Season 4
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 4 premiered on BBC Entertainment on Wednesday 31 March 2010, at 20h30. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 12 hour-long episodes in the fourth season.
Season 4
The Apprentice is back for a 12-week run as no-nonsense, self-made millionaire Sir Alan Sugar returns to challenge a new group of 16 aspiring tycoons, who will battle it out in the toughest challenge of their lives.
The candidates lined up for Season 4 include: a barrister, a bank manager, a risk manager, an ex-Army engineer, a single mother, an international car trader, an artist, a former championship show jumper and a business liaison manager with royal connections.
The new season raises the business bar, with more twists and turns than ever before.
The demanding weekly challenges will see the teams sweat it out running rival laundrettes and competing pubs. They will create a new perfume, design a new greeting card, invent a new ice cream flavour and sell wedding dresses.
There's a tough international buying task which sees the candidates fly to Morocco, in an attempt to barter with the canniest salesmen in the world.
Twenty thousand CVs were received from applicants around the UK – more than any other season before. The competition is stiff, as these ambitious business hopefuls are all successful in their chosen careers and hungry to reach the top.
Rivalry is rampant as all the candidates are desperate to walk away with the coveted prize of a six-figure salary and the opportunity to work for one of the most successful business moguls in the world.
With trusted aides Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford at his side, from the opening boardroom briefing Sir Alan makes it clear exactly who's in charge:
"One of you is going to end up working for me on a six-figure salary, but I'll tell you what, the money doesn't mean anything. I've been in business for over 40 years. Your prize is working with me."
However, the boss has a trick up his sleeve as he surprises the wannabe apprentices in episode one.
Thinking they are about to head off to relax in their new luxurious pad – a 7,000 square foot, multi-million pound, gated converted glass factory – with a glass of champagne and a glimpse of the high life, Sir Alan plays the first wild card of the series:
"This is a business boot camp. Mary Poppins I am not. I'm not going to hold your hand, I'm not going to tell you what to do. You're on your own two feet. You might think you're going off now to settle in. Well you're not. Business starts now."
They may be suited and booted for the boardroom, but Sir Alan wants them to get stuck in by sending them out on their first task immediately. It's boys versus girls as each team is given two van loads of fresh fish and told to flog it all before their boardroom deadline at 19h00 that evening.
Dressed head to toe in overalls and rubber boots, not only will the candidates be responsible for selecting a suitable market and pitch, they will also have to identify and correctly price the selection of fish.
Both teams are thrown in at the deep end and are desperate to prove their worth. They want to avoid a boardroom showdown at all costs to escape hearing Sir Alan's immortal catch phrase "You're Fired".
This is the job interview from hell.
Season 4 Candidates
FEMALES
Claire Young
Age: 29
Career: Senior Retail Buyer
Qualifications: BSC Equine Science
Lives: South London
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and brought up in Wakefield, Claire's first job was working at the local Beefeater restaurant.
Claire is lively and bubbly but certainly not a pushover – her nickname at work was "The Rottweiler" because if she sees something she wants she grabs hold of an ankle until she gets it.
Her role model is Oprah Winfrey – the billionaire businesswoman and fellow yo-yo dieter.
She has worked in the roles of Marketing, Merchandising, Commercial Sales and most recently Retail Buying. Her passions include horse riding, going to the cinema, theatre and cooking.
She claims to be the only convent-educated girl to have survived three summers in Magaluf for Club 18-30. Her motto is JDI which means "just do it".
Helene Speight
Age: 32
Career: Global Pricing Leader
Qualifications: 9 GCSEs
Lives: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Helene is a quietly spoken, capable business woman who is a self confessed tomboy and enjoys being successful in a man's world. She thrives on adrenalin and claims to be ruthless, but with integrity.
Over the past eight years Helene has worked her way up through the ranks to become a global pricing leader for one of the world's largest companies, despite being nearly kicked out of school with no qualifications at 16.
She won two global Best Practice awards in her first year of IT management and claims to stand out "not only for the fact she is nearly 6ft tall".
One of her biggest passions in life is playing football.
Jenny Celerier
Age: 36
Career: Sales Manager
Qualifications: BA Marketing
Lives: Leicester
Ballsy single Mum, Jenny believes "if you are sitting on the fence you are taking up too much space". Likeable and funny, Jenny is a stickler for detail and "will annihilate anyone when it comes to competition".
Born in Ipswich, Jenny had her son at the age of 18 and while raising him, educated herself to degree level and worked her way up the career ladder. She currently oversees a team of 16 and has won several sales awards.
A budding entrepreneur at an early age, she dug up all the flowers from her parent's front garden and sold them on a stand made from an orange box.
She then kept the money under her bed for a year before venturing to the local sweet shop and blowing the lot on bubble gum and strawberry and custard creams.
Jennifer Maguire
Age: 27
Career: Marketing Consultant
Qualifications: Leaving Certificate (equivalent of A-Levels)
Lives: Bristol
Dubliner Jennifer is from a large, feisty family and was a champion show jumper at the age of 14. Describing herself as an "iron fist in a velvet glove" she is not afraid of hard work – "I am a success totally. I had no training. I started selling on the street. Yet when I ran an office I made £60k in the first 6 months".
She now specialises in advertising for the fashion and leisure industry and was promoted within two weeks of starting her current job. She applied for the Apprentice as she wanted to throw herself into a challenge.
She once worked as a waitress in New York and despite being the "worst waitress in the world" her Irish charm got her $250 in tips a night.
Lindi Mngaza
Age: 22
Career: Business Liaison Manager
Qualifications: NVQ Level 2/3 in Customer Services and IOSH 1 Managing Safety at TBG Learning
Lives: Birmingham
Born in Manchester, Lindi is infectiously enthusiastic and likeable, although she says she will eat the other competitors alive. Her business motto is that "there is no I in team but there is an I in winner".
She claims she is yet to come across a challenge that will faze her and is determined to prove that you can be successful despite being dyslexic.
In her job she travels throughout the UK presenting IT legalisation to technology managers and managing directors. She was in the top 10% of earners in the UK by the age of 22.
Her role model is Richard Branson because he is also dyslexic and has proved that you can still be successful despite this. She claims to have royal blood: "My nickname amongst friends is African Princess as I am from royal descendents."
Lucinda Ledgerwood
Age: 31
Career: Risk Manager
Qualifications: BSC in Psychology and Neuroscience
Lives: Edinburgh
Born in Singapore from a privileged background, Lucinda is highly intelligent with a diverse range of qualifications and business interests. She is quirky, controlling, hard working and doesn't suffer fools gladly.
As well as her degree she also has a Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is currently studying for an Aromatherapy and Herbal Medicine BSC (Hons) at Napier University in her spare time.
Her first job was on the check out at Tesco and despite claiming to have never previously seen an episode of The Apprentice believes she will win: "I always win so it's a natural conclusion, I will win".
Her greatest regret in life is once turning down the role as a body double for a Bond Girl.
Sara Dhada
Age: 25
Career: International Car Trader
Qualifications: BA Law and Economics at University of Leicester and LLM International Commercial Law
Lives: Leicester
Sara is a natural born entrepreneur who made money from the age of 14 buying and selling bikes from car boot sales. She describes herself as intelligent, glamorous and strong minded, "a true example of pure class and elegance".
She is a trained Lawyer who saved her family company – selling cars – by taking over from her brothers and "doing her family proud". Her father is her role model – "at 25 he was a self-made millionaire".
She is angered by people who don't wash their hands when going to the toilet and people who don't listen to her because she is always right! She once drove from Leicester to Mumbai, India in two weeks.
Shazia Wahab
Age: 35
Career: Mosaic Artist and Company Director
Qualifications: BA Business Studies at University of Westminster and Diploma in Marketing by Chartered Institute of Marketing
Lives: South London
Mosaic Artist Shazia considers herself a hidden talent and a "stubborn cow who always has to have the last word".
After her application was rejected in the third season she applied again as she is "up for the challenge" of working for Sir Alan.
Shazia's claim to fame is that her family – parents and 11 brothers and sisters – hold a Guinness World Record for the most amount of degrees between them in the UK.
MALES
Alex Wotherspoon
Age: 24
Career: Regional Sales Manager
Qualifications: BA Managerial Administrative Studies at Aston Business School
Lives: Bolton
Alex is charming and tenacious and claims his "communication skills are second to none". He is currently a Regional Sales Manager who works across the north of the UK managing a team of 30 sales agents.
Freeloaders and social loafers annoy Alex, who boxes and ballroom dances in his free time.
His first job was selling horse manure with his brother to make enough money to go travelling to the Greek Isles for a month. They later expanded the business supplying to garden centres. Their top soil was dubbed "Wotherspoons Black Gold".
Alex is incredibly accident prone – he has punctured a lung, broken ribs, shattered his knuckles, severed his voice box, broken fingers and dislocated his jaw.
Ian Stringer
Age: 26
Career: Software Sales Manager
Qualifications: 8 GCSEs
Lives: Flitwick, Bedfordshire
Born in Blackpool, Ian is a forward thinker with a good work ethic, he is people orientated but says he "certainly is not a wallflower".
He has worked his way up to a Software Sales Manger from his first job as a sales assistant in Dixons and gives "110%" to everything he does.
A devoted father, he has a daughter and son aged two and one respectively. Ian is an avid football fan. In his spare time he has done local radio weekend match reports for his local club.
Ian's claim to fame was that he had a No. 8 hit in the charts – the second top selling unofficial World Cup record for 2006 – when he rewrote the lyrics to Tony Christie's Amarillo.
The record was Sport Relief's charity record and Ian even appeared in the video.
Kevin Shaw
Age: 24
Career: Bank Manager
Qualifications: 11 GCSEs and 2 A-Levels
Lives: Woking
A bank manager at the age of 19, Kevin makes his team bond by singing, dancing and "having morning huddles". He claims to be a natural born leader who is so cunning he can make his staff do things they never imagined.
He wanted to get on the show because since he was five he has had a dream that by the age of 25 he would be earning £100k a year. He says "every other objective I've set, I've delivered so I have to do it, it's the only thing I have to do now".
Kevin is friends with Jenson Button and enjoys watching Formula 1 racing in his spare time.
Lee McQueen
Age: 30
Career: Recruitment Sales Manager
Qualifications: 8 GCSEs and BTEC Diploma in IT
Lives: Princes Risborough, Bucks
Son of a milkman and brought up in Perivale, Middlesex, Lee realised at an early age the importance of working hard and getting your foot on the property ladder.
Lee bought his first house aged 18 and then went on to buy one for his mother in return for all the support she has given him.
Lee describes himself as a cat – sometimes purring with affection and other times just biting. He has over eight years experience in the recruitment industry gained predominately in IT.
To cheer up his colleagues he likes to do a "reverse pterodactyl" which involves him standing on a chair and screeching.
He applied to the show because he believes Sir Alan to be "a true entrepreneur" and thinks he can learn to be a fantastic businessman working for him.
Michael Sophocles
Age: 24
Career: Telesales Executive
Qualifications: MA in History & Classics
Lives: North London
Self-styled alpha male Michael is a fearless professional who claims nothing phases him. He describes himself as a "good Jewish boy" with a ruthless streak who "doesn't care at all about other people's feelings".
His passion in life are women, food, drink and gambling.
Despite a very middle-class background he says he has an uncanny knack and talent of being able to adapt himself to all types of situations.
He says that his current job in media sales earns him an astronomical amount of money.
Nicholas De Lacy Brown
Age: 24
Career: Barrister, Artist and Property Developer
Qualifications: LLB Law degree and MA in Medical Law & Ethics
Lives: West London
Originally from Shoreham-by-Sea, Nicholas adopted his grandmother's name De Lacy five years ago as he felt it was more sophisticated. Although not born into aristocracy Nicholas fancies himself as an artistic, country hopping lord.
He says: "From the moment I was born I knew I was destined for great things." And "allergic to chavs", he believes he has a privileged and luxurious life.
Nicholas claims one of his worst moments of failure in life was when he once got a B in a GCSE. Since then he has been "outstanding" in everything academic he has taken on.
Nicholas's great love in life is art and once became a short-term celebrity at the age of 13 when he exhibited a painting of each and every one of the 37 Shakespeare plays.
Raef Bjayou
Age: 27
Career: Entrepreneur
Qualifications: BA Politics & History at University of Exeter
Lives: North West London
Raef is a highly motivated and ambitious individual with first- hand experience of dealing with clients in sales both home and abroad.
A former School Captain, he founded the Exeter University Debating Society and claims to "have never lost an argument" yet.
Raef has "faced death in the face many times". He even once asked Michael Heseltine a question on Question Time and was "surprised by the ignorance of his answer".
He is a Company Director of an import, export business that specialises in products that are not available in the UK.
Simon Smith
Age: 35
Career: Senior Satellite Television Engineer
Qualifications: 8 GCSEs
Lives: Harlow, Essex
Simon has served in the Royal Artillery as an NCO (non-commissioned officer) and specialised as a surveyor. He served in countries all over the world including Bosnia, Cyprus, The USA, Canada, Northern Ireland and the Middle East.
It was there he trialled the army's first satellite communications systems. He was given exemplary discharge from service in 1998.
He is now a Senior Satellite Engineer responsible for Sky TV installations.
Simon is a tough but honest, likeable, salt of the earth kind of guy who claims planning is the key to doing anything well.
He loves Sir Alan's no nonsense approach and claims to have never missed an episode of The Apprentice yet.
Seasons
Season 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