The Apprentice | |
---|---|
Series 16 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One |
Original release | 6 January – 24 March 2022 |
Series chronology |
The sixteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) premiered on 6 January 2022 in the UK on BBC One. [1] It is the first series to be broadcast since the COVID-19 pandemic, with filming originally planned to begin in spring 2020, however the pandemic forced the BBC to postpone production until the following year. The BBC instead aired six special compilation episodes featuring highlights from previous series which aired from 1 October to 5 November 2020. [2] [3] [4] The series features sixteen candidates and sees Tim Campbell, the winner of the first series replace Claude Littner as Lord Sugar's aide, after Littner suffered an injury whilst cycling. [5] The candidates for the sixteenth series were revealed on 4 January 2022, two days before the show's premiere. [6]
Due to a double firing after the tenth task, for the time first since the eighth series the interviews stage featured four candidates, as opposed to the usual final five. It's also the only series not to feature the "discount buying task", which has been a staple since the first series. As well, for the first time the final four interview candidates were all women. The series ended on 24 March 2022 with Harpreet Kaur winning the £250,000 investment. Kathryn Louise Burn finished as the runner-up.
This series features 16 candidates to become Lord Sugar's business partner. Due to Claude Littner suffering an injury whilst cycling, Sugar's search for his replacement led to him deciding to offer the role to Tim Campbell, the winner of the first series. For the tasks would be from Portsmouth to KidZania London. Both teams adopted names in the third task as each having mixed genders, with the names Infinity and Diverse. Due to both teams losing in the tenth task since the eleventh series, there was a double firing in the tenth task, making it the first time the interviews stage features four candidates as opposed to the final five since the eighth series. It also features Mike Soutar, a regular of the interviews stage, filling in for Campbell for the tenth task, due to Campbell self-isolating after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. Of those who took part, Harpreet Kaur would become the eventual winner, going on to use her prize to set up a dessert parlour she would rename Oh So Yum.
Candidate | Background | Age | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Harpreet Kaur | Dessert parlour owner | 30 | Winner |
Kathryn Louise Burn | Online pyjama store owner | 29 | Runner-Up |
Stephanie Affleck | Online children's store owner | 28 | Fired after the interviews stage |
Brittany Carter | Hotel front of house manager | 25 | |
Akeem Bundu-Kamara | Financial firm strategy manager | 29 | Fired after the tenth task |
Aaron Willis | Flight operations instructor | 38 | |
Akshay Thakrar | Digital marketing agency owner | 28 | Fired after the ninth task |
Nick Showering | Finance manager | 31 | Fired after the eighth task |
Sophie Wilding | Boutique cocktail bar owner | 32 | Fired after the seventh task |
Amy Anzel | Beauty brand owner | 48 | Fired after the sixth task |
Francesca Kennedy Wallbank | Sustainability company owner | 26 | Fired after the fifth task |
Alex Short | Commercial cleaning company owner | 27 | Fired after the fourth task |
Navid Sole | Pharmacist | 27 | Fired after the third task |
Shama Amin | Children's day nursery owner | 41 | Quit before the third task |
Conor Gilsenan | Sales executive | 29 | Fired after the second task |
Harry Mahmood | Regional operations manager | 35 | Fired after the first task |
Candidate | Task Number | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
Harpreet | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | LOSS | IN | WIN | IN | LOSE | IN | HIRED |
Kathryn | WIN | IN | LOSS | BR | IN | LOSE | LOSS | BR | BR | BR | IN | RUNNER-UP |
Stephanie | IN | IN | LOSS | LOSS | LOSS | WIN | LOSS | LOSE | BR | BR | FIRED | |
Brittany | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOSE | IN | IN | IN | WIN | BR | FIRED | |
Akeem | BR | LOSS | IN | IN | WIN | LOSS | WIN | IN | IN | FIRED | ||
Aaron | LOSS | LOSE | IN | IN | IN | BR | IN | IN | IN | PM | ||
Akshay | LOSE | LOSS | BR | BR | LOSS | IN | BR | BR | PM | |||
Nick | LOSS | BR | WIN | IN | LOSS | IN | BR | FIRED | ||||
Sophie | IN | IN | LOSE | LOSS | BR | IN | PM | |||||
Amy | IN | IN | LOSS | LOSS | IN | FIRED | ||||||
Francesca | IN | WIN | IN | IN | FIRED | |||||||
Alex | LOSS | LOSS | IN | PM | ||||||||
Navid | LOSS | LOSS | FIRED | |||||||||
Shama | IN | IN | LEFT | |||||||||
Conor | LOSS | FIRED | ||||||||||
Harry | FIRED |
Key:
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [7] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
211 | 1 | "Cruise Ship" [8] | 6 January 2022 | 7.16 | |
Lord Sugar returns following the COVID-19 pandemic, in search of a new business partner for 2022 amongst sixteen new candidates. His first task involves them coming up with a marketing campaign for a new cruise liner, including a social media teaser, before pitching their concept to industry experts. The men focus on health and wellbeing for older people, but face criticism with their branding. The women focus on adult-only cruising for friends, yet face concerns with their brand name and social media promotion. Lord Sugar ultimately chooses the women's concept as the best of the teams, leaving the men facing scrutiny over their idea. Of the final three, Harry Mahmood is the first to be fired by Lord Sugar for being too disruptive during the task. | |||||
212 | 2 | "Toothbrush" [9] | 13 January 2022 | 7.18 | |
Dental health is the theme for the candidate's next task, as each team designs a brand new electric toothbrush for 6-8 year olds, including an accompanying app, before pitching it to retailers for orders. The men design their toothbrush as a wand with a fantasy wizard themed app, but face issues with their concept, along with criticism on their toothbrush's design and their app. The women opt for a orange-coloured toothbrush with sci-fi themed app, which proves popular despite issues with their branding and app. In the boardroom, the women secure the most orders, leaving the men to deal with criticism over their product. Of the final three, Conor Gilsenan is fired for failing to display his claimed expertise in app creation and for disregarding instructions from the project manager. | |||||
213 | 3 | "Non-Alcoholic Drinks" [10] | 20 January 2022 | 7.39 | |
Lord Sugar decides the teams should make their own brand of non-alcoholic drink, before promoting it with a pitch and securing sales from attending retailers. Due to health issues, Shama Amin withdraws from the process immediately before the task's briefing and the team's subsequent reshuffling and naming. Diverse create a vodka-styled energy lime soda, but face criticism over its flavour. Infinity create a mixed-spice drink, but face criticism over its flavour and its poor branding. In the boardroom, Diverse secured the most sales to win, leaving Infinity to be questioned over their drink's poor reception. Of the final three, Navid Sole is dismissed for his lack of contributions and poor teamwork skills. | |||||
214 | 4 | "Fishing" [11] | 27 January 2022 | 7.44 | |
The candidates face the task of establishing a fish business, sourcing fish on one day, before selling some to a corporate client and converting the rest into a fish dish to sell to the public, making as much profit as possible. Diverse offer pollock and Dover sole to their corporate client and pollock fish tacos for the public, but face issues with quality control. Infinity offer monkfish and plaice to their corporate client and crab arancini to the public but face several problems during the task. In the boardroom Diverse win the task with strong profits, leaving Infinity's performance under scrutiny. Of the final three, Alex Short is fired for his mismanagement throughout the entire task. | |||||
215 | 5 | "Gaming" [12] | 3 February 2022 | 7.15 | |
Video game designing is the subject of the next task, with each team tasked to create a beta version, including trailer, to pitch to gaming experts for investment. Diverse design an eco-themed platform game focused on collecting Arctic animals, but face criticism on their game in the pitch. Infinity design an action game centred around a falsely convicted spy who must escape prison, which earns praise in their pitch despite some concerns. In the boardroom, Infinity win with the better design, leaving Diverse to face questions over their concept's poor reception. Of the final three, Francesca Kennedy Wallbank is ejected from the process for contributing to most of the mistakes that doomed her team's concept. Following the firing, Lord Sugar visits the candidates' house, to inform them of the next task. | |||||
216 | 6 | "Wales" [13] | 10 February 2022 | 7.00 | |
The candidates are sent to Wales to offer a unique tourist experience within the Snowdonia region, achieving as much profit as possible. Diverse run a highland railway tour with watercolour painting and whiskey tasting, but face issues including time management and seeking commissions. Infinity run a quarry tour with zip-lines, cave exploring and cheese tasting, but fail to maintain their sales strategy along with dealing with other problems. In the boardroom, Diverse win by securing better profits, with Infinity questioned over their lacklustre tour experience. Of the final three, Amy Anzel is dismissed for her overall lack of contributions and failing to prove herself by being a project manager in tasks. | |||||
217 | 7 | "Pods" [14] | 17 February 2022 | 7.16 | |
Creating a new brand for their own electric driverless vehicle, both teams seek to impress with their design when pitching for sales. Diverse theme their vehicle around parties under the name "StarPod", but face miscommunication among the team and serious criticism over the concept. Infinity focus on a clean energy theme under the name "BeePure", but face criticism over the concept's design. In the boardroom, Infinity win by securing the most sales, with Diverse questioned over their flawed design. Of the final three, Sophie Wilding is fired for her poor leadership, her design concept, and her poor communication amongst her team. | |||||
218 | 8 | "Silverstone" [15] | 24 February 2022 | 6.92 | |
Candidates face the job of running a racing-themed corporate away day at Silverstone, including a tour and lunch service, earning as much profit as they can from their client's budget. Diverse opt for a luxury experience for their clients, but suffer communication problems and delays in their lunch service. Infinity run a trackside tour, but face criticism from their clients over their arrangements. In the boardroom, Infinity win by securing the most profit, leaving Diverse to be questioned over their failure. Amongst the losing team, Nick Showering is dismissed for failing to demonstrate any exceptional skills and his lack of contribution to the tasks. | |||||
219 | 9 | "TV Selling" [16] | 3 March 2022 | 7.03 | |
For their next task, teams are challenged with making sales live on a TV shopping channel, choosing whichever products will appeal to their potential customers. Diverse choose a reasonable selection of products, but face chaos over their broadcast session. Infinity face questions over their selection of products, but manage their TV sales efficiently. In the boardroom, Infinity win the task after securing several successful transactions, leaving Diverse to be questioned over their performance. Amongst the losing team, Akshay Thakrar is fired for his overall track record and his mismanagement of the team's broadcast segment. | |||||
220 | 10 | "Baby Food" [17] | 10 March 2022 | 6.77 | |
Lord Sugar summons the remaining candidates to KidZania in west London, where he reveals that their next task is to create brand new baby food. Diverse opt for a Middle Eastern-style 'Moroccan Medley' dish, but face criticism over the poor taste and thick texture of the product. Infinity opt for a Pan-Asian style curry, but face harsh criticism for the branding, which on the label reads out "First Time F Dies". In the boardroom, both teams secure no orders, leaving both to be questioned over their poor products. Amongst the candidates, Aaron Willis is dismissed for his mismanagement of creating the baby food, and Akeem Bundu-Kamara is ejected from the process for his overall lack of contribution to the tasks and failing to notice the major error in the name of his team's product. Notes: Tim Campbell was absent for this episode due to him self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, and was replaced by Mike Soutar. | |||||
221 | SP–1 | "The Final Four" [18] | 15 March 2022 | N/A | |
With just two more tasks remaining, the remaining aspiring entrepreneurs go under the microscope, revealing the real people behind the businesswear. | |||||
222 | 11 | "Interviews" [19] | 17 March 2022 | 7.03 | |
After facing ten tasks as teams, the remaining four candidates now compete as individuals in their next task – a series of tough, grueling interviews with Lord Sugar’s most trusted advisors, Claude Littner, Mike Soutar, Claudine Collins and Linda Plant. Each member faces scrutiny over their backgrounds, work experience, track record, and business proposals when questioned by interviewers. Feedback to Lord Sugar, alongside observations by his aides, leads him to firing Brittany Carter for offering a proposal she has no experience in, and Stephanie Affleck due to concerns about certain aspects of her proposed business. Of the final two, Kathryn Louise Burn is considered a risk due to ecological and sustainability concerns, and Harpreet Kaur is also considered a risk due to her business proposal involving a business she already co-owns, despite her track record. | |||||
223 | SP–2 | "Why I Fired Them" [20] | 21 March 2022 | N/A | |
As the final looms, Lord Sugar takes a look back to the tasks he set for this year's series of The Apprentice. From creating a new driverless pod and baby food, to running a corporate away day at Silverstone and selling products live on TV, he relives all of the mistakes, doomed decisions, and other notable events that occurred during the process, and provides his reasons behind each firing he made amongst the candidates for the process, which ultimately whittle them down to the two finalists for this series. | |||||
224 | 12 | "The Final" [21] | 24 March 2022 | 6.81 | |
After facing a multitude of business tasks and a tough interview, the two finalists, aided by old colleagues, face the task of launching their respective new businesses, produce advertising campaigns and pitching their businesses to a series of industry experts. Harpreet works to present her plan for an expanded dessert parlour, receiving praise for her established track record in the industry, yet faces concerns over the scalability of her business. Kathryn works to create a new brand of pyjamas, receiving praise for her clothing design skills, but is faced with questions over the branding and lack of scalability. Based on feedback from these presentations, Lord Sugar deems Harpreet Kaur to be his business partner for 2022 for her solid track record in the process in tandem with a solid business plan, leaving Kathryn Louise Burn as runner-up due to concerns regarding the longevity and popularity of her business. |
During the show's television run, Lord Sugar sent two tweets criticizing Amy Anzel's performances in various tasks. He described her sales technique as "slow" and stated "I think if I came up with a task of the life and time of Amy Anzel she would still be sub team leader." [22] [23] Anzel later complained to Naked TV, the show's production company, about the tweets. She did not appear on the "You're Hired" episode of the accompanying post-episode chat series, which she blamed on her complaints. The production company stated invitations to the episode were made at their discretion. (Harry Mahmood and Navid Sole were also absent, allegedly due to a fight with Aaron Willis, despite them both appearing in the final task). [24]
The Apprentice is a British business-styled reality game show created by Mark Burnett, distributed by Fremantle and broadcast by the BBC since 16 February 2005. Devised after the success of the American original and part of the international franchise of the same name, the programme focuses on a group of businesspeople competing in a series of business-related challenges set by British business magnate Alan Sugar, in order to prove themselves worthy of a prize offered by him. To observe candidates as they undertake these tasks, Sugar is aided by two close business associates who act as observers with little involvement in what is conducted – these roles are currently performed by Karren Brady and Tim Campbell.
The second series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC Two, from 22 February to 10 May 2006. Following the success of the previous series, the BBC commissioned additional episodes of the programme, along with ordering the creation of a new companion discussion programme titled The Apprentice: You're Fired!, which was aimed at being aired on BBC Three alongside the main programme's broadcast schedule. A special titled "Tim in the Firing Line", focusing on Tim Campbell's life after winning the first series, aired on 19 February 2006 and preceded this series' premiere. Alongside the standard twelve episodes of the series, it is the only series to not feature any specials being aired alongside its broadcast.
The first series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC Two, from 16 February to 4 May 2005. After securing the rights to creating a British version of American original, the BBC commissioned a total of twelve episodes, a standard that would be used for consecutive series. It is the only series not to feature a boardroom scene after a candidate quit the programme following a task. Alongside the twelve episodes that were produced, two specials were also created and aired alongside this series – "The Story so Far" on 2 April, aimed at bringing viewers up to speed on the series; and "You're Hired!" on 7 May, aired after the series finale, with a format that would be later adapted for use in The Apprentice: You're Fired when it began the following year.
Timothy Campbell is an English businessman best known as the winner of the first series of the British version of The Apprentice, a BBC TV reality show in which contestants competed to win a £100,000-a-year job working for businessman Alan Sugar.
The fourth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 26 March to 11 June 2008. Around over 20,000 applications were made by potential participants seeking to take part on the programme, with the fourth series being the only one to date to feature more than two finalists moving on beyond the Interviews stage. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, four specials were aired alongside the series – "The Worst Decisions Ever" on 3 April; "Motor Mouths" on 18 April; "The Final Five" on 2 June; and "Why I Fired Them" on 8 June.
The Apprentice: You're Fired is a companion discussion programme, aired alongside The Apprentice since 2006, created by Mark Burnett for the BBC. The programme, initially shown on BBC Three before moving to BBC Two in 2007, focuses on interviews between the host and panel of guests, with a prominent candidate from the latest episode of the main programme that had been broadcast, often mixing general discussion, expert opinion and interviews, with highlight clips and small sketches designed for comedic effect. The programme is currently hosted by Tom Allen since 2019; over the course of its broadcast history, it has been hosted by Adrian Chiles, Dara Ó Briain, Jack Dee, and Rhod Gilbert.
The fifth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 25 March to 7 June 2009; because of ITV's live coverage of a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match involving England, the final episode was broadcast three days earlier to avoid clashing with this. It is the last series to feature Margaret Mountford as one of Alan Sugar's aides, after deciding to leave following the conclusion of the fifth series to focus on her education, although she would retain a place in the programme until the end of the ninth series. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, two specials were aired alongside this series – "The Final Five" on 3 June; and "Why I Fired Them" on 5 June.
The sixth series of British reality television series The Apprentice was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 6 October to 19 December 2010; due to the 2010 General Election, which Alan Sugar had political ties with following his appointment as a Lord within the House of Lords, the BBC postponed the series' broadcast until Autumn of that year to avoid a potential conflict of interest from the broadcaster.
Young Apprentice is a British reality television programme and a spin-off of The Apprentice, in which a group of young people compete against each other in a series of business related challenges to win a £25,000 investment from British business magnate Lord Sugar. In addition to Sugar, he was also joined by his adviser Nick Hewer, and new adviser Karren Brady, prior to her debut on the main show, upon Margaret Mountford's departure from the role in 2009.
Claude Littner is an American-born British business executive and the former chairman of Viglen, Powerleague, ASCO and Azzuri Communications. He is also the deputy chairman of Blacks Leisure and former chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur. He is also known from his appearances on the British version of The Apprentice, interviewing for his former boss Alan Sugar. Littner was one of Sugar's aides between 2015 and 2019.
The seventh series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 10 May to 17 July 2011; due to a qualifying match for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League set to be aired live on 20 July, the final episode was given an earlier broadcast date to avoid clashing with this.
The eighth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 21 March to 3 June 2012. While only one minor change was made to the format of the first task, the general format of the programme itself remained virtually unchanged for this series. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, two specials were aired alongside this series – "The Final Five" on 29 May, and "Why I Fired Them" on 2 June. Sixteen candidates took part in the eighth series, with Ricky Martin becoming the overall winner. Excluding specials, the series averaged around 7.35 million viewers during its broadcast.
The ninth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 7 May to 17 July 2013. This series saw the task format return to its original arrangement prior to the seventh series. The decision to return to this original format layout meant that Alan Sugar could now get more in-depth knowledge of the finalists' business plans, unlike in the past two series, through arranging the final task towards them promoting their idea to both himself and a large selection of industry experts. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, with the first two aired within a day of each other, two specials were aired alongside this series – "The Final Five" on 8 July, and "Why I Fired Them" on 11 July.
The tenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 14 October to 21 December 2014; due to live coverage in Summer of that year for both the FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the BBC postponed the series' broadcast until Autumn to avoid clashing with these. It is the last series to feature Nick Hewer as Alan Sugar's aide, who left the programme following the series finale, with the tenth series featuring a guest appearance from Ricky Martin, winner of the eighth series, as an interviewer for the Interviews Stage for this series only.
The eleventh series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 14 October to 20 December 2015; due to the 2015 General Election being held in Spring, which Alan Sugar had ties to, the BBC postponed the series' broadcast until the middle of Autumn. This series saw Claude Littner, an interviewer during the Interviews stage of a series, being announced as Lord Sugar's new aide, after Nick Hewer made his departure from the programme after the last series. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, with the first two aired within a day of each other, the series was preceded by the mini online episode "Meet the Candidates" on 6 October, with two specials aired alongside the series – "The Final Five" on 9 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 16 December.
The thirteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 4 October to 17 December 2017. Unlike a number of series before which had both their filming and broadcast schedules altered to ensure the programme could aired without clashing with live TV coverage of major sporting and political events, primarily within the UK, it is the first series to focus its broadcast around late Autumn to early Winter, rather than in Spring as had been done when the programme first premiered. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, the series was preceded by the mini online episode "Meet the Candidates" on 26 September, with two specials aired alongside the series – "The Final Five" on 8 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 14 December.
The fourteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 3 October to 16 December 2018. This series saw a number of subtle changes being made by the production staff to keep the programme fresh, including the candidates going abroad to conduct their first task, and team names not being created until the start of the third task. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, the series was preceded by the mini online episode "Meet the Candidates" on 25 September, with two specials aired alongside the series – "The Final Five" on 11 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 13 December.
Amy Anzel is an American entrepreneur, actress, theatre producer and television presenter.
The seventeenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) premiered on 5 January 2023 in the UK on BBC One. Karren Brady and Tim Campbell returned as Alan Sugar's aides, the latter of whom joined the show on a permanent basis, after stepping in for Claude Littner in the previous series. Littner also returned to the series but in a "reduced role" and only appeared in two episodes. Eighteen candidates competed in the series, the highest number of candidates since the thirteenth series. The first trailer for the series was released on 20 December 2022. The candidates were revealed on 3 January 2023, two days before the show's premiere.
The eighteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice premiered on 1 February 2024 in the UK on BBC One. Karren Brady and Tim Campbell returned as Lord Sugar's aides. The eighteen candidates competing in the series were revealed on 23 January 2024.