Entertainment
The Apprentice 2022: Start date, judges, candidates, and more
Get ready for some more brutal boardroom firings (Picture: BBC/Boundless/Ray Burmiston)
Don your best suit and tie, because The Apprentice is returning to BBC One for its 16th series.
After a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the popular business reality show will see 16 new candidates put through their paces in the hopes of winning a £250,000 investment from Baron Alan Sugar in their business.
Baroness Karren Brady has already given fans a taste of what to expect from the new series, revealing she was left ‘terrified’ during a zip wire task.
But when will The Apprentice return to TV screens and who is taking part this year? Here’s everything you need to know.
When does The Apprentice return?
The 16th series of The Apprentice will begin on Thursday, January 6 at 9pm on BBC One.
The first episode, titled ‘Cruise Ship’, will see the candidates set sail from Portsmouth – with their first task being to come up with a marketing campaign for a new cruise liner.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
You can also stream each episode after it has been broadcast on BBC iPlayer.
Who are The Apprentice judges?
Alan Sugar will return as head judge for this year’s contest, having appeared in all 15 former UK series.
The businessman founded Amstrad in 1968, was a former Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC and now has an estimated worth of over £1 billion.
Joining him in the boardroom will be Baroness Karren Brady, the current Vice-Chairman of West Ham United FC.
Baroness Brady joined The Apprentice in 2010 and has been an aide to Alan Sugar for the past nine series.
Former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell will be standing in for fan favourite Claude Littner, who is recovering from falling off his electric bike.
Campbell is the first-ever Apprentice star to become a judge on the show, and was taken on by Alan Sugar’s company Amstrad after winning in 2005, becoming Project Director of its Health & Beauty division.
Baroness Brady, Baron Sugar, Tim Campbell MBE as judges for The Apprentice (Picture: BBC/Boundless/Ray Burmiston)
Who are The Apprentice 2022 candidates?
This year’s competition has 16 candidates, with a former rugby player, a dessert parlour owner, and a pharmacist among the business hopefuls vying for Alan Sugar’s affections.
The Apprentice contestants for 2022 are as follows,
Aaron Willis, Flight Operations InstructorAkeem Bundu-Kamara, Financial Firm Strategy Manager Akshay Thakrar, Digital Marketing Agency OwnerAlex Short, Commercial Cleaning Company OwnerAmy Anzel, Beauty Brand OwnerBrittany Carter, Hotel Front of House ManagerConor Gilsenan, Sales ExecutiveFrancesca Kennedy Wallbank, Sustainability Company OwnerHarry Mahmood, Regional Operations ManagerHarpreet Kaur, Dessert Parlour OwnerKathryn Louise Burn, Online Pyjama Store OwnerNavid Sole, PharmacistNick Showering, Finance ManagerSophie Wilding, Boutique Cocktail Bar OwnerShama Amin, Children’s Day Nursery OwnerStephanie Affleck, Online Children’s Store Owner
You might recognise Conor Gilsenan from his rugby days (Picture: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Who won the last series of The Apprentice?
Carina Lepore was the last person to be crowned champion of The Apprentice in 2019.
Alan Sugar was impressed with the 32-year-old’s business plan for an artisan bakery and coffee shop business, which was inspired by her father’s bread shop after it tragically burnt down in South London.
The winner’s original business ‘Dough Artisan Bakehouse’ is still doing well and Lepore opened a second shop in September 2020.
But the bread-maker was forced to shelve plans to open a series of new stores after experiencing financial setbacks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Apprentice starts on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.
MORE : The Apprentice’s Karren Brady left ‘terrified’ during zip wire task in action packed new series
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
