The Apprentice has attracted quite a lot of press in its time – both good and bad. It has made entrepreneurship much more attractive to a lot of people, and many who have been on the show – both victors and vanquished – have become quite successful. Last year’s winner was Dr. Leah Totton who attracted Lord Sugar’s investment with her proposal for a medical cosmetic surgery company. Past winners have included Tom Pellereau, Tim Campbell, Michelle Dewberry and Lee McQueen.
Last year’s runner-up, Luisa Zissman, ended up with a £250,000 investment for her cupcake business through Angels Den, which links businesses with investors. Although she may now be better known for Big Brother than for baking.
On the other hand, some have claimed the show doesn’t send out the right message to aspiring entrepreneurs, it paints an unrealistic picture of the traditional path to greatness or that Alan Sugar is a bully. Last year, for example, past winner Stella English took Lord Sugar to an employment tribunal claiming he treated her like an “overpaid lackey”. Her case was unsuccessful.However, it should however be remembered that first and foremost, the show is about entertainment.
This year – the show’s tenth season – is a little different. Instead of the usual 16 contestants, there will be 20. So if you delight in hearing Lord Sugar say “You’re fired!” you are in for a treat as there will be plenty more of that. He has given a stark warning to the candidates:
“I’ve decided to do is to kick off with 20 candidates, ten boys and ten girls. That’s the good news. Here’s possibly not such good news. The process will still last 12 weeks. That means that on certain occasions I may decide to dispose of more than one candidate at a time. Be prepared.”
This year is a real mixed-bag. Candidates include a pub quiz director, a hypnotherapist and a social worker. Two work in law and two female contenders hail from Dublin, Ireland. You can find out everything you need to know about this year’s candidates here.
You can also check out this video and tell us what you think in our survey below:
The Apprentice kicks-off on Tuesday October 14 followed by a second episode on Wednesday October 15, with the rest of the series continuing every Wednesday at 9pm. And that’s why every week we’ll be keeping you up-to-date with each episode and you can get involved by tweeting us @EliteBizMag or emailing [email protected].
