The Apprentice candidates will be jetting out to Hong Kong in the new series.
Lord Sugar will be taking The Apprentice hopefuls to Hong Kong in the new series
The BBC reality show will be back for its 20th series later this month and bosses are marking the milestone with a trip to Asia for those vying to become Lord Sugar’s business partner.
A teaser for the programme’s return shows Hong Kong’s skyline as the backdrop to boardroom scenes instead of the usual Canary Wharf setting.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TVBiz column: “Lord Sugar is supercharging The Apprentice for its 20th anniversary.
“Expect more surprises and drama as they swap the Canary Wharf skyline for Hong Kong.”
There will also be 20 candidates trying to win Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment in the new series, an increase on the usual 18.
The 78-year-old presenter’s trusted advisors Karren Brady and Tim Campbell are also returning to keep an eye on the candidates.
Meanwhile, the BBC announced last month that The Celebrity Apprentice will be airing a full-length series for the first time – after previous charity specials for Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need.
Further details on contestants and tasks will be released later, but bosses say the extended series will put famous candidates under the same pressures typically faced by regular contestants.
Lord Sugar, who has fronted The Apprentice since 2005, said: “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 world.”
BBC head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight added: “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.”
Lord Sugar signed a new three-year deal to continue hosting The Apprentice into his 80s last year and explained that he is proud of the programme’s enduring appeal.
In an interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, the businessman said: “Listen, when I took the job on The Apprentice, I was already a multi-millionaire.
“I didn’t do it for the money.”
