The Apprentice set for first full-length celebrity series next year

Hit reality show The Apprentice will have its first full-length celebrity series next year.

The six-part BBC One spin-off series will see a line-up of famous faces join the boardroom to face weekly business challenges set by Lord Sugar in a bid to be crowned The Celebrity Apprentice winner.

The cast is yet to be announced with the series scheduled to be broadcast later in 2026.

Lord Sugar said: “We’ve had some great celebrity names walk into my boardroom over the years, but they’ve only ever had a small taster of what it’s like to be a candidate.

“It’ll be interesting to see how our future celebrities fare across a full series, removing their PAs, PRs, agents and all the other assistance they have in their day-to-day lives to fully immerse themselves into The Apprentice world.”

Two celebrity specials will be broadcast over the Christmas period in aid of BBC Children In Need.

The contestants are barrister and TV presenter Rob Rinder, former Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner, TV host AJ Odudu, ex-JLS singer JB Gill, Radio One DJ Charlie Hedges, comedian Eddie Kadi, EastEnders actor Jake Wood, podcaster Angela Scanlon, actress Sarah Hadland, comedienne Shazia Mirza, paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox and Gladiators star Matt Morsia.

The two-part special, to air on December 29 and 30 on BBC One and iPlayer, will follow the celebrity candidates as they are split into two groups and sent to Lapland, the official home of Santa, to develop their own gingerbread biscuits.

It will be closely followed by the latest series of The Apprentice, which will be broadcast in early 2026.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, said: “The Apprentice is a much-loved part of the BBC’s entertainment offering and we can’t wait to see how the celebrity candidates rise to the challenge when the series launches later in 2026.”

Paul Broadbent, executive producer, said: “The celebrities will need to leave their ego at the boardroom door and prepare to roll their sleeves up for some very challenging – and hugely entertaining – tasks.”