Season 2
The Apprentice (UK) is a British reality competition television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as "apprentice" to the British business magnate Sir Alan Sugar.
The Apprentice, billed as a "job interview from hell", is modelled on the American series of the same name, which stars entrepreneur Donald Trump.
The series originally premiered in the UK on BBC Two on 16 February, 2005. It moved to BBC One from the third season onwards.
The Apprentice (UK) premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Prime (now BBC Entertainment) channel on Monday 9 June 2008, at 20h30. It moved to DStv's BBC Knowledge channel for the second season and to BBC Entertainment for the third. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Knowledge on Tuesday 12 May 2009, at 21h30. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 12 hour-long episodes in the second season.
Season 2 Repeats
Wednesdays: 03h20, 06h00, 09h00, 14h30
Saturdays: 13h00, 19h00
Sundays: 03h00, 16h00
Season 2
1 Vacancy. 6 Figure Salary. 14 Aspiring Tycoons. 12 week job interview...
The Apprentice returns to challenge a new group of aspiring tycoons to test their skills in this unique business entertainment series.
Competition this season was fiercer than ever with more than 10,000 people applying for the six-figure salaried job with Sir Alan Sugar.
These applications were whittled down to the final 14.
Aged between 25 and 39, the CVs of the shortlisted candidates boast a lawyer, an ex-Millwall footballer, a Cambridge graduate, a university lecturer, a management consultant, a cancer survivor, a financial advisor, a pharmacist, an IT manager, a black belt martial artist, a restaurant manager and a former supermarket checkout girl.
All have bravely quit their jobs to face the biggest challenge of their lives, a 12-week job interview with the self-confessed "most belligerent person you'll ever come across" – Amstrad boss and multi-millionaire Sir Alan Sugar.
This new season promises tougher tasks, some of the most explosive boardroom scenes yet and tears from day one as each week an apprentice is singled out for the sack with Sir Alan's terminal catchphrase - "You're Fired".
In the first episode Sir Alan makes it quite clear who is in charge and what he is looking for.
He says: "You are not here to enhance some form of media career - so if any of you gentlemen are thinking of prancing around in your Calvin Kleins you can forget about it... and ladies flashing your hair back is not going to get you anywhere.
"This is not a game. There is no phone-in here. There is no 'text-a-number'. There is no panel of judges that's gonna make the decision.
"I'm the one that decides who gets fired, and I'm the one who decides ultimately who gets hired."
Tim Campbell, Season 1's winner, was subsequently appointed the Project Director for Amstrad's health and beauty division where he has enjoyed continued success.
His year-long contract was extended, bearing testament to the fact that The Apprentice proved to be a hugely useful recruitment tool for Sir Alan and one that he is keen to repeat.
Each week ambition, business flair and wit are tested to the full as the 14 compete in business tasks set by Sir Alan.
These weekly challenges are designed to push the candidates' knowledge and resolve to the absolute limits.
The group is divided into teams and the team that wins the weekly assignment will be given a reward.
But the losers must report to the boardroom for a showdown with Sir Alan and his two trusted assistants, Margaret Mountford and Nick Hewer.
After getting grilled on their mistakes, one apprentice is then singled out for the sack.
The tasks continue until the last man or woman standing gets hired and becomes Sir Alan's Apprentice.
Throughout the season, the candidates will live together in a luxurious multi-million pound mansion in 'Millionaires' Row' in North London and experience a taste of the high life they all aspire to.
Sir Alan said: "One of them is going to get a job working for me. But in order to do that, they are going to have to prove to me that they have the business acumen, the brains, the intelligence and the entrepreneurial spirit that I need.
"The winning Apprentice will help run one of my multi-million pound companies. This is not a game. It is for real."
Sir Alan himself left school in Hackney aged 16 and started trading from a small council flat.
By the Eighties his Amstrad computer was a household name across Europe and the company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.
Thick-skinned and uncompromising, he became Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC, and is still their biggest single shareholder.
He has a full pilot's licence and owns an executive private jet company Amsair.
He was recruited to the Government's Treasury Industry Team where he is an advisor to Gordon Brown on youth enterprise.
Now aged 59, Sir Alan is still at the top of his game with a global empire worth £800m placing him at 55 on The Times Rich List.
Of last year's runners up, three have already launched their own companies and one has earned multi-millionaire status.
Raj Dhonota launched his own company Global Proximity - a UK-based firm that outsources work to foreign countries.
Adele Lock opened a men's grooming salon, Gentry Grooming, and Matthew Palmer is running a medical website – successfulpregnancy.com.
Paul Torrisi has sold his property company for £4m.
Season 2 Candidates
Age: 28
Qualifications: BA in Economics
Career: Management Consultant
Home Town: London
Cambridge Emmanuel-educated Alexa is one of the youngest candidates at 28. An accomplished marathon runner, keen cyclist and captain of her local tennis club she is definitely signed up for the long haul.
She is an enthusiastic character, a "party person" and an optimist.
Shyness clearly isn't a family trait as Alexa's cousin is Little Britain star Matt Lucas.
Alexa figures she has nothing to lose because, "I'm not one of those people who really cares a lot what people think of me."
Alexa was MD of a Young Enterprise company while still doing her A Levels, and is now involved in Young Enterprise itself as a volunteer.
She says: "I think that the Government should work hard to ensure that gifted students are encouraged to reach for the heights, whatever their financial position."
Jo CameronAge: 35
Qualifications: Masters in Human Resources Management
Career: HR Manager
Home Town: Leamington (born Coventry)
Jo used to stack shelves at Asda whilst at university.
"They used to put me on the heavy aisles, such as dog food and soap powder as I was the youngest and fittest there. I took great pride in getting the washing powder lined up nicely in a row," she says.
Fast talking and exuberant, Jo sees her greatest business strength as "my passion and energy which makes me fight for what I believe in."
She is happy to admit that most people see her as "a bit mad", and acknowledges that her single mindedness is also her weakness - "I'm hard work, I'm high energy. Being with me all day will wear you out."
She was recently made redundant from MG Rover where she was UK Sales and Technical Support Manager.
She says: "I am not a victim. I hate victims."
Karen BremnerAge: 34
Qualifications: Dip in Legal Practice and LLB Degree
Career: Lawyer
Home Town: Newbigging, Scotland (born Canada)
As a working mother she says: "There is still a huge prejudice against mothers who want to work. The Government is making all the right moves but until employers see the benefits of working mothers nothing will move on."
She counts her ability to focus on the matter at hand as one of her strengths and takes a pragmatic view of the fact that her participation in the show will separate her from her son during filming.
"I have to look at the long term," she says, "and he is 18 months old, he won't remember."
Not afraid to put herself in the firing line Jo describes herself as "very forthright", and says that she entered the show with no game plan at all.
She is also a qualified glider pilot.
She says: "My only weakness is that I don't think I have any weaknesses."
Michelle DewberryAge: 26
Qualifications: GCSEs and professional qualifications
Career: Telecoms Consultant
Home Town: London (born Hull)
Michelle has always recognised the value of hard work and used to regularly combine her studies with three jobs in a day during her teenage years, including stints as a check out girl and retail assistant.
Her savvy business skills and determination soon saw her rise head and shoulders above her peers.
After managing several large global projects, Michelle embarked on a successful city career as a freelance consultant, at the tender age of 24.
Michelle is confident that her ambitious and outgoing nature along with her enthusiasm and honesty will serve her well.
"I want a successful business person to mentor me and take me to the next level. I like Sir Alan's no-nonsense approach and admire the empire that he has built up from scratch," she says.
"I'm passionate, I'm hard working, I'm motivated, I'm focused and I'm very, very driven."
Nargis AgaAge: 38
Qualifications: Honours Degree in Pharmacy
Career: PhD Student
Home Town: London (Born Bangladesh)
Tough talking, single mother, Nargis says that she relished the change from her normal working environment that The Apprentice offered.
Hard-working Nargis once held down two jobs throughout her pregnancy whilst studying pharmacy.
She is aware that she is highly opinionated and is reconciled to coming across as "a bit harsh".
Whatever the outcome she believes that she always makes the right decisions because "I'm fair and I see things for what they are".
Born in Bangladesh, she is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. She has also worked as locum pharmacist for prisons and hospitals.
She says: "I speak clearly, I bring my level up or down depending on whom I'm speaking to."
Ruth BadgerAge: 27
Qualifications: seven GCSEs
Career: Sales Manager
Home Town: Wolverhampton
Straight-talking Ruth left school at 16 and took on numerous part time jobs including football steward at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, local administrator for the Department Of Social Security and plenty of bar work.
She presently enjoys considerable success as a senior management executive.
She is a pragmatic over-achiever who has no time for business school rhetoric.
She sees her candour as an asset: "I tell the truth. Unfortunately, with me, what you see is what you get."
And her natural instinct for sales: "I can sell anything. I love selling."
She says: "Every pound I have, I've worked for and I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
"And there are people in the show who have never done a day's work in their life and if they cross me they'll pay the price."
Sharon McAllisterAge: 30
Qualifications: BA in Corporate Communication
Career: Business Lecturer
Home Town: Stirling
One of three mothers on the show.
In her normal job Sharon says she has a reputation for "delivering the undeliverable" but "gets bored easily and needs challenges".
Nevertheless, her Apprentice strategy is to present her self as "the boring one" – though in reality she says she's a dare-devil who likes scuba and sky diving.
Sharon spent a year working in Tenerife as a rep with Airtours.
Her five-year-old son is a fan of the show and says he wants to be Sir Alan's apprentice.
She is currently Head of Department at Forth Valley College and says: "I am more ambitious than ever and I now believe in myself more than I ever have."
MALESAnsell HenryAge: 34
Qualifications: Left school at 16 to join Millwall FC
Career: Sales Manager
Home Town: Brighton (born London)
Ansell sees himself as a decision maker, a tough character and a "constant overachiever".
He says that he entered the series "to test myself against the best because I don't have a great educational background."
At 16 he joined Millwall FC where he went from being a schoolboy player to a professional player in four years.
He says his character and experience are more than a match for anyone's academic abilities.
"I look imposing," he explains, "I could be a bouncer as opposed to someone walking into an office.
"People will see that but they'll see that I am a person who can stop things kicking off. I can calm people down."
He says: "One of the things many people fear on The Apprentice is standing up and having to sell to a complete stranger, but I do that for a living."
Ben StanberryAge: 33
Qualifications: Master's degree in Law
Career: IT Consultant
Home Town: Richmond, Surrey
Ben describes himself as an optimist, having beaten cancer prior to appearing on the show.
"How tough am I? I'm very tough," he warns.
He is a straightforward character who doesn't suffer fools gladly, explaining: "I'm impatient with people who I think are too egotistical or self pitying."
He is up front about his lack of sales experience but thinks he can overcome this because "I'm really thick-skinned".
He says: "Sir Alan is exactly as I expected. I admire and respect him. That doesn't mean I like him."
Mani SandlerAge: 39
Qualifications: BSc in Physics
Career: Management Consultant
Home Town: London (born Leamington Spa)
Confident and temperamental, Mani sees himself as a perfectionist and an "outstanding consultant" and claims the most challenging aspect of The Apprentice is sharing a bedroom with people who snore.
Mani says he was "not at all surprised" to be selected for the show and feels he cannot lose.
He runs his own business facilitating executive team-building and three years ago set up a speed-dating company, SpeedFlirt, that is still running profitably, although he is now a silent partner.
He says: "I think people who know me well and my current clients will be quite surprised at how pushy and aggressive I can get."
Paul TulipAge: 26
Qualifications: Degree in Business and Sport
Career: Head Hunter
Home Town: Leeds
In spite of being one of the youngest apprentices Paul has had a number of jobs and considers himself a versatile character and reckons he is a "natural performer".
He believes he combines this instinctive sense of fun with a serious attitude to business and an aggressive sales technique.
"I always like to put myself up on a stage to see how well I can do," he says. "And I have always been successful."
He says: "People have said I should be on stage as a career. I have always stepped up to the mic, and I think that will come across: Everyone should have a Paul in the house."
Samuel JudahAge: 35
Qualifications: Degree in Manufacturing Engineering
Career: Product Developer
Home Town: Buckhurst Hill (born London)
Samuel has worked at Ford for 11 years full-time and four years part-time.
He is "a self-improvement junkie" and an accomplished martial artist with a black belt in Jujitsu and wing chun.
He says he love "testing myself to breaking point and seeing what happens", in any scenario.
He thinks his fighting skills will be an asset on the show because: "You learn about dealing with multiple assailants, you can't panic and lose your head when that starts happening."
He says: "I'm not there to entertain people, I don't give a sh*t about that. For me it's about business."
Syed AhmedAge: 31
Qualifications: HND in Business and Finance
Career: Entrepreneur
Home Town: London (born Bangladesh)
Supremely confident, Syed is especially proud of his own record in business and when not making money he relaxes by flying planes.
He cites an ability to think on his feet and strong powers of persuasion as two of his primary assets.
Syed is an uncompromising character and is convinced he will be one of the highlights of the series.
"Without doubt I think I will be the focal part of the show because I am passionate," he says.
Previously he was a restaurant manager for the White Starline Group owned by Marco Pierre White.
He says: "I've been a sort of hell-raiser over the past ten years and I think all that combined together has made me a business bad boy."
Tuan LeAge: 27
Qualifications: nine GCSEs and two A Levels
Career: Financial Advisor
Home Town: Weston-super-Mare (born Saigon)
Tuan and his family arrived in the UK in 1979 from Vietnam as refugees.
He left education early to earn money to support his parents and has proved very successful in business.
He is a self-confessed "computer nerd" who enjoys cars, bikes and admits to a weakness for expensive watches.
Three years ago Tuan set up Tangent Performance, a car chauffeur service specialising in extreme super-cars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
He sees himself as a calming influence amongst his fellow candidiates and says he applied for the show because getting on it would make "a good pub story".
Tuan joined Nationwide Building Society as a Customer Adviser and progressively worked his way up the company.
He says: "I'm a short, bald Vietnamese guy that drives a Ferrari who's lived in a small seaside town all of my life."
SeasonsSeason 1 (12 episodes)
Channel: BBC Prime | Premiere: 9 Jun 2008 | Finale: 25 Aug 2008 | Mon, 20h30
Season 2 (12 episodes)
Channel: BBC Knowledge | Premiere: 12 May 2009 | Finale: 28 Jul 2009 | Tue, 21h30
Season 3 (12 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 7 Oct 2009 | Finale: 23 Dec 2009 | Wed, 20h30
Season 4 (12 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 31 Mar 2010 | Finale: 16 Jun 2010 | Wed, 20h30
Season 5 (12 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 20 Apr 2011 | Finale: 6 Jul 2011 | Wed, 21h30