The Apprentice 2026 - starts tonight - first stop Hong Kong!

[IHeartMyTissues]

Anyone else looking forward to the new series?

First task is the classic buying task, but it's taking place in Hong Kong.

There's also a new companion show - 'Unfinished Business' - let's hope it's a return to form after several years of the 'All About Tom Allen' show 😆

Still not enough of the candidates in the after show but anything's better than Tom Allen.

This task has been on every year for the past 20. You'd think anyone apply would have a plan for it.

Oh, found it - it’s Levi and his dodgy tweets…

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jan/28/bbc-urges-stricter-checks-after-offensive-tweets-emerge-from-the-apprentice-contestant-levi-hodgetts-hague

Yes, hired or fired was good.

I didn't watch the last couple of series of You're Fired because it became the Tom Allen show and he irritated me so much but I do have a feeling that the presents to the fired candidates got worse. I'm sure they were nice little personalised gifts in the first few series.

Hong Kong looks fab, lovely vendors!

As soon as I saw it, it was clear the vendor bits were not only pre-planned but also scripted. I lived in HK for years and have never met a single vendor like that. HKers are notorious for being rude and/or ripping you off. I’m not saying that there aren’t some nice people there but it’s definitely ‘TV magic” to find such lovely vendors with such good English. Especially once you get out of Central.

I miss the old days of the Apprentice when they had candidates with brains who actually wanted to work for Alan Sugar and learn from him rather than dimwits who just want to be on the telly.

I don't get the scavenger hunts. Why? Why shrimp paste and pineapples? If they were preparing for an event or something, and the needed certain items, fair enough. But these taks are so pointless.

Why have they made "your fired" into basically a podcast? Did they spend all the budget sending the candidates to Hong kong?

To be fair in the world of theatre panto is where the money is.

Yep, this is me too and every year the contestants are less capable of anything, but still I watch & cringe.

I said this to dh. Awful candidates. Surely they get better than this applying?

I like Tom Allen and You’re Fired, where’s it gone?

The older woman looks a cross between Mary Portas and that mad Lieutenant in Private Benjamin.

It does make you despair when you think these are meant to be some of the finest business minded young people about.

Georgina was the odd one out, she wasn’t going to last as she was too polite and very irritating but I’d have liked to see another week of her for the entertainment value. The women’s project manager was so completely hopeless it was almost unbelievable and I felt sorry for some of those contestants running about in a humid HK and then having to belt up all of those stairs at the end of it.

How were they described at the start - the entrepreneurial elite? 😂
God help us…

HK looks amazing but that was awful. No plans running around all over with no clear ideas. They were all useless. They didn’t even get to show off any negotiating skills as they hardly found any items. shame the bubbly theatre woman left as I’d have like to have seen how long she could maintain her “come on we are all strong woman we CAN DO THIS” approach in the face of ever more awful task performances.

Really didn’t like the format or name of the new
after show. Trying to be like the traitor one but without the right set for it. It didn’t seem to be a “visualise podcast” as Ed always says about the traitor one. Sofas seemed tiny and the “boardroom” style desks should have been kept. Felt sorry for Mike tonight. He was only one I thought who tried to discuss valid things about the task and candidates. Angela seemed to
not be focused on what people where saying but on jumping from one unfunny joke to the next. I don’t like her presenting style. A bit to “me me”. Ritchie is okay in (very) small doses. The candidates didn’t get much of look in - no best bits, no funny clips, no 5 second sleek on what their business plan was, no audience fired/hired. All felt a bit flat and “for radio” made (well for podcast now I guess!) rather than an actual 30min tv program. Odd.

Ritchie Anderson is the definition of thrush
the bbc are desperate for him to be a star , he would go to the opening of a fridge

this surely has to be the last season of the apprentice

I can’t believe the women, how did they get past the first interviews?

He is so annoying - who even enjoys watching him?
Used to love the Apprentice back in the ways of Ruth Badger - she was robbed. Was that the year of Katie Hopkins?

Yet they were calling for applicants for series 21 at the end of 'Unfinished Business'. I suppose that doesn't mean it's going to happen but it's obviously still on the table.

I don't get this microphone thing, it started years ago in the states with David Letterman, who had a huge vintage microphone (that apparently wasn't even plugged in)

Now they are all sat there with huge, pointless radio studio microphones, very odd.

I think we learnt 15 years ago that the Apprentice is more about showcasing morons for comedic effect. Anyone running a successful business wouldn't give Lord sugar half for £250,000.

Wow, since series 1 when Tim won. Ive been watching since 2017! I used to watch here and there if it was on when I was younger but dont really recall anything specific

I liked Ruth Badger , but Lord Alan ( think he was only a Sir back then ) didn’t think there was much he could teach her. I felt she was robbed. She was brilliant
It was better when they were fighting to be an actual apprentice tbh.

I know. Only last week my stepson, who is an actor and was in panto, said theatres make the majority of their income from panto season, up to 50% but that’s the theatre. She was talking about a theatre company ie the performers and what do they do for the rest of the year? It’s not really a good money making venture when you’re only making money for a couple of months year. I’ve seen some theatres desperately try to introduce Easter Pantos (which is just plain wrong).

Having said that we never got to hear the whole plan so maybe she had a contingency for non panto season.

Apart from the midwfe/real estate lady