing to them and declaring "You're hired!", at which point the winner departs in Sugar's limousine and conducts a brief victory interview, reflecting on their success in the competition.
While only two finalists usually reach the final stage, Series 4 featured four finalists, who were divided up into pairs, working as joint project managers respectively on the final task, with Sugar firing the pair who performed poorly and deciding the winner between the two remaining candidates.
The Board
Each boardroom session featured in the show consists of the same setup for "The Board", in the form of a panel that evaluates the performances of the candidates in the competition. Along with Sugar, the panel consists of two personal advisers. The below details the board members, past and present:
Alan Sugar – The central figure of the programme since its conception. He arranges the tasks the candidates undertake, as well as delivering the briefings, which he may give either in person or indirectly via a recorded message. In some circumstances, he may view sections of an ongoing task in person, especially if it involves pitches or conferences. Inside the boardroom, he facilitates discussions on the success or failure of tasks, and ultimately determines who wins tasks and who gets fired.
Candidates originally addressed him as "Sir Alan", which later changed to "Lord Sugar" upon his ascension to the House of Lords. Sugar has also appeared on every You're Hired broadcast, the final episode in the series that celebrates the competition's winner.
Nick Hewer (series 1–10) – After Alan Sugar signed up for the programme, Hewer was brought in as one of his advisers, as he had closely worked with Sugar for decades prior.[29] Alongside his role on the main show, he also appeared on its spin-offs, including Young Apprentice, and acted as an interviewer during the initial series of the programme, later appearing on You're Fired as a guest panellist. He remained with the show until he revealed on Twitter in 2014 that the upcoming series would be his last, believing his departure on the show's tenth anniversary to be "the appropriate time".[30][31] His decision to leave was referenced on You're Hired!, following the broadcast of the final episode of Series 10.
Margaret Mountford (series 1–5) – Alongside Hewer, Sugar also recruited Mountford as his second adviser, having worked with her since she first met him while working as a partner for the law firm Herbert Smith.[32] She remained with the show until she announced in her column for the Daily Telegraph on 1 June 2009 that the fifth series would be her last, citing that her departure would allow her to devote more time to her studies, with the decision fully confirmed during her appearance on You're Hired, after the final episode of Series 5.[33][34] Despite departing from the role, she remained with the show for Series 6–9, acting as an interviewer during the Interviews stage of the competition.
Karren Brady (series 6–present) – Following Margaret Mountford's departure from the role, Alan Sugar assigned Brady as his new adviser.[35] A notable businesswoman in her own right,[36][37] She had previously appeared on the show as an interviewer in the fourth and fifth series, and as a team leader for Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, where she led the team of celebrity women to victory while raising over £1,000,000 for charity. Her first appearance in the role was on Young Apprentice before the sixth series of the main show, and she regularly appears as a guest panellist on You're Fired!.
Claude Littner (series 11–15, 17) – Primarily an interviewer on the show since its conception, he was appointed by Sugar as Nick Hewer's replacement, with this appointment being confirmed prior to the start of the eleventh series. Although he advises throughout the competition, he retained his position as an interviewer in the Interviews Stage, while he appears as a guest panellist on You're Fired having done so since 2012.
Tim Campbell (series 16–present) – The winner of the first series, he replaced Claude Littner as Sugar's aid for the sixteenth series, following Littner suffering an injury while cycling.[38]Mike Soutar, a regular of the interview stage, filled in for Campbell in the tenth episode of the sixteenth series. Campbell returned for Series 17 on a permanent basis, again stepping in for Littner, who only appears in the first and eleventh episode.[39]
^ Littner was only present on the board for one episode, seventeenth series acting in a reduced role. Campbell joined the show on a permanent basis, after stepping in for Littner in the previous series.
The first series began in February 2005, with the opening theme being "Montagues and Capulets". The viewing figures steadily increased as the series aired, [40] culminating in almost 4 million viewers for the final episode on 4 May 2005. The winner of the first series was Tim Campbell,[41] (Saira Khan finished as finalist) who had previously worked as a Senior Planner within the Marketing and Planning Department of London Underground. After his victory, Campbell went on to become Project Director of Amstrad's new Health and Beauty division, but left the company to pursue other interests the following year,[42] starting up the Bright Ideas Trust in 2008 which offers funding and support for young people wishing to start their own business.[43]
In August 2008, the American cable channel CNBC began to air the first series on Monday nights,[44] but, owing to the network's abrupt shifting of their programme schedule in order to cover developments of the 2008 financial crisis, the series was not broadcast in full. With CNBC deciding to focus their prime-time schedule on financial news programming, the programme's rights were moved to BBC America, where it started transmission on 5 May 2009.
The second series began on 22 February 2006, with a spin-off programme introduced on BBC Three to air alongside it called The Apprentice: You're Fired!.[45] The second series' finale received 5.7 million viewers; the series' winner was Michelle Dewberry.[46] Despite winning a coveted role with Sugar following the series, she left in September 2006, citing "personal problems".[47][48]
For the third series, 10,000 applications were received, with a promise made to incorporate "tougher tasks and better people" after Sugar expressed concerns that the show was becoming similar in format to that of Big Brother.[49] Alongside this, the BBC also revealed that the programme would now air on BBC One and be aimed at a more "mainstream audience",[4][50] with the broadcaster subsequently moving The Apprentice: You're Fired! to BBC Two as a direct result.[51]
The third series started on 28 March 2007 with viewing figures of 4.5 million,[52] climbing throughout the run to a peak of 6.8 million people,[53]. The series was won by Simon Ambrose.[54][55]
Candidates applying for the fourth series were invited to do so through the programme's official website,[56] leading to 20,000 applications being submitted for the series,[57], with a total of 16 taking part in the show. Its first episode aired on 26 March 2008, attracting 6.4 million viewers.[58][59][60] This climbed to around 8.9 million viewers for the final episode, with an additional 800,000 viewers tuning in for the episode's final 15 minutes [61] to catch Lee McQueen winning the fourth series. Lee famously called in sick on his first day working for Sugar's company AMSHOLD.[62]
Prior to the start of filming for the series, candidate Adam Freeman was forced to pull out due to "family matters".[63]cThe fifth series was won by Yasmina Siadatan, and was Margaret Mountford's last series as Lord Sugar's aide.
Following Mountford's departure, Karren Brady was officially revealed as her replacement on 30 August 2009[64]. The sixth series marked the first where candidates referred to Alan Sugar as "Lord Sugar", following his accession to the House of Lords.[65] Because of the 2010 general election, the BBC opted to delay the sixth series, given Alan Sugar's new government role.[66] Although he stated his intention to maintain his position in the show,[67] he believed that airing The Apprentice during the general election could have been a "risk to impartiality".[68] Advertising of the series commenced after it was held, throughout the Summer, with the opening episode eventually broadcast on 6 October 2010.[69] This series was the first to feature a two-hour crossover special between the main programme and its spin-off, You're Fired, a format that would be used for the series finales in subsequent years.
The sixth series was won by Stella English, who won a job at Sugar's company Viglen. In May 2011, she requested a new role after saying that she was just a "glorified PA",[70] and retained this for a year before it was decided that her contract would not be renewed. The decision drew considerable media attention after she attempted to sue Sugar for wrongful dismissal in February 2012, only for the legal action to be ultimately unsuccessful.[71][72][73]
Applications for the seventh series opened in April 2010. Between the applications opening and the filming of the first task, Sugar announced that the prize had changed and that participants would now compete for a £250,000 business investment, with Sugar becoming their business partner and owning a 50% share in their company. Those applying prior to this announcement were not aware of the prize change until later on. The change was due to the fallout of English's sacking, while Sugar was also finding it difficult to find new roles for the winners. The sixteen candidates who eventually secured a place on the series were revealed on 3 May 2011, via the official website and in a press launch, with the opening episode airing a week later on 10 May.[74]
In a change to format, the finale consisted of Interviews rather than a business task, though these interviews included the scrutinising of the candidates' business plans, nonetheless. After winning the seventh series, Thomas Pellereau became Sugar's first business partner,[75] whereupon he used his prize to launch a range of manicure products, including a line of curved nail files (the S-file, the S-Buffer and the Emergency File), two curved nail clippers (the S-Clipper and S-Clipper mini), and a curved foot exfoliator (the S-Ped), which were made available to major retailers in the country.[76] While Susan Ma failed to win the series, Sugar said that he liked her plan, later investing in her skincare company Tropic in 2012.[77]
The eighth series began on 21 March 2012.[78] and was won by Ricky Martin,[79] who used his prize to launch his joint venture recruitment company called Hyper Recruitment Solutions (HRS), on 23 October 2012.[80] Ricky was subsequently invited back to appear on the tenth series as an interviewer.
The ninth series began on 7 May 2013, and saw the format of the final task change slightly, in that the finalists launched their business plans, including branding, an advert, and pitches to expert panels. The ninth series was won by Dr. Leah Totton, who used her prize to open her first cosmetic skin clinic on 22 January 2014.[81][82]
Because of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2014 Commonwealth Games, the tenth series was postponed until mid-Autumn to avoid scheduling clashes with the sporting events.[83] The series featured 20 candidates and began on 14 October 2014. [84] The series was won by Mark Wright, who used his prize to start an SEO business called Climb Online.[85] The series was the last to feature Nick Hewer, who announced his decision to depart from the show during its broadcast, officially confirming it on that year's You're Hired.
Due to the 2015 General Election, the show was postponed until mid-Autumn to adhere to the BBC's strict rules on impartiality (complicated by Sugar's government role at the time). Because of Hewer's departure, Claude Littner was confirmed as his replacement prior to the series premiere 14 October 2015, though Hewer retained his role as an Interviewer in the competition's late stages. The series had 18 candidates and was won by Joseph Valente, who used Lord Sugar's investment to expand his plumbing business, Impra-Gas.[86] The pair worked together on developing the business model for two years, until Valente announced in early 2017 that he intended to go solo and would be reassuming full control. Both men parted ways on good terms, with Valente thankful for the help and opportunity that he had received, while Sugar wished him the best of luck and that he would be following the company's progress.[87]
The BBC postponed the twelfth series to mid-Autumn, so as to avoid clashing with live coverage of Euro 2016, the 2016 UK EU membership referendum and the 2016 Rio Olympics that were to take place during the Summer.[88] The twelfth series began on 6 October 2016, and was won by Alana Spencer, who used her investment to kickstart a nationwide bakery business called Ridiculously Rich.[89]
The thirteenth series was broadcast in late Autumn 2017, beginning on 4 October 2017, and was won by both James White and Sarah Lynn, marking the first time in the show's history where two candidates won.[90] Each would go on to use their individual investment to set up their own business, with White starting an IT recruitment firm called Right Time Recruitment, while Lynn started an online sweet shop called Sweets in the City.[91]
Unlike the last three series of the programme, the fourteenth series, which aired in late Autumn 2018, reverted to 16 candidates and included a number of subtle changes to keep the format fresh, such as candidates being sent abroad for the first task. The fourteenth series began on 3 October 2018,[92] and was won by Sian Gabbidon, who used her investment to launch a luxury swimwear range.[93]
The fifteenth series consisted of 16 candidates, and began airing on 2 October 2019.[94] The series was won by Carina Lepore, who used Sugar's investment to fund new outlets for her family baking business across London.
Filming for the sixteenth series was originally slated to begin in spring 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at that time forced the BBC to postpone production to a later date. In lieu of a new series for their Autumn broadcast schedule, the broadcaster opted to fill the space with a special compilation series of highlights from previous series.[95][96][97] In May 2021, it was announced that filming for the sixteenth series would take place later in the year, with the new series intended for broadcast on 6 January 2022.[98] The sixteenth series was won by Harpreet Kaur, who used her investment to set up dessert parlour, 'Oh So Yum'.
The seventeenth series aired from 5 January 2023 to 23 March 2023, and marked the second consecutive series with only women in the semi-finals (the interviews stage), and the fourth consecutive series with two women finalists. Marnie Swindells won the seventeenth series.
The eighteenth series aired from 1 February 2024 to 18 April 2024 on BBC One. It was originally scheduled to air in January 2024, but it was postponed to February 2024 to avoid the clash with the second series of the rival BBC reality show The Traitors.[99] The eighteenth series was won by Rachel Woolford.
The twentieth series is due to air on 29 January 2026.[101]
Filming
Schedule
Every series of The Apprentice is pre-recorded before it is broadcast – although the show's twelve-week broadcast schedule gives the impression that each episode was filmed over a period of twelve weeks, in reality, each series' filming schedule is conducted within a two-month period, a few months before the show is to be aired.[102] While the candidates do have a break between tasks to relax within the large rented house or apartment with which they are provided by the production team for the duration of the competition, each task is generally performed with a much closer time-frame than it appears on the programme.[103]
Compared to the US series, the British version has a more rigid format that requires the production team to provide enough footage for each series, that is to be then incorporated into twelve separate episodes. Early rules in filming meant that multiple firings were not allowed in the first two series, a fact that was acknowledged as an issue by Sugar when he expressed his desire to fire both Alexa Tilley and Syed Ahmed following a task in the second series, but could only get rid of the former. In subsequent series, this rule was changed after the show increased the number of candidates for the competition, meaning that Sugar could conduct double firings where needed by the film crew as part of the filming schedule.
Locations
Filming for many of the tasks involve locations within London and across the UK in various cities and towns, and on a number of occasions when tasks take the teams abroad, across Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and the United States. For each series, the candidates are provided with accommodation within an upmarket area of London selected by the production team,[104][105][106][107][108] with every episode's opening and ending scene being filmed at this location, utilising a mixture of exterior and interior shots of scenes; filming is also done on site if the candidates are conducting work on a task within the building.
For other outdoor shots used as part of the other scenes in an episode, the locations have varied. Between the first and third series, both the show's opening credits and the post-firing "walk of shame" exit sequences were filmed outside the Amstrad HQ building in Brentwood, but from the fourth series onwards, following Amstrad's sale to BSkyB in 2007, filming of these scenes are done in front of the Viglen HQ building in St Albans, Hertfordshire, which until that point had been used a filming location for the interviews stage of the competition, and continued to do so until 2014 when it was decided to change the filming location to 122 Leadenhall Street. In addition, between the fourth to ninth series, the show's Walk of Shame scene was filmed at night, but the tenth series changed the filming schedule to have this done during the afternoon. For the scenes involving the losing team discussing their loss, the film crew have used two cafes – "The Bridge" in Acton, West London; and "La Cabana 2" in North London – though editing of these scenes is done to make it appear that candidates only enter The Bridge cafe.[109]
Although the show uses footage taken by its film crew for most of the episode shown, aerial footage of various buildings in London is used on The Apprentice, mainly to act as small links between scenes and as part of the show's opening credits, and have included shots of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf financial districts, as well as the 180-metre Gherkin, HSBC Tower, One Canada Square, the Citigroup Centre, and the Shard; such locations are not used for filming unless a task involves visiting the site.[110]
Candidates and tasks
Filming of an episode can usually take a considerable amount of time to be done and as such, each task is usually filmed back-to-back, rather than weekly as it appears in the broadcast schedule for a series. For each episode, four television crews are used to follow the candidates during a task, and often are focused on picking up on mistakes and issues between candidates than on their overall performance. The final edit of an episode often trims down a task that took 1–3 days to be done, to fit it within approximately about half of what will be televised for that episode, meaning candidates may appear to make minimal contributions when in reality they made more, while others may not feature as much if Sugar or his advisers feel they did well and completed their duties, as emphasis is often put on moments that can be entertaining for audiences. Often the filming of an episode can hamper the efforts of candidates in a task, due to film crews usually having to get filming permission first from the respective owner of a store or establishment, which can often be a time-consuming and cumbersome process as a result,[109] whilst the strict rules of the BBC on product placement and advertising mean candidates have to approach businesses with care when asking them for help.[111]
Owing to the need for secrecy during the two months of filming, all candidates are made to sign a confidentiality agreement which prohibits all but a few confidants nominated by them to be told of where they will be during that time, which remains active after filming until the series has started broadcast.[112] As part of this agreement, all contact with the outside world is restricted to a high level – each candidate gets a limited phone call once a week, has no access to newspapers, television or internet, and is required to hand in any electronic communication equipment they have (i.e. mobiles) before they begin.[111] In addition, all candidates are made to remain in their accommodation throughout filming except when they must head out for a task, and can only take a day off if they are supervised by a chaperone from the production crew. As a result, the persistent presence of the cameras, the closeness of rivals in the competition and the lack of contact with families and friends, can cause considerable pressure and stress for a candidate between entering the process, to leaving it.
Boardroom, 'Walk of Shame" and Final
Scenes filmed in both the "boardroom" and the reception area outside the room are in fact done within a custom-built set at Black Island Studios,[113] with the boardroom receptionist actually being an employee of the production company, Talkback Thames, and not Sugar's real secretary.[114] Filming of each candidates' "walk of shame" exit sequences is mainly done towards the beginning of a new series,[114] which can lead to the fired candidate's clothing and hairstyle being different to that in their final boardroom scene before their dismissal from the competition.[115] The post-firing taxi ride that occurs after their departure does not take the candidate home as it appears in the show, but merely takes them around the block to allow their taxi interview to be filmed, after which they are then taken to a local hotel to stay the night before being finally allowed to leave after packing up their belongings from the house.[114]
For the final, multiple endings are filmed for the candidates who make it to the end of the process, although Sugar does not reveal who he will hire until shortly before transmission. This determines which ending is shown as part of the series finale's final edit. Notably, the BBC has released two statements regarding the decision procedure which are considered to be contradictory; while the first states that Sugar makes his decision on the day that the final boardroom sequence is filmed, based on the contestants' performance in the final task, and keeps it secret until just before transmission,[116] the second states that he decides after a six-month trial period.[102] Former candidate, Saira Khan, notably stated that his final decision "is not based on the programme that people see", but is based on "these two people [who] have been working with him for the six months."[117]
Following the decision to commission a second series of the programme, the BBC decided to create a spin-off companion programme to accompany The Apprentice, with its format operating in a similar manner to that of Big Brother's Little Brother and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Originally aired on BBC Three, before it was moved to BBC Two alongside the main programme's move to BBC One, the show is broadcast alongside the latest series of the main show, with each episode featuring the host and a group of guest panellists – business people related to the task, presenters of TV/radio programmes, and comedians – performing an in-depth look into the recent task of the programme,[118][119] while also interviewing the most recently fired candidate(s) and analyzing their performance. The shows are recorded at Riverside Studios,[120] and is hosted by Tom Allen; it has been previously hosted by Adrian Chiles, Dara Ó Briain, Jack Dee and Rhod Gilbert.[121]
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice (2007, 2009, 2019,2025)
Following the second series of The Apprentice, the BBC announced that, as part of its early-2007 programming schedule, a celebrity version of the programme would be recorded in aid of the charity Comic Relief. Given the title of Comic Relief Does The Apprentice,[122] it functioned differently to the format of the American celebrity edition, The Celebrity Apprentice– while that was filmed to be a full series when it was broadcast, the Comic Relief special functioned on a simple format, in which it featured ten celebrities split between two teams – a "boys' team" and a "girls' team" – and consisted of two parts covering a single task, with any money raised going to the 2007 Comic Relief fund, though retaining certain key elements from the main programme, such as the boardroom scene and Sugar "firing" one of the celebrities. Filming of this special was conducted on 15 December 2006, with the celebrities that participated being Piers Morgan, Alastair Campbell, Cheryl Cole, Danny Baker, Jo Brand, Karren Brady, Maureen Lipman, Ross Kemp, and Trinny Woodall; the special also featured Rupert Everett, though he was later replaced by Series 1 winner, Timothy Campbell, after he left on the first day of the task.[123][124][125] The two part special aired on 15 and 16 March 2007 on BBC One, the second part as a film segment for Red Nose Day 2007,[126] with the celebrities raising over £1 million for charity.[127]
A section celebrity edition of the show was made for Comic Relief two years later in 2009, with the two-part special of Comic Relief Does The Apprentice airing on 12 and 13 March 2009, with the celebrities that participated being Alan Carr, Jack Dee, Gerald Ratner, Jonathan Ross, Gok Wan, Michelle Mone, Patsy Palmer, Fiona Phillips, Carol Vorderman and Ruby Wax. Although Ross had been suspended by the BBC over the prank telephone call row that occurred during the time that the special was being filmed, the broadcaster permitted him to appear in it due to the fact that it would be airing after his suspension had been lifted.[128]
On 22 February 2019, it was announced that Comic Relief Does The Apprentice would return after a ten-year hiatus.[129] Two episodes, The Cabaret Task and The Boardroom, aired on the 7 and 8 March 2019 respectively.[130]
The beginning of the third series saw the launch of a weekly podcast called The Apprenticast, and a radio programme on BBC Radio 5 Live, both hosted by former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon and running for thirty minutes.[132] Both programmes featured former candidates being questioned by members of the public, comedians, and those who work in business.[133] Some critics have described Bacon's performance as better than that of Adrian Chiles, who presented the similar, but television-based, programme The Apprentice: You're Fired![8]
For the 2009 series, an independent weekly podcast was also released, hosted by first series contestant James Max, in conjunction with London talk station LBC (on which Max hosts his own show).
As the main programme began to grow in success, Sugar took notice of the number of young viewers the show was attracting, and went into discussions with the BBC in March 2008 to propose the creation of a junior spin-off of the show, featuring a young age-group of candidates and being aired in an early evening timeslot on BBC One. Despite a lack of interest, Sugar went into negotiations on the idea in early 2009, whereupon the BBC gave the green light for the project after the idea was revised. In May 2009, while the fifth series of The Apprentice was underway, the broadcaster announced the spin-off's production during an episode of The Apprentice: You're Fired! with news that it had begun an application process aimed at young candidates aged between sixteen and seventeen.[136] Both the filming schedule and the format of the spin-off differed greatly with the main show, with the most notable differences being that Sugar was gentler with the young candidates when firing them from the spin-off, the candidates faced mainly standard tasks and no interviews, and the winner received a £25,000 investment from Sugar to fund their further education and future prospects.
The first series of the programme began on 12 May 2010, under the title of Junior Apprentice,[137] consisted of 10 candidates split evenly between gender, and ran for a total of six episodes. It also marked the debut of Karren Brady as Margaret Mountford's replacement, after she left the main show following the fifth series; Brady would later begin her first appearance on The Apprentice at the start of its sixth series. The spin-off later led to the BBC commissioning two more series, though with a few changes – the show was renamed as Young Apprentice, with the number of candidates increased to twelve and the number of episodes increased to eight.[138] The second series began airing on 24 October 2011, while the third began on 1 November 2012.
The spin-off was eventually cancelled after its third series, after Sugar revealed on his Twitter account in February 2013 that the BBC had decided to not renew Young Apprentice for another series.[139]
Special programmes
Series
The following is a list of specials that have aired alongside the majority of the series:
The Apprentice: The Final Five is a documentary special which first aired alongside the third series under the title, The Apprentice: Beyond the Boardroom.[140][141] The programme focuses on the remaining final five contestants who have made it into the final stages of the competition, in which each candidate is interviewed about their overall performance at that stage, as well as their personal interests and past experiences. Along with interviews with the candidates, the programme also features each candidate's close friends, family members, including parents, children, and partners, and Sugar's advisers, each airing their views and opinions on the candidate currently being talked about. This special did not appear during Series 17, 18, and 19.[142]
The Apprentice: Why I Fired Them is a documentary special which first aired alongside the third series, and focuses on Sugar looking back over the current series, and discussing the merits and shortcomings of the candidates he fired up to the time the programme is aired. Joined by his advisers, he explains in more detail about why he fired each candidate at each stage of the competition, whilst reviewing the performances of the finalists for that series.[143][144] For the seventh series, the programme was not broadcast, but instead was replaced with documentary special, How To Get Hired, presented by Dara Ó Briain. This special did not appear during Series 17, 18, and 19.[142]
Specials
The following is a list of programmes that were one-offs:
The Apprentice: Tim in the Firing Line was an hour-long documentary that aired on 19 February 2006, prior to the launch of the second series. The programme followed Tim Campbell, the winner of Series One, during the first twelve months of the job that he had won, in which he worked within Amstrad's health and beauty division, and was tasked with bringing to market a new anti-wrinkle product, named The Integra.[125][145] The programme also documented the reaction of Campbell's family,[146] including mother Una Campbell, fiancée Jasmine Johnson, and daughter Kayla Campbell.[147] As a result of his impressive performance, he was offered a permanent position within Amstrad.[148] Sugar later said that Campbell's job would not have been in danger had he failed to make the product a success, and that the project was a "joint responsibility".[145]
The Apprentice: The Worst Decisions Ever was a one-off special that was screened on BBC Two on 3 April 2008. It focused on Sugar revisiting some of the moments over the past four series at that time, and the decisions that candidates had made that he deemed the worst he had seen.
The Apprentice: Motor Mouths was a one-off special that was screened on BBC Two on 18 April 2008, and featured interviews with celebrity fans and former contenders who remembered candidates, described as "motor mouths", who only just failed to make it to the finals.
The Apprentice Best Bits was a compilation series that was screened on BBC One on 1 October 2020. The series featured six episodes, focused on highlights from the previous fifteen series of the main programme, and was created as a replacement for a new series in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.[96][97]
Rory Bremner did an impression of Sir Alan on the show Bremner Bird and Fortune; he was in the boardroom with the main London Mayoral candidates, Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick, and after each of the candidates failed to get a single vote according to his results, he hired himself for the job claiming he "would make a profit on City Hall". In Dead Ringers Bremner also impersonated a Sir Alan with magic powers castigating a contestant over an event akin to what occurred to The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
In early 2007, the show was mocked in the television programme Kombat Opera Presents The Applicants.[151] The series has been lampooned on the Boleg Bros website, where it is shot in Lego.[152]Paul Merton and Ian Hislop also parodied the show during a promotional advert for the 2007 and 2008 series of Have I Got News for You.[153]
In June 2007, shortly after the conclusion of Series Three of The Apprentice, rival UK channel ITV began airing Tycoon, described in The Times as "a shameless rip-off of The Apprentice".[154]Mark Thompson, The BBC's director general, accused ITV of "copycatting" and said that Tycoon was "very like The Apprentice, and there's possibly a bit of Dragons' Den in there".[155] The series followed Dragons' Den star Peter Jones' search for a new business tycoon.[156] It proved relatively unsuccessful and was removed from a prime time slot on Tuesdays after achieving fewer than 2 million viewers, over 2.5 million below the channel's average.[157] The final episode attracted just 1.3 million viewers.[158] The programme's winner, Iain Morgan, won a prize of over £200,000.[158][159]
In the fourth series of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, Brooker parodied The Apprentice, with Brooker taking on the role of a Sugar-like character dressed in a crown and gown, and replacing the catchphrase, "You're fired" with "You're fucked."[160] Brooker later produced another parody, as part of the Aspiration episode of How TV Ruined Your Life entitled The Underling. In this parody, Roger Sloman portrays a Sugar-like figure who berates children for their poor attempts to set up a lemonade stand.[161]
The children's comedy sketch show Horrible Histories features "Historical Apprentice" as a recurring sketch. This directly references "The Apprentice" and Sugar, and features two different teams from different historical periods.
Series have expanded outside television with a number of University student groups recreating local competitions by sticking to the format of tasks. What is known as Student Apprentice competitions have been hosted across the country in a number of universities, especially in London. Events became so popular competitions joined as Regional Student Apprentice in London and other regions in UK. In 2013, these were joined to form National Student Apprentice,[162] which became a competition bringing together six regions for a national event.
The programme has been given positive reviews by several newspapers. In the popular press, The Sun newspaper has called it "The thinking man's reality show", and The Daily Mirror described it as "jaw-dropping viewing".[165] Broadsheet newspapers have given the programme a similarly positive reception, with The Daily Telegraph calling it "The most addictive show in years",[165] and The Guardian saying that it provided "A salutary lesson in aggressive buying and selling, hiring and firing". The Sunday Times said that it was "not just a game show: it's a business school."[165]The Evening Standard was also favourable, describing the programme as "terribly compelling".[165]
According to a report released by Ernst & Young in August 2013, the rise of popular television programmes like The Apprentice, have helped to encourage and foster an entrepreneurial culture across the UK. The report revealed that 71% of entrepreneurs surveyed thought the UK encourages an entrepreneurial spirit.[166]
Criticism
The programme has been criticised in the British media for suggesting that success in the business world requires possession of unsavoury qualities. Terence Blacker of The Independent newspaper, for example, said that he believed that the programme falsely linked success with being "nasty, disloyal, greedy and selfish".[167] Talk show host Michael Parkinson also expressed misgivings about the programme, describing it as being "full of vulgar, loud people who, for all the wrong reasons, are dobbing each other in".[168]
The premise of the show itself has been called into question by some members of the business world. Steve Carter, the head of recruitment firm Nigel Lynn, described the "brutality" of the recruitment process as being unrealistic.[169] None of the winners of the first six series of The Apprentice stayed with Sugar's companies over time, some for only a matter of weeks,[170] leading it to be criticised as "an entertainment show with no real aspect of business to it".[171] In response to these criticisms, a spokesperson for The Apprentice has been quoted as saying "The show isn't designed as a tool for recruiters... but it does highlight and thoroughly test key business skills such as leadership, teamwork, dedication and strategic thinking – integral skills most recruiters are looking for".[169]
Former runner-up Saira Khan has criticised the programme because the final two candidates both work with Sir Alan Sugar for a few months before he decides whom he will hire. Khan stated that "Sir Alan Sugar's final decision is not based on the programme that people see, his final decision is based on these two people who have been working with him for the six months." Khan also said that the show is more concerned with giving viewers a rags-to-riches ending than employing the most able candidate, and that the show promotes bullying in the workplace.[172] The series has been notably edited afterwards to show the winner in a different light. This has led to some viewers correctly guessing the winner of the series partway through the series.
Former contestants Lucinda Ledgerwood and James Max have criticised the tasks on the show as being too heavily sales-focused and designed for entertainment rather than as tests of all-round business skills.[173][174][175]
A number of people have criticised the show's editing and production methods. Contestants Syed Ahmed and Tre Azam accused the show of dumbing down their appearances for entertainment.[176] Alan Sugar revealed in his autobiography (but did not criticise) that the boardroom scenes are edited to create tension. Jokes and light hearted encounters are cut out, and Alan is seen "banging the table".[177]
Media Watch has voiced concerns over inclusion of company names and products such as Chrysler in the programme, accusing the producers of breaking BBC policy regarding product placement.[178] Despite these claims, Talkback Thames has denied any suggestion of product placement.[178]
Runner up of the eleventh series, Vana Koutsomitis criticised the living conditions that candidates live in; despite being granted accommodation in a lavish house, Vana claimed that the show bosses impose living conditions similar to Big Brother – with strict rules and zero contact with outsiders. She said: "They just throw you into a house and tell you that you have no phone, no internet and you'll have no contact with the outside world, you can only talk to your family once a week for 10 minutes and that's monitored. And we weren't allowed to go to Boots to grab something. We had to be monitored and guided there." She continued; "I think that element of cabin fever and psychological torture is not necessary for a business competition. I don't believe that you need to isolate people. I think you can gauge people’s business skills without putting them in that environment.[179]
Vana's criticism of the living conditions that candidates live in which they have zero contact with outsiders was also brought up a year later by contestant Aleksandra King, who left the process in the fourth task. Following her departure, she remarked: "I can't tell you in exact detail how much contact I was allowed with my family but, for me, the restricted contact was not good enough. I would have liked to have picked up the phone and just said, "How are you guys? OK, Great." I was not able to do that. I've got a nine-year-old, a seven-year-old and a five-year-old but it's the work-life balance thing because there are other mums in there who have younger kids and it was OK for them. But for me, I started to get slightly irritated because I felt like why is this even a business tip, what has lack of contact with my family got to do with it? It was winding me up and going on in my head". King later remarked that The Apprentice includes a "blame culture" and the atmosphere "wasn't necessarily great for business".[180]
Viewing figures
Throughout the programme's history, The Apprentice has received high viewing figures with each series.[181] When its first series was broadcast in 2005 on BBC Two, it attracted an average of 2.5 million viewers per episode,[181] with an audience share of 11% for its timeslot that allowed it to beat popular programmes being aired on rival channels at the time, such as Desperate Housewives.[181][182] By the following year, the second series achieved a far higher average of 4.4 million viewers and an audience share of 27%,[181] surpassing those achieved from the live broadcast of the 2005 UEFA Cup Final and other televised programming, such as the film Pearl Harbor.[183]
Viewing figures continued to improve upon the programme being switched to BBC One and a more mainstream audience, with the third series attracting an average of 5.62 million viewers per episode, at an audience share of 27%,[184][185] surpassing the ratings achieved by programmes, at the time, such as City Lights, Grand Designs and Big Brother.[185][186] Notably, opening and finale episodes also attracted favourable ratings – the premiere episode of the fourth series achieved around 6.4 million viewers,[187] with the finale reaching a peak figure of 9.7 million.[188] Even special editions of the programme proved a rating success – Comic Relief Does The Apprentice attracted 6.72 million viewers when it was broadcast prior to the third series, becoming the fifth most-watched programme on BBC One the week it aired.[189]
2005 Grierson Awards – Most Entertaining Documentary
Merchandise
On 10 February 2005, Sugar released a book to coincide with the first series, called The Apprentice: How to Get Hired Not Fired.[194] On 16 February 2006, the book was revised with additional information relating to the second series.[195] An official magazine was first released on 23 May 2007.[7] It includes items about business, interviews with candidates from the programme and other Apprentice-related features.[196][197][198]
The Apprentice has included various pieces of classical and popular music throughout. Numerous pieces from film soundtracks are used as well as music featured in the BBC TV series Doctor Who. Examples of the music used include the opening theme ("Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev) and "The Boardroom", "You're Fired" and "Closing Credits" from The Apprentice (Original Theme) by Dru Masters. An official soundtrack was released on 4 June 2007.[199] At the beginning of the first episode of Series 6, the iconic string phrase from the first movement of Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony can be heard in, one might surmise, a numerological nod. Further episodes in Series 6, include an extract from a piece by the French composer and pianist, Erik Satie, (from his "Gymnopédies No 1"), music from the Disney-Pixar 2009 film, Up, composed by Michael Giacchino, and a famous extract from Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes. A number of episodes also featured brief snippets of several tracks from The Sims series of games, such as the neighbourhood theme from The Sims 3, was briefly used in the last episode of series 6 and one of the build tracks from Makin' Magic was used in Series 7 episode 8.
In 2009, a DVD called "The Apprentice: The Best of Series 1–4" was released.
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