THE APPRENTICE RENEWED FOR TWO FURTHER SERIES ON BBC ONE

Lord Sugar's business competition will return in 2024 and 2025 to BBC One and iPlayer.

Lord Sugar told RadioTimes: "This is officially the 17th series so next year is 18. I have agreed to do two more series, which will bring me up to 19 and depending on how well that is received, and the BBC do their statistical numbers and all that, I'd be delighted to do a 20th."

This year, for the first time since series 13, the show will return with 18 new candidates, all competing to win a life-changing £250,000 investment in their businesses. Thrown in at the deep end from day one, the candidates travel to Antigua where they are tasked with creating and selling excursions to tourists.

Candidates who aren’t cast away in the first task are back to face a host of equally tough challenges for the series ahead.

From creating their own cartoon, to the world of male beauty, from immersive events to street food, our aspiring titans of industry will once again have to prove that they have what it takes.

Lord Sugar kicksthings off on the magnificent Caribbean island of Antigua. Under the watchful eye of Baroness Karren Brady and Claude Littner, the teams must sell and run bespoke tours. After bickering on the beach and some woeful negotiations, back in the boardroom, one candidate is sent packing.

With the stakes higher than ever and the loser’s cab on standby, as always there’s no easing gently back into boardroom life in this series as our candidates bid to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner and winner of The Apprentice.

The Apprentice returns Thursday 5th January at 9pm on BBC One.