The Apprentice

Synopsis

The Apprentice is a British business-based reality television series 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 focusses on a group of businesspeople competing in a series of business-related challenges set by British business magnate Alan Sugar, with the aim of winning a business investment. In order to observe candidates as they undertake these tasks, Sugar is aided by two close business associates who act as observers – 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 programme in 2007, The Apprentice: You're Fired!, with further increasing figures after the second series leading to the programme being aired on BBC One. 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 of the BBC's television schedule, with the programme being the basis of several comedic parodies and imitations, as well as influencing the concepts of other British business-based programmes, such as Tycoon, and Beat the Boss.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

TV series

Release date

February 16, 2005

Genres

reality television

Created by

Mark Burnett

Seasons

19

Episodes

132

Countries

United Kingdom