LORD Sugar has confirmed The Apprentice will return this year and says the show is already in pre-production.
The Apprentice host said work has begun on the BBC show’s 16th run after viewers were left gutted last year when Covid torpedoed plans for the 2020 series.
Lord Sugar, 73, said: “I know many people will have been disappointed we weren’t able to make The Apprentice last year – myself included.
“I am pleased to say that we are going to be cracking on with a new series very soon.
“In fact, the pre-production phase has already begun and plans are coming together to make sure we are back on air this year.”
The reality show, which also stars West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady and executive Claude Littner as Lord Sugar’s advisors, normally airs from October.
And the former Spurs co-owner admitted making the show while complying with new coronavirus health regulations was going to be a challenge.
He added: “Putting something together as complex as The Apprentice means the production team need to be flexible. But we have one of the best teams in the business working around the clock and I can assure you they will do their absolute damnedest to get the show back on TV.
“The return of the programme will also show the world Britain is back on track and open for business again. It is an exciting prospect.”
Applications are now open for the show, where the winner gets a £250,000 investment in their new venture.
Meanwhile, former Apprentice star Lottie Lion, 21, recently told The Celeb Report how the BBC show ruined her life and led her to meet men on a sugar daddy website.
Lottie, who got involved in a racism row during the 2019 series, lost her job in the pandemic and wanted to keep up her luxury lifestyle.
But her time on the site ended with her contacting police over “threats”.
Fighting back tears, she told The Celeb Report: “I thought maybe being on there could buy me a bag or holiday.”
Controversial Lottie was just 19 when she became the 2019 series “villain” before Lord Sugar fired her.
Last year’s lockdown saw her lose her job, having previously split from a boyfriend in his mid-30s.
