Lord Sugar, Baroness Brady and Claude Littner reflect on best bits of The Apprentice

Fifteen years after business-meets-reality show The Apprentice first graced UK screens, the Lord Sugar-fronted series continues to attract audiences in their droves.

“Someone who was two or three years old when the series started is now 18,” remarks Lord Alan Sugar.

“I said last year that I wanted to do 20 years. We would have been doing series 16 this year and I was happy to do four more.

“But of course it is the BBC who will decide if they wish to do it,” says Lord Sugar, 73.

Now, with filming for the show’s sixteenth series postponed due to Covid-19, viewers are set to relive some of the most impressive – and disastrous – television moments of all time courtesy of new six-part series The Apprentice Best Bits.

Whilst no Yorkshire contestant made the candidate list for last year’s showdown, the region has had its fair share of contenders over the years, some progressing through the show with greater success than others.

Fashion brand owner Sian Gabbidon, from Leeds, won the 2018 competition, earning £250,000 of investment and Claire Young, who was brought up in Wakefield, was runner up of the fourth series of the show.

In 2013, dance and entertainment entrepreneur Francesca MacDuff-Varley, from Leeds, came third whilst other contestants to feature have included East Yorkshire’s David Alden, Doncaster’s Frances Bishop and Ruth Whiteley, from Harrogate.

The UK version of the hit show followed close behind the original US Apprentice format – hosted by now-US President Donald Trump, renowned for his hiring and firing.

It guides a carefully selected group of candidates through a series of tasks that are designed to test every ounce of their business acumen.

“If you recall initially, the prize was to work for me,” recalls Lord Sugar. “After series six, I said it wasn’t working out properly because it was very difficult to find a position for someone where there weren’t any positions available.

“I changed it to going into partnership with a winner and that has been very successful.”

Yet, aside from the prize, it’s a format that has remained largely unchanged over the years.

So, what is it about The Apprentice that keeps the viewers coming back for more?

“We all have an idea for a business – or we all think there’s a secret businessman in us – and we like to see the decisions that people make and how they make them,” declares Lord Sugar’s loyal boardroom adviser, Baroness Karren Brady, 51.

“Most of us spend lots of time shouting at the television and saying, ‘I would have done it differently!’.

“I think it’s the prize, it’s the process, it’s people really enjoying watching the candidates make their decision.”

Together with fellow hawk-eyed adviser Claude Littner, the business-minded pair act as Lord Sugar’s eyes and ears throughout the gruelling 12-week process.

“The Apprentice captures buying, selling, tough negotiations, interviews – a whole host of things which I think play into what today’s young people are aspiring to,” says Littner.

“Nowadays – because jobs are hard to come by and because of advances in technology – I think more people are deciding that the best way forward is to actually start their own business.

“The show is a combination of great fun and the fact everyone thinks they can do better than the apprentices.”

Nearing the final hurdle of the competition, the notorious interview process is known for sending even the most confident candidate into a blind panic.

“The last five people go into the interview process and the purpose is for those to go through their business plans with my experts,” says Lord Sugar.

Littner adds: “It’s also the only time the candidates aren’t in a team, can’t hide behind someone else, can’t blame someone else – they really are incredibly exposed.

“Whether they’ve got the strength of character, the overall willingness to start a business, get the investment and work with Alan Sugar.

“For me that’s the most defining moment really, because people can talk the talk but that doesn’t mean to say they can walk the walk.”

Offering cringeworthy sequences and laugh-out-loud moments in equal measure, it’s no wonder this element of The Apprentice has remained unchanged for so many series.

“It must be the most terrifying job interview process on television,” says Baroness Brady matter-of-factly.

“There’s this classic one where Solomon (Akhtar), one of the candidates, comes in for his interview with Claude, and Claude sends him out because all he’s done is issue pictures of sail boats.

“There’s no information in the business plan. And he gets so flustered that he tries to leave through a window because he can’t find the door.

“There’s only one door in the whole room but he couldn’t find it, so he’s just sort of banging. And honestly, I was literally laughing out loud.”

The Apprentice’s diverse range of tasks – from selling goods on market stalls through to creating and promoting luxury events – are also a mainstay of the show.

“The tasks are designed to see a person’s organisational qualities, sales technique, presentation ability, creativity and logistical qualifications.

“You have got all of those elements – that’s what all the tasks are about and what I am looking for,” says Lord Sugar

However, it’s the show’s international travel element that proves the biggest draw for many viewers.

With candidates packing their bags and heading off to far flung corners of the world, the international tasks plunge candidates into high-pressure situations in alien environments.

“The foreign tasks are one of the things that make the programme exciting for the candidates and viewers,” notes Lord Sugar.

“Last year, they went to South Africa. It was a great task and it was to celebrate 15 years of The Apprentice. It was one of my favourite tasks.”

“They cover everything,” seconds Baroness Brady. “We’ve been from Winston Churchill’s bunker in Dover through to the Tower of London; we’ve been all over the world – from New York and Dubai.”

Littner claims he doesn’t back anybody. “I remain completely neutral. I might admire some of the things they do on tasks, but I’m very focused on giving Alan the best possible guide on who should be the winner.”

“So, if I come across as being tough or not so tough with someone, it’s basically because I don’t think they can take the pressure, so there’s no point in putting them under more pressure than they’re under already.”

The Apprentice Best Bits launches on Thursday October 1 on BBC One.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson