I'm sure they said Summer before the election?

Last time i read, Autumn.

Talk about dragging this out! It must start soon - September or October? It's over a year since the last series.

I wonder if next year's series will be shown in the spring? That would mean a shortish gap between series six (2010) and series seven (2011).

On Twitter today Lord Sugar said, The Apprentice starts in a couple of weeks.

After UBB - fabulous!

First week in October. I assume Wednesdays

That would make the final 22nd Dec. Bit too close to Christmas programming. And while the whole thing was filmed last year, the You're Hired isn't, that's one or two days before transmission. Traditionally the former winner is in the audience.
By that time Yasmina will be huge! If not about to go into labour at anytime. Which is ironic as Sugar going into Labour is what caused this blaaady cock up in the first place

If there are any women in the final, luckily Dara isn't likely to make off remarks (like Chiles would) about maternity leave etc. And the two finalists, have they really been at one of Sugar's businesses all this time?

Going by my intuition*, starts 22nd Sept.


*Lorraine told me

I think it might be the week of Lord Sugar's book launch. On Twitter he is promoting his book, The Apprentice, and a special ITV show with Piers Morgan, but not sure if he will Tweet again, as he made a comment about the Wayne Rooneys prostitute newspaper story, and someone replied, asking if he has every used prostitutes? Lord Sugar wasn't very happy!

Can't wait for it to start now, love the Apprentice so much!
I hope the really long wait is worth it, I'm sure it will be.

I would have thought it would be listed on the BBC Press Office site if it was that week. No sign of it yet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2010/wk38/

But Lord Sugar does keep saying in a few weeks on Twitter if it was going to be start of October I would have thought he would have said next month.

im looking forward to the start it seems ages sinve the finish of the last one with just a brief junior edition inbetween

Good point, book launches 30th Sept, a Thursday. Maybe they are in the know. My info doesn't come from Lorraine of course, it's another S5 candidate who might have mis-interpreted what AS told them. But I'll stick with the 22nd, put my virtual fiver down so to speak. Helix did post a good link though, though I don't think it totally conclusive as The Apprentice is so popular they can play hype games with it now. Yet for the 22nd you'd have expected some trailers by now. Even for later really. It might be later though, running into the Xmas week, so the BBC can point to it as a 'new' program against the slew of repeats that show up now over Christmas.

Actually Sugar didn't mention Rooney on twitter. Some 20ish idiot, trying to create 15 nano seconds of fame for themselves asked him if he'd ever been with a prostitute.
Like anyone is going to say yes! And it's Alan Sugar!
Whilst I have issues with him re TA and business ethos, can you imagine a more devoted family man than Sugar? Some wonk from Frank PR told him that being on twitter would be a good PR move. Did they tell him it opens up to loads of idiots who get a reply and then fire off six further tweets?
Once The Apprentice airs, can you imagine the flood of why did you fire x? He is still tweeting, but expect that to stop in a few weeks time when the avalance begins. I mean plugging his book or Piers Morgan fluff is one thing, dealing with Apprentice fans is quite another. He's been ill advised I think

Rather OT, a major rule in business is 'you are known by the company you keep'. In the case of Alan Sugar it appears to be Piers Morgan and Ruport Murdock. Absolute scum, though Morgan has some redeaming history. Hmmmm so did the Amstrad emailer have some back door that allowed the Murdock papers to get a copy? See the News of the World phone hacking scandal. They are the main culprits in the past when it comes to dirt (and made up) stories on Apprentice candidates. This new series will be the most manipulated yet. Just watch

I hope that S6 does turn up soon. And correct me if I'm wrong, but this is actually going to be the last series when the winner actually gets a job working for AS - series 7 is the first where he's actually going to offer money for a business venture. It'll seem like an end of an era.

I hope that they revamp the tasks and introduce new characters - but that's probably too much to ask for. You probably know that It'll still be selling tasks and there will be the usual loud characters. We'll see.

I also hope that Katie Price does not find her way onto the apprentice as rumoured (wish I had a sick face to express my disgust at the concept)...

I think Margret going was the end of a much more important era.

If anything, I think the new prize is much better. It will get rid of those 'if you're a success working for yourself, why give it up and work for me" questions.

I think general intelligence is that the winning candidates don't exactly get scintillating jobs in the AS organisation.

Not that I think the new prize is bad, of course. It's just that means the winners (and perhaps the other candidates) are going to be of a different nature - so it marks a new era in apprentice history. This next series will be the last time the candidates will be anything like they were in the previous five series, imo.

Perhaps they'll be of a better standard once the new prize is introduced? Maybe the tasks will also be different. Time will tell.

Someone on Twitter asked Sugar if he read the Apprentice thread on DS, as they knew he used to post on DS, does anyone know if that is true? Sugar never replied, so I take that as a no to reading the thread. I'm surprised to see Sugar on Twitter, and Facebook to be honest. It was that Frank PR that asked Sugar about the Rooney scandal, and Sugar foolishly responded, not once, but twice, so left himself open to silly questions.
I have gone off Sugar a bit since following him on Twitter, as he comes across as a right show off! Not only is he friends with that twonk Piers Morgan, but that scum bag Max Clifford, so maybe Sugar is not so squeaky clean as he would like everyone to believe?

Dara O Briain already confirmed weeks ago on twitter, that The Apprentice doesn't return until early October.
Also the press launch isn't until late September.


I believe it was back in series one when the show was only starting and only had around 2m viewers.


The schedules for BBC One until Sept 24th are confirmed and it isn't on it.


The BBC run strictly right up till christmas, Once they aired the live final on DEC 23th. Its nothing new for them.

Maybe they can re-edit this series and add some CGI snow to the later episodes. It's Christmas time on the Apprentice. Father Sugar has lots of goodies to share.

Not saying you're wrong, but where did you find those long term schedules? Link please. The usual BBC site only shows up to 16th Sept

And which series showed the 'live' final on the 23rd Dec? It's always been May or June.

Oh don't encourage! Uncle Lord Sugar was a bucket reaching moment.

I checked again, and you're right. However it's a full two days later, and many many tweets, that the twonk (not the twonk Piers Morgan) asks Sugar
'Following the Rooney story, as a successful business man in the public eye, have you ever used a prostitute?'
Which shouldn't even have been dignified with a reply.


No idea if Sugar has ever posted on here. But I'd doubt it.
If twitter and facebook seem such a novelty to him, they wouldn't if he'd been on forums surely? I think he's been a wary of the ordinary public, slightly afraid even, as they are unpredictable. Some one has convinced him he's loved. Taylor Herring, who PR the show, do post, but under various names. They call it online PR, forum people would call that bit trolling. Anything to raise interest. Background dirt in papers then posted here are always suspect. They also supply DS non-forum press releases.

Sugar's relationship with The Twonk Piers Morgan (TTPM) goes back over a decade at least. TTPM's replacing Larry King, has prompted mention of the 'city slickers' insider share dealings. Two journos went to jail, but TTPM did not, even though he emptied his and his wife's bank accounts to buy £67,000 of Viglen shares. It's a complicated story as there was an attempt to cover up at the Mirror.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005...lishing.mirror though further info has I think come out years later. Sugar has never been accused of involvement btw, and there's never been any suggestions that he did anything improper or mistaken. Others used info he had given (about Viglen's future plans) to their own unfair advantage.

Squeaky clean? No doubt he loves to hype himself (not alone in that eh?) and the hype/PR around the Apprentice is that he is the UK's greatest boss. Of course he isn't. Talented yes, looks/acts the part yes, willing to go along with TV producers to create a fiction, yes. But for all his celeb desires, his McCain Factory on the shoulder etc, he's not like so many rich people involved in the arms trade (sorry defence industry). Not polluted parts of the world and walked away. Unlike some, no one has died, cos they got in the companies way and could affect the share price.
Ok, the huge money gifts to Labour are suspect, I mean he loves to get a good deal. And the holding company is Jersey based (Branson's are far more complicated to the point of confusion). But as dirty as some? No. Break the law? No. No evidence whatsoever. No accusations either (and nor am I implying). I've worked for multi-nationals, and saw hypocracy, lying and no morals there. Compared to them, Sugar is straighter than many the markets love. And I'm no fan.

I agree, Margaret did have a wonderful way of succintly putting things devastatingly. As opposed the the more contrived and sometimes (increasingly so) soundbites from Nick. Karren Brady has yet to add anything of insight

Less than scintillating jobs? Begs the question what do you or others consider to be a worthy prize? No way are they going to run a Sugar company! They are run by his sons and Borden. Anyone expect them to move over? lol

If we take Yasmina, she's got what she wanted. Previously running a small provincial restaurant, she's now in a growing industry that she wouldn't have a hope of gettting a place in before. You know what recruiters are like, they can't see beyond people who tick every box including experience in that sector. But now she is representing Amscreen (who despite a low grade product IMHO) are doing very well indeed. Not as some PR gimmick, but holding her own with that industries' peers. See this link from a site that is not a massive fan of Amscreen, note no cavets
http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/31580
Previously she was crap at presenting remember, so she's not been chosen for PR or eye candy, but for the fact she's learnt how to do it. And for her it's getting your name to so many powerful contacts that no way could you have done in your previous job. How is that rubbish?

I think what Jepson meant was that the jobs they get aren't always as good as the winners may expect. It was in the case of Yasmina, but in other cases, such as Michelle, it wasn't.

Another part of the problem which the poster who quoted implied is that while the offered salary of £100,000 is a decent prize, it isn't really enough to attract the best of the nation's business talent. Why? Because they are probably already holding down jobs with that salary or much higher. And those that already have that salary who appear on the apprentice are often accused of not being really serious about the job. That was the case with James (S1), who was genuinely talented and had a six-figure salary but got accused of not being serious about working for AS.

The producers probably introduced the new prize with that in mind, so that it will perhaps attract the more talented people who want to set up a business on their own. That's the theory anyway! Hopefully we will still have the delightful half-wits to entertain us...

Actually, he has, but it was on the technical forums, answering questions and making comments on some of his products. It's a long time ago, I think it was before the Apprentice even started.