99-490: Comic Relief Does The Apprentice (also known as The Celebrity Apprentice for Comic Relief ) is a special celebrity version of British reality television series The Apprentice , initially produced to raise money for Comic Relief . The first edition aired in March 2007. In 2008, the same format was broadcast until the title Sport Relief Does The Apprentice . Each series involves five male and five female celebrities competing in
198-501: A British version of the programme under the same name and format. The company offered any British broadcaster the chance to secure the rights to the new programme, the most significant bids coming from the BBC and Channel 4 . Negotiations finished on the 1 April, when the BBC was announced as the new owner of the future programme after outbidding their rival. This left the BBC with the task of finding
297-405: A business personality to front The Apprentice . The BBC made offers promising a potentially lucrative business opportunity to several business individuals, including Philip Green , Felix Dennis and Michael O'Leary , but each of their initial choices declined when approached. On 19 May, Sir Alan Sugar agreed to present the twelve episodes of the programme that had been commissioned. After
396-510: A candidate is in the final stage, but also other factors connected with them such as their overall performance in the competition, and the overall feedback he has received about them. Whereas in Series 7–8, the Interviews stage was the final task, prior to these series and after them, the task sees the finalists being able to form a team out of a selection of returning candidates that had been fired over
495-447: A circle of the correct color. In a two-player game, no two people can have a hand or foot on the same circle; the rules are different for more players. Owing to the scarcity of colored circles, players will often be required to put themselves in unlikely or precarious positions, eventually causing someone to fall. A person is eliminated when they fall or when their elbow or knee touches the mat. In 1964, Reyn Guyer Sr. owned and managed
594-500: A design company which made in-store displays for Fortune 500 companies. Charles Foley was a respected and successful toy designer for Lakeside Industries in Minneapolis and answered an ad for an experienced toy designer by Reynolds Guyer Sr. of Guyer Company. Foley interviewed with Reyn Guyer Sr. and his son, Reyn, who were interested in product development within the toy business. After interviewing Foley, Guyer and his son discussed
693-457: A different fashion, but follows a general format: While the boardroom scenes differ for the Interviews and Final (see sections below), there are a number of exceptions in regard to the boardroom format after tasks, which can occur during this scene: The Interviews stage of the process takes place as the penultimate step of the competition, in which the five remaining candidates in the competition each undergoes an individual set of interviews with
792-484: A giant novelty dice that when rolled, instructed players to stick one part of their body to the other player's, with the loser being whoever fell to the floor first. Both teams suffered internal conflicts, with Jonathan Ross forcing many of his ideas through and then not contributing to the speech that he was supposed to be writing with Jack Dee, while Patsy Palmer became frustrated with Michelle Mone's leadership of their team and very nearly quit. Conflict between Dee and Ross
891-451: A limited budget, convert them into a product, and then sell their creation all within a single day, with the win determined on who makes the highest profit from their concept. Before a task begins, each team must assign a project manager (PM) to lead them, whose roles involves denoting each member's role on the task, tackle the important key decisions, and manage team members carefully to avoid potential friction and disruptions. The role of PM
990-687: A line of curved nail files – the S-file, the S-Buffer and the Emergency File, two curved nail clippers, the S-Clipper and S-Clipper mini and a curved foot exfoliator, and the S-Ped – which were made available with major retailers in the country. While Susan Ma failed to win the series, Sugar said that he liked her plan, later investing into her skincare company Tropic in 2012. The eighth series began on 21 March 2012, and
1089-511: A luxury swimwear range. As with the previous series, the format for the fifteenth incorporated the new changes introduced, including the first task taking place abroad, the number of candidates taking part being at 16, and teams not being named until each consisted of a mix of women and men. The series began airing on 2 October 2019. The fifteenth series was won by Carina Lepore , who used Sugar's investment to fund new stores for her "family-run" baking business across London. The sixteenth series
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#17329013406731188-512: A newspaper interview on 28 February 2010 that the contestants would no longer refer to Alan Sugar as "Sir Alan"', but instead must call him "Lord Sugar", following his elevation to the House of Lords as a life peer . Because of the 2010 general election being held in the United Kingdom, the BBC opted to delay the sixth series until after it had been held, as Alan Sugar had ties to the government at
1287-461: A post under Sugar following the series, but left in September 2006 after a series of personal problems. For the third series, 10,000 applications were received by the production staff, with a promise made to incorporate "tougher tasks and better people", after Sugar expressed concerns that the show was becoming similar in format to that of Big Brother . Alongside this, the BBC also revealed that
1386-433: A press launch, with the opening episode aired a week later on 10 May. In a change to format, the final involved the Interviews that candidates undertook, though these included a scrutinising of the candidates' business plans as well. After winning the seventh series, Thomas Pellereau became Sugar's first business partner, whereupon he used his prize to launch a range of manicure products with assistance from Sugar, including
1485-484: A prize offered by him. To observe candidates as they undertake these tasks, Sugar is aided by two close business associates who act as observers with little involvement in what is conducted – these roles are currently performed by Karren Brady and Tim Campbell . Originally aired on BBC Two , its first series generated favourable viewing figures that led to the creation of a companion discussion show, The Apprentice: You're Fired! , with further increasing figures after
1584-415: A selection of trusted aides of Sugar; for the seventh and eighth series, this stage was assigned as the final step, and featured the four remaining candidates in each respective series' competition. The aim of this stage is to determine the suitability of the candidate for the prize being offered by Sugar. In this stage, each interviewer questions the candidates over various matters, from their performance in
1683-417: A series has varied over the show's history, though the general arrangement is that each series always consists of a balanced number of men and women when it begins. Once the candidates are selected, they are divided into teams and given a series of business-themed tasks – every series focuses on ten team-oriented tasks, with the exception of the seventh and eighth series where it was eleven. Each episode covers
1782-508: A single Apprentice task. Just weeks before the show aired in early 2007, it was spoofed in the television programme Kombat Opera Presents The Applicants . The series first aired on BBC One on 15 March 2007 and concluded on 16 March 2007 during the main Comic Relief programme The first episode of the show received strong viewing figures of 6.72 million. It became the fifth most watched programme on BBC One that week. The women won in
1881-442: A single task, which is designed to test candidates on important business skills – salesmanship, negotiation, requisitioning, strategy, leadership, teamwork, and organisation. Before each task is given, the teams are briefed by Sugar over what kind of challenge they will be conducting, what rules they must adhere to during the timespan of the task, and the conditions for winning – an example of this could be that they must buy supplies on
1980-461: A small percentage of applicants, who divide into groups and are asked to do various exercises to test their business skills and to gauge how they work as a team. Following this, between 20 and 30 applicants are chosen and given an assessment by a psychologist, receiving further checks by the production team and providing them with references, before the final line-up is selected from this group and filming can begin. The number of candidates who appear in
2079-399: A task is finished, the candidates report back to Sugar at the " boardroom " – either following the task's completion, or the day after it has ended – to hear about feedback on their performance and learn the results of their endeavours. During team-based tasks, the process is played out in three stages in the following order – Results, Task Review, and Final Boardroom. Each stage is conducted in
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#17329013406732178-407: A team of experts to help develop the winning candidate's plan. Those applying prior to this announcement, were not aware of the prize change until later on. The change was due to the issue involving English and that Sugar was finding it difficult to find roles for the winners. The sixteen candidates who eventually secured a place on the series were revealed on 3 May 2011, via the official website and in
2277-420: Is "Best played on a soft surface with people you'd like to know better." Games magazine included Twister in their "Top 100 Games of 1981", noting that "To become a grandmaster at Twister , the first requirement is agility" and that "Like any good party game, Twister can be fun or it can be humiliating." Games magazine included Twister in their "Top 100 Games of 1982", noting that players can "Become
2376-439: Is a game of physical skill produced by Milton Bradley Company and Winning Moves Games USA. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has four rows of six large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, green and blue. A spinner tells players where they have to place their hand or foot. The game promotes itself as "the game that ties you up in knots". A spinner
2475-512: Is a British business-styled reality game show created by Mark Burnett , distributed by Fremantle and broadcast by the BBC since 16 February 2005. Devised after the success of the American original and part of the international franchise of the same name , the programme focuses on a group of businesspeople competing in a series of business-related challenges set by British business magnate Alan Sugar , in order to prove themselves worthy of
2574-491: Is an accessible variant where there are four different tactile symbols on the mat, and the players are blindfolded and have to find a circle with the named symbol by feeling . In 1967, a year after its release, 3 million Twister games were sold. Games magazine included Twister in their "Top 100 Games of 1980", praising it as being "nearly as well known as Spin the Bottle, and ten times more enjoyable" while noting that it
2673-426: Is attached to a square board and is used to determine where the player has to put their hand or foot. The spinner is divided into four labeled sections: left foot, right foot, left hand, and right hand. Each of those four sections are divided into the four colors (red, yellow, green, and blue). After spinning, the combination is called (for example: "right hand yellow") and players must move their matching hand or foot to
2772-517: Is done to make it appear that candidates only enter The Bridge cafe. Although the show uses footage taken by its film crew for most of the episode shown, aerial footage of various buildings in London is used on The Apprentice , mainly to act as small links between scenes and as part of the show's opening credits, and have included shots of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf financial districts, as well as
2871-451: Is mainly chosen by the team – the choice, decided on a vote, can be influenced by factors, the most common being a candidate's business background and its relation to the task, or the amount of confidence team members have in their selection – but at times, Sugar may appoint someone into the role, based upon his opinion of their performance in the process, their background, or, since the seventh series, their business plan. The briefing period of
2970-526: Is often put on moments that can be entertaining for audiences. Often the filming of an episode can hamper the efforts of candidates in a task, due to film crews usually having to get filming permission first from the respective owner of a store or establishment, which can often be a time-consuming and cumbersome process as a result, whilst the strict rules of the BBC on product placement and advertising mean candidates have to approach businesses with care when asking them for help. Twister (game) Twister
3069-435: Is pre-recorded before it is broadcast – although the show's twelve-week broadcast schedule gives the impression that each episode was filmed over a period of twelve weeks, in reality, each series' filming schedule is conducted within a two-month period, a few months before the show is to be aired. While the candidates do have a break between tasks to relax within the large rented house or apartment with which they are provided by
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-488: Is referred to on the programme as "Lord Sugar", owing to the life peerage he had been offered around that time. Since the birth of the companion discussion show, Sugar appears on every You're Hired during the time when the winner of the series is being interviewed. Notes The first series began in February 2005, with the opening theme being " Montagues and Capulets ". The viewer ratings climbed to almost 4 million viewers for
3267-477: The 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2014 Commonwealth Games , the tenth series was postponed until mid-Autumn to avoid clashing with the live coverage of both sporting events. To commemorate the programme's tenth year, the series featured 20 candidates, with two of the tasks dedicated towards the items that had featured within them. The tenth series began on 14 October 2014, was won by Mark Wright , who used his prize to start an SEO business called Climb Online. The series
3366-517: The 2016 UK EU membership referendum and the 2016 Rio Olympics that were to take place during the Summer. The twelfth series began on 6 October 2016, and was won by Alana Spencer, who used her investment to kickstart a nationwide bakery business called Ridiculously Rich. The thirteenth series of the show was broadcast in late Autumn 2017, maintaining the broadcast schedule set by the previous three series. The thirteenth series began on 4 October 2017, and
3465-558: The 180-metre Gherkin , HSBC Tower , One Canada Square , the Citigroup Centre , and the Shard ; such locations are not used for filming unless a task involves visiting the site. Filming of an episode can usually take a considerable amount of time to be done and as such, each task is usually filmed back-to-back, rather than weekly as it appears in the broadcast schedule for a series. For each episode, four television crews are used to follow
3564-427: The American cable channel CNBC began to present the first series on Monday nights, but it was aired in disparate time slots or not at all due to the network's abrupt shifting of their programme schedule in order to cover developments regarding the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 , leading to the series not being broadcast in full. With CNBC deciding to focus their prime time schedule on financial news programming,
3663-477: The Final of the series. During the execution of their task, each team is followed by one of Sugar's aides, who notes down their opinions, observations and thoughts for later reference in the boardroom, mostly on any noteworthy matters, such as performance, mistakes, and issues, minor or serious; while it is rare for them to intervene, they may do so if an issue arises in the team's actions that needs their attention. Once
3762-422: The Interviews was the final task, his decision determined who won the competition. Key: The final stage of the competition sees the finalists of the process compete against each other in one final task, with the outcome influencing Sugar's decision on who wins the current series' competition, though his choice is determined through a comparison of the two candidates, and is not influenced purely on how successful
3861-555: The Milton Bradley Company, becoming Twister's parent company. The Reyn Guyer Creative Group continues to work closely with Hasbro to develop and market new additions to the line of Twister products. Co-inventor Charles Foley died on July 1, 2013, at the age of 82. Twister, much like the hula hoop , was one of the many toy fad phenomena that came about in the second half of the 20th century. Microsoft Encarta labeled Twister as being an "industry phenomenon" that "captures
3960-461: The Minneapolis School of Art and Design. The game ideas ranged from small kids' games to word games for adults. Foley had an idea for utilizing people as game pieces as part of the game idea, "a party game". Rabens had the idea to utilize a colored mat, allowing people to interact with each other, in a game idea he had developed while a student in design school. Foley saw the idea and developed
4059-419: The board room, Jack Dee attempted to convince Sir Alan to fire his advisor Nick Hewer on the comical grounds that Nick had contributed nothing, and had taken money from Dee and bribed him. While Ratner was heavily criticised for allowing Ross to take over the entire task and bringing Dee back instead of him, Alan Carr was eventually fired by Sir Alan, who felt that Carr had been the least effective contributor to
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-408: The board: For the first four series, the show made frequent references to his connection with Amstrad , the electronics company he founded, and originally called him "Sir Alan" in reference to his knighthood during that time. Since the fifth series, he is billed in the opening credits as controlling a "vast business empire", following the sale of Amstrad and his departure from the company, while he
4257-642: The boys chose Alastair Campbell. The celebrities were then given a list of all rides and attractions that would be offered at the funfair, leaving the teams to bargain over who would get which rides. The teams then called and visited celebrities to sell tickets and gain donations. The largest donation for a ticket was £150,000 from a friend of Trinny Woodall. Celebrities who attended the funfair and donated money included Simon Cowell , McFly , Ashley Cole , Anne Robinson , Tracey Emin , Chris Evans , David Furnish , Peter Stringfellow , Girls Aloud , Geri Halliwell , Take That , Jesse Metcalfe and John Terry . In
4356-464: The business model for two years, until Valente announced in early 2017 that he intended to go solo and would be assuming full control. Both men parted ways on good terms, with Valente thankful for the help and opportunity that he had received, while Sugar wished him the best of luck and that he would be following the company's progress. As before, the BBC postponed the twelfth series to mid-Autumn, so as to avoid clashing with live coverage of Euro 2016 ,
4455-458: The candidates about their business plans, discussing the feasibility of the idea, how the candidate would go about setting up the business, and whether they have the temperament and skills to deliver the plan. After candidates have been through their interviews, and Sugar has heard feedback from the interviewers, he conducts a boardroom session to discuss with the candidates over what he has learnt about them, as well as reviewing their performance on
4554-409: The candidates are given additional items to use to assist them, such as a shop space or a workshop. Although the teams are expected to work together, the competitive nature of the show means that candidates will often focus on their individual roles and needs rather than the greater good of the team, primarily to prove themselves worthy of winning the process and increasing their chances of making it into
4653-525: The candidates during a task, and often are focused on picking up on mistakes and issues between candidates than on their overall performance. The final edit of an episode often trims down a task that took 1–3 days to be done, to fit it within approximately about half of what will be televised for that episode, meaning candidates may appear to make minimal contributions when in reality they made more, while others may not feature as much if Sugar or his advisers feel they did well and completed their duties, as emphasis
4752-452: The categories "ticket sales" and "food and drinks", as well as claiming the overall win in terms of total money raised, while the men managed to pull off a victory in the "rides" category. Together, the teams raised over a million pounds for charity. Everett walked off the show during filming on the first day, as he was uncomfortable with the Big Brother style experience. He was replaced by
4851-428: The city. Unlike the last three series of the programme, the fourteenth series, which took place in late Autumn 2018, reverted to involving 16 candidates vying for Sugar's investment offer, and included a number of subtle changes to keep the format fresh such as candidates being sent abroad for the first task. The fourteenth series began on 3 October 2018, and was won by Sian Gabbidon , who used her investment to launch
4950-689: The competition, and continued to do so until 2014 when it was decided to change the filming location to the Leadenhall Building . In addition, between the fourth to ninth series, the show's Walk of Shame scene was filmed at night, but the tenth series changed the filming schedule to have this done during the afternoon. For the scenes involving the losing team discussing their loss, the film crew have used two cafes – "The Bridge" in Acton, West London; and "La Cabana 2" in North London – though editing of these scenes
5049-414: The competition. While only two finalists ever reach the final stage, Series 4 featured four finalists, who were divided up into pairs, working as joint project managers respectively on the final task, with Sugar effectively firing the pair who performed poorly, and making his final decision on who won, between the candidates within the remaining pair. Each boardroom session featured in the show consists of
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#17329013406735148-444: The concept for having the colored dots line up in rows, and, with a spinner, created the idea for calling out players' hands and feet to the colored dots called out from the spinner. This would create a tangled-up situation between two people, and the one that falls first would lose. With the support of Reyn Guyer Sr., Charles Foley and Neil Rabens submitted, on 14 April 1966, and were granted on 8 July 1969, US Pat# 3,454,279, for what
5247-414: The course of the competition, their choices affected by past experiences with them, how well they worked together, or if their skill set can help improve their chances of winning. For Series 1–6, the final stage was a purely business-styled task, as a final test of a candidate's skill set and their suitability to the job being offered as a prize in these series. For Series 7–8, following the change of prize,
5346-432: The end, both teams raised a total of over £1 million for Comic Relief. The girls' team won the competition by raising £774,000 compared to the boys' £286,000. As a result of the girls' team winning, Danny Baker, Piers Morgan, and the boys' team leader Alastair Campbell were put forward to potentially be fired by Sir Alan Sugar. In a heated exchange, Alastair Campbell and Piers Morgan blamed each other for their failure at
5445-458: The episode is often used at specific points in the series to rearrange teams, as candidates are whittled down in the process, and is mainly done to either balance out the number, ensure a fair distribution of skills for a specific task, or to give less vocal candidates a chance to demonstrate their abilities. Each team is provided with two vehicles to use to get around during a task, and can only split into two sub-teams for each task; in some tasks,
5544-431: The episode's final 15 minutes, to catch Lee McQueen winning the fourth series. Lee went on to initially work for Sugar's company AMSHOLD, where he phoned in sick on his first day. Prior to the start of filming for the series, Adam Freeman, one of the lucky sixteen that had made it onto the fifth series, was forced to pull out; it was stated that his reasons for doing so were due to "family matters". This meant that when
5643-557: The film crew as part of the filming schedule. Filming for many of the tasks involve locations within London and across the UK in various cities and towns, and on a number of occasions when tasks take the teams abroad, across Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and the United States. For each series, the candidates are provided with accommodation within an upmarket area of London selected by
5742-644: The final episode on 4 May 2005. The winner of the first series was Tim Campbell , who had previously worked as a Senior Planner within the Marketing and Planning Department of London Underground . After his victory he went on to become Project Director of Amstrad's new Health and Beauty division at the time, but left the company to pursue other interests the following year, starting up the Bright Ideas Trust in 2008 which offers funding and support for young people wishing to start their own business. In August 2008,
5841-496: The final. Marnie Swindells won the seventeenth series. The eighteenth series aired from February 2024 to April 2024 on BBC One. It was originally scheduled to air in January 2024, but it was postponed to February 2024 to avoid the clash with the second series of the rival BBC reality show The Traitors . The nineteenth series will air in early 2025 which will coincide with the show's 20th anniversary. Every series of The Apprentice
5940-473: The finalists eventually reconvene at the boardroom in which Sugar discusses with them over their performance, the feedback they got, and voices his final opinions of the candidates, Eventually, he declares his choice, proclaiming to the winner he points to with the words "You're hired!", at which point the winner departs in Lord Sugar's limousine and conducts a brief victory interview, reflecting on their success in
6039-425: The first UK Apprentice Tim Campbell . Radio host Chris Moyles was asked to appear as a contestant, but declined the offer. The task allocated during the show was to run a funfair . The team which produced the most money for Comic Relief via ticket, food, and ride sales would win. The teams were then gathered at Alan Sugar's office and briefed on the task ahead. The girls chose Karren Brady as their team leader, and
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#17329013406736138-500: The first series of the British version proved to be a success, Sugar signed on for subsequent series. The show's initial stage, which is not filmed, focuses on open auditions and interviews held across the country ; this stage searches for the candidates for a series before filming of it begins, which often attracts thousands of applicants. A second round will usually be held in London for
6237-399: The first two series, a fact that was acknowledged as an issue by Sugar when he expressed his desire to fire both Alexa Tilley and Syed Ahmed following a task in the second series, but could only get rid of the former. In subsequent series, this rule was changed after the show increased the number of candidates for the competition, meaning that Sugar could conduct double firings where needed by
6336-502: The format of the task layout reverted to its original approach prior to the seventh series, though with the final task amended to focus on the investment prize, in which the finalists of the process had to conduct a presentation of their business idea to a panel of experts, including branding, an advert, and answering any questions given about their proposal. The ninth series was won by Dr. Leah Totton , who used her prize to open her first cosmetic skin clinic on 22 January 2014. Because of
6435-412: The fourth series were invited to do so through the programme's official website, leading to 20,000 applications being submitted for the series, and 16 of them making it through to take part in the show. Its first episode aired on 26 March 2008, with its debut attracting 6.4 million viewers. This climbed to around 8.9 million viewers for the final episode, with an additional 800,000 viewers tuning in for
6534-412: The girls pointed out that the prototyping company had made that decision without consulting their team). However, it was pointed out that the collectables for the men's belt would have such high initial production costs that it would require a significant manufacturing lead time and would take an even longer time for the product to generate any profits (and thereby money for Comic Relief), meaning that while
6633-494: The legal action to be ultimately unsuccessful. Applications for the seventh series began in April 2010. Between the applicants being processed, to the filming of the first task, Sugar announced that the prize had been changed, and that now participants of the show were competing for an investment from him of £250,000, with Sugar becoming their business partner, owning a 50% share, but also providing guidance and support from himself and
6732-519: The main programme and its spin-off, You're Fired , a format that would be used in the series finals of both in subsequent years. The sixth series was won by Stella English, who was placed into Sugar's company Viglen . In May 2011, she requested a new role after saying that she was just a "glorified PA", and retained this for a year before it was decided not to renew her contract. The decision drew considerable media attention, after she attempted to sue Sugar for wrongful dismissal in February 2012, only for
6831-436: The men's execution of their task may have been better than the women's, and their product may have been the better of the two if it were being judged on a purely business basis, as a charity product it was completely worthless for Comic Relief's purposes, meaning that they lost the task. The women's team were "rewarded" by not having to work for Sir Alan any more (and, since this was the final Apprentice charity special, it meant
6930-423: The possibility of starting a small division of the company in product development. His father agreed, for a short term, to support his son's idea for product development, and hired Foley, who negotiated a royalty agreement with Guyer Company for all games and toy items he designed. Guyer Company agreed, and officially hired Foley. Foley hired Neil Rabens, an accomplished product design artist with an art degree from
7029-422: The process, why they applied for the show, the content of their CVs, and any concerns about their personalities. Discussions often focus around brash or controversial statements that candidates have made on their CVs and application forms, with the interviewers determining whether such claims are truthful, exaggerated or deceitful. Since the seventh series, following the change of prize, the interviewers now question
7128-483: The production team for the duration of the competition, each task is generally performed with a much closer time-frame than it appears on the programme. Compared to the US series, the British version has a more rigid format that requires the production team to provide enough footage for each series, that is to be then incorporated into twelve separate episodes. Early rules in filming meant that multiple firings were not allowed in
7227-404: The production team, with every episode's opening and ending scene being filmed at this location, utilising a mixture of exterior and interior shots of scenes; filming is also done on site if the candidates are conducting work on a task within the building. For other outdoor shots used as part of the other scenes in an episode, the locations have varied. Between the first and third series, both
7326-492: The programme contributing a significant part to television culture, including parodies and imitations for comedy, as well as influencing the designs of other British-based business programmes, such as Tycoon , and Beat the Boss . In March 2004, following the success of the first season of NBC 's The Apprentice , FremantleMedia saw the possibility for creating an international franchise, and announced its intentions to create
7425-420: The programme was being moved over to BBC One and aimed at a more "mainstream audience", with the broadcaster subsequently moving The Apprentice: You're Fired! to BBC Two as a direct result. The third series started on 28 March 2007 with viewing figures of 4.5 million, climbing throughout the run to a peak of 6.8 million people, all watching the final being won by Simon Ambrose . Candidates applying for
7524-401: The programme's rights were moved to BBC America , where it started transmission on 5 May 2009. The second series began on 22 February 2006, with a spin-off programme introduced on BBC Three to air alongside it called The Apprentice: You're Fired! . The second series finished with a record of 5.7 million viewers watching the final being won by Michelle Dewberry . Dewberry briefly took up
7623-400: The public's imagination, and sells in the millions". Being one of the earliest toy fads and a "national craze for a short time", Twister was able to bring all age groups together, whether children or adults. There are publicly available instructions on how to alter a Twister game to make it accessible to color-blind individuals and to completely blind individuals. Blindfolded Twister
7722-454: The same setup for "The Board", in the form of a panel that evaluates the performances of the candidates in the competition. Along with Sugar (the "boss"), the panel consists of his two personal advisers, who are assigned to watch over the candidates during each task of the competition; to date, four people have operated as Sugar's advisers, of which two currently remain a part of the show in this respective role. The following details each member of
7821-413: The second series leading to the programme being aired on BBC One to a much wider audience. The success of The Apprentice has led to it receiving its own merchandising, including a magazine and official books, along with one-off celebrity episodes for charity, and a spin-off, Young Apprentice , which ran between 2010 and 2012. The programme is a staple part of the BBC's television schedule, with
7920-433: The series began on 25 March 2009, viewers got to see fifteen candidates vying for the prize, with Margaret Mountford announcing her decision to stand down as a participant of the show during its broadcast, officially confirming it on You're Fired . The fifth series was won by Yasmina Siadatan . Following Mountford's departure, Karren Brady was officially revealed as her replacement on 30 August 2009, later revealing in
8019-609: The show's opening credits and the post-firing "walk of shame" exit sequences were filmed outside the Amstrad HQ building in Brentwood , but from the fourth series onwards, following Amstrad's sale to BSkyB in 2007, filming of these scenes are done in front of the Viglen HQ building in St Albans , Hertfordshire , which until that point had been used a filming location for the interviews stage of
8118-459: The task and said he was doing Alan a favour by saving him from the miserable atmosphere of the boardroom. On 22 February 2019, it was announced that Comic Relief Does The Apprentice would return after a ten-year hiatus. Two episodes, The Cabaret Task and The Boardroom , aired on the 7 and 8 March 2019 respectively. A Sport Relief edition aired on BBC One on 12 and 14 March 2008. The Apprentice (British TV series) The Apprentice
8217-399: The task primarily focused on determining how potential a candidate's business plan was for investment, via interviews. Since the ninth series, the final task reverted to a similar format prior to Series 7, though was altered in that the finalists' task is to promote their business idea, presenting their proposed plan along with its brand identity to a group of industry experts. In all versions,
8316-516: The task. Sir Alan Sugar decided that Piers Morgan was more at fault due to his "winding people up" with his "demeanor" and consequently 'fired' him. Jo Brand commented on The Graham Norton Show after the airing of the programme that "Trinny Woodall knows everyone in Belgravia who earns more than £10 million a year so she got on the phone and the rest of us just went to the pub, it was great!". A second series of Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
8415-446: The tasks they undertook. Eventually, he will determine who he feels has potential to move on to the Final, with his decision usually resulting in three candidates being fired at this stage of the competition; there has only been one instance in the show's history where Sugar fired just one candidate, as the feedback from the interviewers during the fourth series' competition made it difficult to fire more than one. For Series 7 and 8, where
8514-406: The time; although he stated his intention of maintaining his position in the show, the running of The Apprentice during the general election could have been a "risk to impartiality". Advertising of the series commenced after it was held, throughout the Summer, with the opening episode eventually broadcast on 6 October 2010. This series was the first to feature a two-hour crossover special between
8613-400: The women's teams had a 100% victory rate across all three editions). As the men's team lost the contest, one of them was going to be fired by Sir Alan. As project manager, Ratner had to choose 2 of his team to join him in the boardroom to face the board. Ratner decided that Wan and Ross had made the greatest contribution to the team and so should not face the sack. During the deliberations in
8712-406: The year, with the new series intended for broadcast on 6 January 2022. The sixteenth series was won by Harpreet Kaur who used her prize to set up a dessert parlour she would rename Oh So Yum. The seventeenth series aired from 5 January 2023 to 23 March 2023, and this was the second consecutive series with only women present at the interviews stage, and the fourth consecutive series with two women in
8811-470: Was aired on 12 and 13 March 2009. The first episode received 7.94 million viewers, with a 33% audience share. The show was filmed in late 2008. Jonathan Ross had been suspended by the BBC for three months for his part in the telephone pranks on Andrew Sachs ' regarding Sachs' granddaughter in October and had been forbidden to film anything during that time, however since he had previously agreed and since it
8910-478: Was also controversial. The company that produced it, Milton Bradley, was accused by its competitors of selling "sex in a box". That accusation is speculated to be because it was the first popular American game to use human bodies as playing pieces. In 1966, Twister was licensed to Nintendo —then a toy and board game company—for the Japanese market, where it was released as Twister Game . In 1984, Hasbro acquired
9009-536: Was confirmed as his replacement prior to the opening episode of the eleventh series on 14 October 2015, though he retained his role as one of the key interviewers of the Interviews stage. The production staff now focused on applicants who were older and more experienced in business, with the number of candidates taking part now increased to 18. The eleventh series was won by Joseph Valente, who used Lord Sugar's investment and assistance to help him expand his plumbing business, Impra-Gas. The pair worked together on developing
9108-458: Was for charity, the BBC allowed him to participate. Sugar expressed disappointment about his portrayal in the BBC trailer for the programme, telling the Daily Mirror , "The idiot that edited it [...] went through the past five years of archive to find snapshots of me roaring like a deranged lunatic and just stuck them all together." He threatened to quit the series if it happened again. The task
9207-462: Was originally called "Pretzel". Foley, with his extensive experience in the toy industry, called on his good friend, Mel Taft, Sr. V.P. for Milton Bradley in 1966, for a product idea presentation. Milton Bradley embraced the idea for the "Pretzel" game but renamed the game "Twister". Twister became a major success when actress Eva Gabor played it with Johnny Carson on television's The Tonight Show on May 3, 1966. However, in its success, it
9306-486: Was originally planned for filming to begin in spring 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at that time forced the BBC to postpone production to a later date. In line of a new series for their Autumn broadcast schedule, the broadcaster opted to fill the space with a special compilation series of highlights from previous series. In May 2021, it was announced that filming for the sixteenth series would take place later in
9405-418: Was presented by the BBC in a humorous fashion, and it is likely that both Dee and Ross 'played up' their conflict to entertain the viewer. The men's presentation was felt to be better, and Sir Alan told the girls that their product suffered from a myriad of small flaws such as the dice being largely needless, and the suits being in blue and pink when children often prefer to play among their own gender (although
9504-458: Was the last to feature Nick Hewer , who announced his decision to depart from the show during its broadcast, officially confirming it on the series finale, during the You're Hired half of the episode. Due to the 2015 General Election , the show was postponed until mid-Autumn, to avoid clashing with the political event due to Sugar's ties with it at the time. Because of Hewer's departure, Claude Littner
9603-463: Was the last to use the format for the task layout as was used in the previous series. The eighth series was won by Ricky Martin, who used his prize to launch his joint venture recruitment company called Hyper Recruitment Solutions (HRS), on 23 October 2012, which was designed to deal with recruitment in the field of science. Ricky was subsequently invited back to appear on the tenth series as an interviewer. The ninth series began on 7 May 2013, and saw
9702-448: Was to create a toy and market it at a show attended by Sir Alan and toy industry representatives, with the potential for it to be mass-produced and sold to raise money for Comic Relief. The men's team, led by Gerald Ratner, created a belt with clip-on slots to hold collectible figurines, that was suggested by Jonathan Ross. The women's team created a velcro suit that was intended to come in pairs and played somewhat like Twister , including
9801-408: Was won by both James White and Sarah Lynn, making it the first time in the show's history where two finalists were joint winners. Each would go on to use their individual investment to set up their own business – White would use his to start up an IT recruitment firm called Right Time Recruitment, while Lynn would use her investment to start up an online personalised sweets gift service called Sweets in
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