- Season 17
- Season 16
- Season 15
- Season 14
- Season 13
- Season 12
- Season 11
- Season 10
- Season 9
- Season 8
- Season 7
- Season 6
- Season 5
- Season 4
- Season 3
- Season 2
- Season 1
- Specials
The two finalists go head-to-head one last time to become Lord Sugar's new business partner and win his £250,000 investment.
With the help of some familiar faces, they must launch their business, create a new brand for their company, produce a digital billboard, direct and edit a TV advert and design a metaverse, then pitch it all to Lord Sugar and industry experts at a black-tie event.
In the penultimate episode, some familiar faces return as the final five entrepreneurs and their business ideas are interrogated by Lord Sugar's trusted advisers. A deep dive into their business plans reveals fictitious figures, crazy concepts and absurd ambitions.
For one candidate, it's the end of the road as Lord Sugar tells them 'You're fired'.
For week ten, the candidates are tasked with creating and branding a new dog food before pitching to major retailers.
In the kitchen, one team wrangles with their recipe, making a dog's dinner of their signature dish, whilst on the other team a premium product fails to deliver. On the branding teams, candidates bicker to be top dog. With plenty to chew over, Lord Sugar sends one candidate for walkies.
For week nine, the candidates must design a new men's skincare product, then pitch it to industry buyers. For one team, wrangling over a recipe leads to a disastrous skin-staining goo, meanwhile a lack of creativity on the other team results in an unoriginal concept. In the boardroom, Lord Sugar decides to wash his hands of not just one candidate, but two, in a shock double firing!
It's week eight, and the candidates' task is to host immersive events in Shropshire. They must sell tickets, book entertainment and organise food and drink. The team that produces the biggest overall profit wins.
One team deals with confused convicts, whilst the other team narrowly avoids a dining disaster. In the boardroom, it's lights out for one candidate as they're told ‘You're fired'.
It's week seven, and the candidates must design a new lunchbox aimed at six-to-eight-year-olds, along with an app to encourage healthy eating.
For one team, a clear vision helps them take a bite out of the market. On the other, poor decisions and a lack of vision leads to dreary designs.
In the boardroom, there's no such thing as a free lunch as one candidate is fired.
It's week six, and the candidates jet off to the cosmopolitan city of Dubai. Here they must put on a corporate away day for two international clients based in the city.
While one team shows off the glitz and glam of the city, the other goes for a more traditional approach in the desert. But it's the team with the most profit at the end that will win.
Back on home soil, it's the end of the road for another candidate.
The candidates are tasked with branding an electric motorbike and creating an advertising campaign before pitching to a panel of experts.
Passionate about motorbikes, one project manager has his vision ignored, while the other team's advertising campaign backfires when they focus on story rather than subject.
In the boardroom, sparks fly as one candidate is fired.
The candidates are sent to buzzing Brighton and Hove, one of the fastest growing cities in the UK. Here, amongst the bustling streets, the candidates must secure and negotiate nine items synonymous with the area. The team that secures the most items at the lowest prices, wins. Then, back in the boardroom, it's rock bottom for another candidate.
Week three and the candidates are summoned to London's Regent Street Cinema for an exclusive screening. Lord Sugar reveals they must create a new preschool cartoon aimed at two-to-four-year-olds to pitch to industry experts. One team showcases incomplete characters, whilst the other presents a sketchy storyline.
For week two, the candidates are summoned to Hutong at The Shard in Central London. Lord Sugar reveals that they will be manufacturing savoury bao buns to punt to the public and a bespoke sweet bun to sell to a corporate client, with the team who secures the biggest overall profit winning.
One team bites off more than they can chew with a Jurassic-themed bun, leading to explosions in the kitchen, while the other team are left in short supply after a maths meltdown. In the boardroom, one member of the losing team is sent packing.
Lord Sugar's search for a new business partner is back, and this year's 18 candidates kick things 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.
Lord Sugar summons the two front-runners to the British Museum to set them their final challenge. To win his £250,000 investment, each finalist must launch a new business - and some of this year's fired candidates are welcomed back to help them out. They have three days to create a new brand for their company, produce a digital billboard and direct and edit a television advert. Then they must pitch the business to Lord Sugar and a room full of industry experts at London's Pennington Street Warehouse.
With the final just days away and Lord Sugar on the cusp of choosing his new business partner, he looks back on the candidates who fell before the final hurdle and the tasks that took them to the brink.
This year's candidates have created marketing campaigns on the high seas, sought ticket sales in Wales and were driven to distraction in Silverstone. They got a handle on designing a new kid's toothbrush, didn't bottle it when it came to making a new non-alcoholic drink and channelled their energies when selling live on TV, all while having a bizarre obsession with green and brown!
Lord Sugar leads us through the best and worst decisions made by this year's aspiring entrepreneurs. Reflecting on their boardroom bust-ups, he lets us in on the reasons he decided to utter the dreaded words, ‘You're fired!'
The remaining candidates are summoned to 70 St Mary Axe in the heart of the City of London to face the scrutiny of Lord Sugar's most trusted advisors, who are primed to pick apart their business plans.
Each candidate goes head-to-head with the business bigwigs as they battle to back their plans.
There's tough talking, turmoil and tears as bravado breaks, egos are eradicated, and business plans bulldozed.
In the boardroom, it's Lord Sugar's chance to give them a grilling. Only two can progress to the final. The rest are told, you're fired!
With just two more tasks remaining, the remaining aspiring entrepreneurs go under the microscope, revealing the real people behind the businesswear.
Lord Sugar summons the remaining candidates to KidZania in west London, where he reveals that their next task is to create and brand a new baby food.
The teams are set one of their most intense challenges yet: to sell live to the nation on one of the country's leading TV shopping channels.
The remaining candidates lay on a racing-themed corporate away day at Silverstone, including a tour, a racing experience and food and drink.
The candidates gear up to design, brand and pitch their own electric driverless vehicle.
In a tourist hot-spot in north Wales, the candidates run their own highland railway, quarry tour and zip line.
The teams' next task is to create their own computer game and pitch their concept to a panel of hugely successful games investors.
The candidates enter the choppy waters of the fish business - sourcing and creating a fish dish to sell to the public. Half the team heads down to Cornwall, with members having to find their sea legs while fishing for their chosen catch of the day. The other half remains in London, convincing a top corporate client to buy into the dish. At the food market, competition is tough between the stalls while selling their fishy fare to the public. However, bad businesses decisions and poor planning mean one team's chances of winning sink without a trace. Karren Brady and Tim Campbell act as Lord Sugar's eyes and ears on the ground.
Lord Sugar and his candidates meet at Mercato Metrapolitano in Mayfair, a former church now offering artisan food and drink from around the world. Whetting the candidates' appetite for this week's task, the peer reveals they will be creating and branding a new non-alcoholic drink, before hosting a launch event where they will pitch and sell their product to leading retailers. One team plays it safe with flavours but struggles to replicate a key ingredient, while a fruity late addition in the other side's drink isn't to everyone's taste. As usual, Karren Brady and Tim Campbell act as Lord Sugar's eyes and ears on the ground.
Lord Sugar tasks his candidates with marketing a brand-new electric toothbrush aimed at children aged between six and eight. They must also create an accompanying app that encourages youngsters to brush their teeth before pitching their package to two major buyers. One team takes on an intergalactic space theme with hopes of it rocketing them to success, while the other takes a chance with a magical masterplan. As usual, Karren Brady and Tim Campbell act as Lord Sugar's eyes and ears on the ground.
This year's 16 candidates set sail from Portsmouth, their first task being to come up with marketing campaigns for a new cruise liner.
To convince Lord Sugar they're worthy of his cash, the last two candidates must now launch their businesses, with a little help from some of those who were fired.
With Lord Sugar on the cusp of choosing his new business partner, we look back on the candidates who fell before the final hurdle.
The final five candidates go head to head with Lord Sugar's advisors as they present their business plans and face the bigwigs' scrutiny.
The five remaining candidates are put under the microscope, revealing the real people behind the business wear.
Lord Sugar asks the candidates to don their lab coats and goggles as he challenges them to create and sell their own perfume.
Lord Sugar challenges the candidates to act as talent managers. They must audition unsigned musicians, choose which one to represent, then head to a studio to create a remix of one of their tracks.
The teams host a corporate away day onboard the iconic Belmond British Pullman train.
The candidates must create an advertising campaign to persuade UK tourists to visit Finland. Finland is known as a winter destination, but this campaign must entice us to visit during the summer.
Lord Sugar challenges the candidates to create and market a new rollercoaster.
Lord Sugar sends the candidates to the historic university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, where they will attempt to procure nine items that are associated with both places.
In the fourth week of the competition, the candidates are challenged to create their own range of electric bikes, before hosting their own launch event to sell their bikes to some of the UK's biggest cycle retailers. As the task unfolds, half of the team head to Nottingham to develop their new bike, while the other half of the team stay in London to choose accessories and create marketing material. At their events, poor pricing strategies and forceful tactics prove problematic, and back in the boardroom, one candidate is sent home.
In the third week of the competition, the candidates join Lord Sugar at London's Cambridge Theatre, where they find out the next task will challenge them to design a toy for six-to-eight-year-olds, along with an online video to promote their brand. The teams must create their toys and prepare their pitches, before presenting their concepts to some of the biggest names in the toy industry. Back in the boardroom, one candidate from the losing team will be sent home.
The teams are challenged to create, manufacture and sell their own ranges of ice lollies.
A new group of 16 hopeful candidates embark on their first challenge of the competition. The contestants are sent 6,000 miles from London to the capital city of Cape Town in South Africa, where they are tasked to set up and run their own safari and vineyard tours. One team's brash approach to ticket sales causes commotion, while on the other team premium prices prove problematic.
Lord Sugar looks back at the candidates who fell before the final hurdle and the tasks that took them to the brink, with the help of some previously unseen boardroom moments.
The final five candidates face the scrutiny of Lord Sugar's most trusted advisors, who are primed to put each of their business plans under the microscope.
An in-depth look at the final five candadiates, featuring interviews from family, friends and loved ones, as well as Lord Sugar's trusted aides Baroness Brady and Claude Littner.
Lord Sugar pays the six remaining candidates a flying visit, challenging them to cash in on the lucrative Christmas market.
Lord Sugar summons the remaining candidates to TV Centre in west London, the iconic former headquarters of the BBC. On arrival, the teams are tasked with their most pressurised challenge yet. In just ten hours they will be selling live to the nation on one of Britain's leading TV shopping channels. Teams must tune in to the best products to sell, as well as direct a promo to boost sales of one of their items. The team that generates the most sales will win.
Lord Sugar instructs the candidates to head north to Scotland, meeting at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, where they are tasked with becoming art dealers, selecting a contemporary artist's work to sell at their very own gallery event. To top up takings, teams must also make merchandise adorned with their chosen artist's work. The team that generates the most money from art commission and merchandise sales are the winners.
Lord Sugar summons the candidates to Crossrail's leafy roof garden, nestled above the new Elizabeth Line station in Canary Wharf, where he sets them a gardening task. The teams must set up their own urban gardening business, carrying out commercial and domestic jobs across London. On day one, both PM teams visit corporate clients to pitch a plan and secure a price for a large rooftop renovation.
The candidates are summoned to London City Airport, where Lord Sugar sets them the task of devising a marketing campaign for a brand new budget airline. They need to come up with a distinctive brand, make a 30-second TV advert and design a uniform that flies the flag for their new airline.
The candidates congregate at London's Adelphi Theatre, home to hit musical Kinky Boots. Hot on their heels is Lord Sugar with a challenge for them to put their best foot forward in the world of ladies' shoe design. Candidates must create and market a brand new shoe, along with putting together an event to launch and sell their product to major industry players.
The candidates are summoned to London's Royal Albert Hall, where Lord Sugar sets them the challenge of selling at one of the world's largest bodybuilding expos. Based at the NEC in Birmingham, the teams must tempt bodybuilders to part with their cash in exchange for high-end products and services aimed at fitness fans. With all candidates under pressure to get sales, it's a frantic fight to the finish as the teams muscle in on any last-minute action.
Lord Sugar summons the candidates to an 18th-century tidal mill in the heart of London's East End for their third task. The candidates are challenged to manufacture and sell upmarket doughnuts to both a corporate client and the public. One half of each team researches flavours, while the rest set out to bag a bespoke order from a corporate client. For one team, a decision to add spice turns up the heat, while on the other, using teabags causes tension. In the kitchen, a strategy to prioritise volume over quality control results in doughnut chaos, while the rival team face a lack of direction and a tricky corporate order.
Lord Sugar summons the candidates to the House of Illustration, the UK's only gallery dedicated to graphic art. On arrival, the teams are greeted by their business superhero as they have never seen him before. Via augmented-reality technology, Lord Sugar reveals that the candidates are to create a brand new comic aimed at eight- to 12-year-olds. They need to invent a new comic name, main character and original story as well as design a dynamic front cover using cutting-edge AR. With comics printed overnight, they need to pitch to leading industry figures to secure orders. The task balances creative flair with productive pitching, and the team that forgets either could face a graphic showdown in the boardroom.
Under the scrutiny of Karren Brady and Claude Littner, the candidates are tasked with tackling their first challenge abroad. The teams fly to Valletta in Malta, for a day-long shopping spree. The challenge is to bag nine Maltese items for the lowest possible prices before reuniting at the airport at 7pm. One team quickly hits the road, but they are clearly on the wrong track. On the other team, fiery personality clashes over negotiations quickly rock the boat.
For the final head to head, in the fight to win a ú250,000 investment, the remaining candidates go to London's Sky Garden in the City. Hoping to help the two front runners flourish are past candidates from this year, who are hand-picked to make up the teams. The grand finale is a three-day challenge, where the finalists have to bring their business plans to life in order to prove their concept has the potential to grow big. The finalists must create brands and ad campaigns before pitching to a room full of experts in City Hall.
A look back at candidates from this year's series of The Apprentice who fell before the final hurdle. They redesigned five-star hotel rooms in a shade of trifle, sang at a Wembley FA Cup final, programmed robots to 'downward dog' and trained dogs to do a hoedown. With the help of some previously unseen boardroom insights, Lord Sugar leads viewers through the best and worst decisions made by the candidates. He looks back on the bust-ups in the boardroom and explains how he came to decide who should be fired.
The final five candidates are summoned to Lord Sugar's newly refurbished offices in the City, where they are joined by some of Lord Sugar's closest associates, who are ready to put the candidates through their paces in the toughest of interviews. Each candidate goes head to head with a business heavyweight and attempts to prove their worth in the fight of their lives.
As Lord Sugar's search for his next business partner nears its finale and just two tasks remain, this in-depth look at the real people behind the final five candidates reveals where their drive and ambition hascome from, as well as what makes their business brains tick. Featuring interviews from family, friends and loved ones, along with Lord Sugar's trusted aides Baroness Karren Brady and Claude Littner, this programme delves into the candidates' backgrounds and remembers their peaks and troughs throughout the process so far, as they attempt to get one step closer to Lord Sugar's cash.
Lord Sugar tasks the candidates with becoming fashion agents, selling garments for designers. They must select a designer, plan and organise a catwalk show and put together a magazine cover to supplement their sales campaign. One team's lack of fashion sense leads to handbags at dawn, and a no-frills magazine pitch ruffles a few feathers. A bad negotiation leaves the other team exposed, and further embarrassment comes from mismatched information about their chosen designer. In the boardroom, Lord Sugar decides who is no longer on trend.
Lord Sugar tasks the candidates with cooking up a concept for a new recipe kit. Half-baked branding and kitchen nightmares result in sour pitches. Then in the boardroom, one candidate is toast.
Lord Sugar tasks the candidates with proving their pedigree by running their own doggy service businesses. Based at an established pooch-pampering venue, the teams must tempt discerning dog owners to part with their cash for services aimed at their four-legged friends.
Lord Sugar instructs the candidates to create advertising campaigns for a brand new car. The teams take two paths - one half produce a television advert, while the other create a digital billboard advert. Both teams must then pitch their finished campaigns to industry experts.
Lord Sugar sends the candidates off to Bruges, Belgium, where they are tasked with creating a high-quality tour of the city that cruise ship passengers would be happy to pay good money for. Back on the ship, the teams must flog souvenirs to guests to top up their profit margins.
As Lord Sugar celebrates his 70th birthday, the contestants are tasked to a shopping spree across London to purchase items that mark milestones in his life and career. The candidates have one day to find nine specific items at the best possible price, before meeting at the House of Lords. For one team, there is confusion over the mystery object, while poor planning leaves the other team lagging behind. In the boardroom, Lord Sugar gives out warnings, as well as hefty fines, before sending one contestant home
As the competition continues, Lord Sugar instructs the candidates that this week's task is to set up and run a corporate box, and sell merchandise to the masses at the Women's FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. The team members chosen to organise the boxes meet their match when they come face to face with the clients and their negative comments. The following day at the big game, guests in one of the corporate boxes are unhappy as supplies run dry, while those selling merchandise outside struggle with last minute pricing strategies
The candidates are summoned to London's new Design Museum, where Lord Sugar assigns them a robot-themed task. For one half of each team it is time to get creative and programme a prototype robot, while the other half must sell toy robots.
For week two, Lord Sugar summons the candidates to Stoke Park, an impressive five-star hotel, and they learn that they will be working as interior designers. They need to make over a bedroom at the hotel and pitch their design to the hotel manager and a leading interior designer. Getting a look that is worthy of a five-star hotel is important, but the teams also need to keep one eye on their profit margin.
Under the scrutiny of Karren Brady and Claude Littner, the candidates are put to the test with their first task, rising before dawn to manufacture burgers. The teams have just one day to turn their meaty burgers into a healthy profit by selling them to hungry Londoners.
The two finalists receive a call summoning them to London's City Hall. Lord Sugar informs them that their final task is to launch their business by creating a brand and unveiling their campaign in front of a packed audience full of industry experts. A few old faces return as the two finalists choose key colleagues to try to help them secure the ú250,000 investment, and it is straight to work as they set out to build a brand, make a TV advert and create a company fit for Lord Sugar. In the boardroom, business plans are evaluated and ad campaigns are assessed, but there can only one winner. It is heartbreak for one and ecstasy for the other, as Lord Sugar finally picks his next business partner.
With the final just days away and Lord Sugar on the cusp of choosing his new business partner, this programme looks back on the candidates who fell before the final hurdle and the tasks that tested them to the limit. From slacking sales at a soggy boat show to the 'out of this world' virtual reality game Gordon's Lost His Badger, the candidates have had both great highs and jaw-dropping lows. Facing lost jeans, double firings, cream cracker canapes and even a sing-a-long with mermaids, the challenges have involved humour, heartache and some outstanding performances. With the help of previously unseen insights from the eagle-eyed Karren Brady and Claude Littner, Lord Sugar leads through the best and worst decisions made by the candidates. He looks back on the boardroom bust-ups and explains how he came to decide who would hear the words 'You're fired!'.
The battle to become Lord Sugar's business partner is nearing the end, as the remaining candidates have 24 hours to brush up on their business plans and face the formidable interview process. It's time to get a grilling from four of Lord Sugar's trusted advisors - Claude Littner, Claudine Collins, Mike Soutar and Linda Plant. After plans are scrutinised and characters questioned, Lord Sugar selects his two finalists.
Ten weeks ago, 18 candidates arrived in the boardroom in the hope of becoming Lord Sugar's next business partner. As series 12 draws to a close, this programme profiles the remaining candidates. Revealing the stories behind each budding tycoon, it gets up close and personal to discover what really drives their ambition and makes them tick. It features interviews from parents, partners and friends, along with Lord Sugar's trusted aides Karren Brady and Claude Littner. The Final Five delves into the candidates' backgrounds and looks back over their highs and lows during the process so far.
As the teams move into week 10, the remaining candidates are summoned to the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Here Lord Sugar sets them the task of creating and producing the spirit of the moment - gin. With the final in sight, the candidates are all desperate to impress. However, one team gets a little carried away with the taste testing, getting tipsy before the day has even begun, while on the other team, their pitches hit rock bottom when a key retailer reveals they don't like the colour, taste or branding of the gin. One candidate is left with a bitter taste in their mouth when the rest of the team turns against them, and tempers reach boiling point. Who will be fired?
After a leisurely morning in the house, the candidates are shocked when Karren and Claude appear at the front door to give a briefing that is 'out of this world'. For the next task, the teams have to push their imagination and design skills to the limit to create a new virtual reality game, before pitching it to a huge audience of gaming enthusiasts at the world-famous Comic Con exhibition.
The candidates are summoned to the National Portrait Gallery, where Lord Sugar instructs them to organise an exclusive late-night event at two of London's biggest tourist attractions - the London Aquarium and Madame Tussauds. In under 36 hours, each team must organise and host an event to remember, keeping an eye on profits but also pleasing the punters. From setting up refreshments and entertainment to making sure they sell enough tickets to fill their venue, both teams have a challenge on their hands.
Lord Sugar instructs the candidates to tap into one of the UK's biggest markets - the boating and leisure industry. The task is simple - pick the right products and sell them at Poole Harbour Boat Show.
The candidates are enjoying a well-deserved day of rest and relaxation when the peace is shattered by the shrill ring of the house phone. With only 20 minutes to get ready, it's off with their comfy casuals and into their business suits. Lord Sugar wants to meet them at the View on the 69th floor of the Shard.
Surrounded by panoramic views of the sunset, Lord Sugar reveals that he is sending the candidates out to work the night shift. They have to stay awake, find nine items, negotiate the best possible price and be back at the Shard by 6.00am. The team that spends the least amount of money will win the task.
One team quickly zooms off into the darkening streets of London, confident they will be finished quickly and home for an early night. But the other struggles to get off the starting block as one candidate is too distracted by the impressive views to be helpful.
As the evening draws on, the teams battle with closing times and tired shop owners. Negotiations hit rock bottom when the only discount one team manage is 35 pence off a single item. When language barriers send one team on a wild goose chase it's a mad dash back in time for sunrise.
Dawn breaks and it's a bleary eyed boardroom. But there are no excuses accepted for unlucky candidates who face Lord Sugar's firing line.
Lord Sugar sets the candidates the task of helping two entrepreneurs launch their new cycling product and getting the public to invest through crowdfunding. The teams must organise a PR stunt, create a campaign video and then pitch to a group of cycling retailers to try to secure orders.
The candidates are summoned to Drapers' Hall, where they learn that for their next task they will be taking over part of the world-famous department store Liberty of London. The teams have to introduce a new product line to promote and sell in the store, and they must also run a personal-shopping service for some of London's most discerning shoppers. It is boom or bust as the teams have two days to fight it out and see who can turn premium stock into a pretty penny.
Lords Sugar sets the candidates a task in which they must design and manufacture their own brand of sweets, before heading to Brighton to sell them.
The candidates are summoned to the Istituto Marangoni, where Lord Sugar tells them that for their next task they must create an advertising campaign for jeans made from Japanese denim. Teams need to design packaging, film a TV advert and create an attention-grabbing bus shelter advert, all before pitching the whole campaign to a panel of leading industry experts.
Having invested £1.25 million in five successful start-up companies, Lord Sugar is on the hunt for his next investment. Punishing tasks and testing challenges, all under the watchful eyes of Baroness Brady and Claude Littner make this the toughest Apprentice yet.
The final task involves the last two candidates creating and unveiling their own brand in front of industry insiders in only a few days. The candidates are allowed to bring back past candidates to help them net the £250,000 investment. Lord Sugar finally announces the winner of the series and his next business partner. Jack Dee is then joined by the contestants from tonight's show and Lord Sugar to discuss the winner's journey and the rest of the series.
Lord Sugar takes a look at the best and worst of this years tasks with insider analysis from advisors Karren Brady and Claude Littner.
The remaining candidates have just 24 hours to brush off their business plans and face the interview process with four of Alan's most trusted advisors - Claude Littner, Claudine Collins, Mike Soutar and Linda Plant.
A profile of the remaining five candidates with a look into each of their backgrounds and analysis from Lord Sugar's aides.
The eight remaining contestants are tasked with creating a new health food snack that they have to pitch to three major retailers. The teams are given two days to come up with the snack and then compete for orders.
It's week eight and the candidates are taken back in time to the Museum of Childhood. Lord Sugar instructs the teams to become party planners, with just two days to set up and host a children's party for some high-spending clients.
With a £2,000 budget, the candidates must throw an event to remember, keeping an eye on profits but also pleasing the punters. Contending with tricky teens and hard-to-please parents, both teams have a challenge on their hands.
For one project manager it's a dream gig. But with grand plans for the teens to have a blast, it's not long before a massive oversight threatens to derail their task completely. Elsewhere on the team there's a party pooper, as one candidate's attempts to keep a tight rein on the budget risk spoiling the day for the birthday girl.
On the other team, efforts to make merry with the kids fall flat when an overzealous double act lead a lacklustre assault course. Things go from bad to worse with a mix up over the birthday cake and a blunder with the party gifts. Faced with disgruntled customers, the blame game starts and the party falls flat.
As the figures are added up and the profits announced, in the boardroom it's a celebration for some. For the losers, an indignant Lord Sugar takes an unprecedented step, and for someone the party is most definitely over.
After eleven gruelling weeks, it is time for Sir Alan to choose his next apprentice. But first, the exhausted finalists must take on their most daunting task to date - in just a single week, they must create and market a new and original male fragrance which they will then launch to an audience of a hundred industry experts, including top names such as Givenchy, Roja Dove and Estee Lauder.
The stakes are painfully high for the finalists, with the big prize of working with Sir Alan now tantalisingly within their sight. But with the return of fired ex-candidates to be their assistants, will these new team members be a help or a hindrance as the finalists battle it out?
With only five remaining, the candidates that are left face a different kind of challenge. Instead of being split into teams and having a task to complete, they have to face a gruelling interview process as individuals. Each of them is to be grilled by three of Sir Alan's trusted business colleagues, and they are not in for an easy ride.
At the end of the interviews, Sir Alan's three henchmen will report to him in the boardroom, and outline their findings. And then it's the candidates turn – but this week, three of them are going to be fired.
The teams are set a very public challenge – they have to sell live on TV. But before they can sell, they first have to choose the products they think will bring in the cash.
One team goes for safe mid-price items, while the other decides to take a risk on some higher priced products. On the sales floor, they have an hour per team to sell, sell, sell. As half the team presents, the other half is controlling them from the gallery. But will their choices roll off the shelves, or will they be left embarrassed as they reach the boardroom?
Sir Alan will make the final decision, and at the end of the day, one more will be fired, and there will only be five remaining.
The ten remaining candidates face their toughest sales challenge yet, as they have to sell British food to French people in France. With market stalls laid on by Sugar in a northern Gallic town, the teams spend a day sourcing produce in Kent before crossing the Channel to flog their British grub to the fussiest foodies in Europe.
Paul has a brainwave about an old army cooking technique he thinks will give his team the advantage, while on the other team Lohit spends his time trying to calm the conflict brewing in his troops. With hardly a word of French between them and centuries of gastronomic prejudice to overturn, will the teams sink or swim across the channel? In the boardroom, Sir Alan is stunned by the results, and a shocking revelation is made by two of the candidates.
As Sir Alan's search for an apprentice approaches the half way point, he decides to throw the candidates completely out of their comfort zone. He calls them to Christie's in London's St. James, where works of art regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds, where their task is to sell art photographs of their choosing in a trendy East London gallery. The teams are split on the best approach; should they go for the kill or do artists and their customers prefer a softly softly approach?
If all goes well, the teams could sell thousands of pounds worth of photography. But one team has to lose – and after a grilling from Sir Alan in the boardroom, one person in that team will get fired.
Sir Alan sets the teams the task of manufacturing sweets to sell at one of the country's top tourist attractions – London Zoo. Their target market are the toughest consumers in the world: parents and children. It's Ghazal and Adam's first turn as team leaders, and they and their budding Willy Wonkas must decide if their sweets should appeal to health conscious parents or sugar crazed kids. Then the teams must do something special to stand out against the Zoo's star attractions – the monkeys, lions and tigers.
With over 3000 potential customers the teams adopt unique selling approaches – from the charm offensive to the hard sell. But when one team tries to stretch the truth it lands them in trouble. In the boardroom, Sugar is not so sweet to the losing team – and one of them is about to get fired.
Clip show in which celebrity fans and former contenders remember those motor mouth candidates who only just failed to become The Apprentice.
Former candidates and celebrity fans relive some of the best moments to come out of the worst decisions ever on the Apprentice.
As a new bunch of aspiring tycoons prepare to face Alan Sugar's challenges, a look at how the winner of the first series, Tim Campbell, fared in the real business world, with Sir Alan as his boss.
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