The Apprentice (British TV series) series 19

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Contents

The Apprentice
Series 19
Starring
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release30 January 2025 (2025-01-30)
Series chronology
 Previous
Series 18

The nineteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice premiered on the 30 January 2025 in the UK on BBC One. [1] Karren Brady and Tim Campbell will return as Lord Sugar's aides. [2] [3]

Production

In January 2024, whilst the previous series was airing, the BBC announced applications were open for the nineteenth series. The applications closed on 17 February 2024. [4] [5] The BBC confirmed that the series will again feature eighteen candidates, as well as revealing several of the tasks set to feature across the series including "creating a virtual popstar, turning a ton of potatoes and tomatoes into cash, designing and marketing Easter Eggs, jetting off to Turkey for a corporate hospitality challenge and taking on a discount buying task in Stratford-upon-Avon". [6] [7] The first trailer for the series was released in January 2025, which teased the series as the "most demanding yet". [8]

Series overview

The eighteen candidates appearing in the nineteenth series were announced on 19 January 2025. The first task saw the candidates being formed into mixed gender teams, with neither team having an official name, making this the first series to have unnamed teams; the two teams were unofficially referred to as "Team Forest" and "Team Ice". [9] [10]

Candidates

CandidateBackgroundAgeResult
Amber-Rose BadrudinConvenience store owner24
Anisa KhanPizza company owner26
Chisola ChitambalaVirtual assistant company owner31
Dean FranklinAir conditioning company owner34
Emma StreetCorporate project manager23
Frederick AfrifaMotivational speaker & former athlete28
Jana DenzelCosmetic dentist33
Jonny HeaverTutoring company owner23
Jordan DarganAnimation entrepreneur22
Keir ShaveTelemarketing company owner26
Liam SnellinWorkwear brand owner28
Max EnglandSenior account manager30
Melica MoshiriTech recruitment company owner32
Mia CollinsMeal prep entrepreneur25
Nadia SuliamanSalon chain owner35
Carlo BrancatiHair transplant consultant37Fired in the third task
Aoibheann WalshHair and beauty salon owner36Fired in the second task
Emma RothwellOnline gift store owner29Fired in the first task

Performance chart

Task Number
Candidate123456789101112
Amber-RoseINLOSEIN
AnisaLOSEWINLOSS
ChisolaLOSSINLOSS
DeanBRINWIN
Emma S.WINLOSSIN
FrederickINLOSSIN
JanaLOSSINLOSS
JonnyINLOSSIN
JordanINLOSSIN
KeirBRINLOSS
LiamINLOSSBR
MaxLOSSINLOSE
MelicaBRININ
MiaINLOSSIN
NadiaINBRLOSS
CarloBRINFIRED
AoibheannINFIRED
Emma R.FIRED
  The candidate won this series of The Apprentice.
  The candidate was the runner-up.
  The candidate won as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
  The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
  The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage.
  The candidate was on the losing team for this task.
  The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task.
  The candidate was fired in this task.
  The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired.

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions) [11]
2491"Austria Tours"30 January 2025 (2025-01-30)5.76
Lord Sugar begins his search for a new business partner for 2025 amongst eighteen new candidates. For their first task, the teams are sent to Innsbrück, Austria and challenged to plan a tour. One team, dubbed "Team Forest" develops a cycling tour through the forest, including yodelling and tree hugging: they sell few tickets, with those that get sold being for various prices. The other team, dubbed "Team Ice" produces an Alpine mountain tour and despite selling at a much lower price than agreed, they sell all the tickets. In the boardroom, Team Forest are revealed to have ultimately made a loss, meaning Team Ice's small profit won them the task by default, leaving the former to face scrutiny over their flawed sales strategy. All but three are called back by Lord Sugar, out of whom Emma Rothwell becomes the first to be fired for failing to sell orders and defend herself in the boardroom.
2502"Virtual Pop Star"6 February 2025 (2025-02-06)TBD
The second task has the teams assigned to create a virtual pop star, and get sponsorship deals from major brands. Team Forest create a female star called Bami, while Team Ice create a duo called Fred and Nadz. Both teams come under criticisms for different aspects of their virtual stars, with Bami's design being found unappealing, and Fred and Nadz having artificial intelligence-generated voices that prove distracting to potential buyers. Ultimately, despite having nearly half their sales disallowed for a rule breach, Team Forest manage to win out thanks to their doing a better job of persuading buyers to look past the flaws in Bami's design, leaving Team Ice to face Lord Sugar's scrutiny. Of the final three, while Lord Sugar heavily criticizes all of them, Aoibheann Walsh is dismissed for her fatal decision to go with the AI-generated vocals.
2513"Discount Buying"13 February 2025 (2025-02-13)TBD
The candidates are sent to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, in order to purchase a list of nine items associated with the bard; the team which manages the lowest overall spend, including fines, will win. Both teams receive fines for not acquiring all the items on the list as well as purchasing incorrect items, but Team Forest are additionally fined for not making it to the finishing location by the deadline, resulting in Team Ice winning. Although Lord Sugar criticises Team Forest's main team and sub-team leaders, Carlo Brancati is fired for his consistently weak contributions on all three tasks to date, as well as being deemed a disruptive influence on the team.

References

  1. "First Look - The Apprentice returns for series 19". BBC Media Centre . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  2. "The Apprentice officially confirms return for season 19 in 2025 | Radio Times". Radio Times . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  3. Smith, Kelly (20 January 2025). "BBC's The Apprentice's Alan Sugar hints at retirement and 'end' of the show". Wales Online . Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  4. Nuttall, Andrew (24 January 2024). "Four day warning to BBC The Apprentice 2025 hopefuls". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. "Applications for The Apprentice have been extended". Hits Radio . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  6. "First look at The Apprentice as bosses confirm 2025 return". Hits Radio . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  7. "The Apprentice | Shows and tours". BBC . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  8. Corbin, Tianna (14 January 2025). "The Apprentice shares season 19 trailer as BBC tease 'most demanding series yet'". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  9. "The Apprentice 2025 candidates revealed - meet the cast". Digital Spy . 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  10. "The Apprentice 2025 candidates - Meet the hopefuls vying for Lord Sugar's investment in series 19". BBC Media Centre . Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  11. "Weekly top 50 shows". BARB . Retrieved 1 January 2023.