The Apprentice | Series 20 Preview (BBC One)

The Apprentice returns for its landmark 20th series and to mark the occasion, there will be 20 candidates looking to impress Lord Sugar and secure his £250,000 investment in their business plan as well his priceless mentorship.

And to kick things off in style, for the first time ever, Lord Sugar’s boardroom will move to Hong Kong after the candidates complete a task in one of the world’s most vibrant trading hubs.

Back alongside his formidable advisors Baroness Karren Brady CBE and Tim Campbell MBE, Lord Sugar will whittle down the 20 candidates across 12 episodes in a bid to choose the candidate that will receive his life changing investment. The stakes are high from the offset and the first task kicks off with a fan-favourite buying challenge.

What follows is a demanding run of tasks that takes the candidates across London and beyond, testing their instincts for branding, selling and negotiation. Viewers can expect to see the candidates create a children’s book, sell live on television and host a corporate away day on the Red Sea in El Gouna, Egypt, before tackling a second helping of the discount buying task on the Isle of Wight.

MEET THE CANDIDATES HERE

It all leads to interviews week, where the final five face Lord Sugar’s closest associates, their business plans stripped back and examined in detail. After 20 series, The Apprentice still remains one of the most popular shows on TV, with series 19 averaging over 6million views per episode.

Also this year, the BBC will air the first ever full-length series of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2026. The six-part series will see a new line-up of famous faces take on weekly business challenges set by Lord Sugar, competing to avoid the words “you’re fired” and ultimately be crowned The Celebrity Apprentice winner.

Lord Sugar says: “We’ve had some great celebrity names walk into my boardroom over the years, but they’ve only ever had a small taster of what it’s like to be a candidate. It’ll be interesting to see how our future celebrities fare across a full series, removing their PAs, PRs, agents and all the other assistance they have in their day-to-day lives to fully immerse themselves into The Apprentice world.”

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “The Apprentice is a much-loved part of the BBC’s entertainment offering and we can’t wait to see how the celebrity candidates rise to the challenge when the series launches later in 2026.”

The Apprentice returns Thursday 29th January at 9pm on BBC One.