According to Kevin ’O Sullivan on The Wright Stuff this morning.

He hates it btw so maybe there’s some wishful thinking in there but he seemed 100% certain it’s done after this series.

Can't say I'd be surprised if this is true. I've lost interest in the franchise since the winner was given money for a business plan instead of a job with LordSirAlan.

<grr>Tom winning!</grr>

I doubt it, the show still gets good ratings and LS said in his book he 'would only stop doing it when he didn't enjoy it'. He included The adult apprentice in the quote as well, so I would assume they will both end at the same time.

Not up to Sugar though is it? Ratings for TYA are not that special (down this week on last apparently) and for the same amount of effort they could have 2 series of TA every year instead and that rates better. They won’t do that obviously but I imagine that’s the sort of justification they’ll toss around internally for them being unable to continue with it.

Sullivan was emphatic and he’s certainly more in the loop than any of us.

I have no doubt that the BBC are considering it as it doesn't get good enough ratings, but I don't think the decision has been made for definite yet. Surely if the decision had been made the BBC would have released an official statement. Lord Sugar has made loads of Twitter comments about how angry he will be if it is axed - that presumably means that it's likely to happen, but hasn't actually happened yet.

Sugar has said he's thinking about taking it to another channel if the BBC pull the plug, so we might get some more series even if the BBC do stop it.

Surely it's not Sugar's show though, its a US buy in for the Beeb (who must have the rights to it?) so he couldn't take it elsewhere, no matter how much he chucks his toys out of the pram. In fairness, TV is a business, and YA is not delivering, 3.5 million isn't awful ratings but they're not great and if anything it dilutes the franchise, everyone is too perfect, too preened, has too many GCSEs and I don't like to form a strong opinion as they're just kids, in other words it lacks what makes the Original Apprentice ratings magic-Deluded fools who have no clue about Business and inducing me to shout at the TV

Don't make him angry, that would not be good

Some dodgy haircuts going on here, as i catch up on iPlayer

To be fair, I think they only went in that direction to avoid the annual embarrassment of the winner parting ways with whichever of Alan's "businesses" they were saddled with.

Still I think it has become boring because the vast majority of candidates have almost completely identical personalities. Full of self-importance and almost pathologically deluded about their own abilities and success.

It's good to have a few bull-****ters for the sake of TV but not almost every candidate which it seems to have been over the last few years.

That's a really good point, which I have to say had not occurred to me. I wonder why he says he can then? I'm sure Lord Sugar didn't get where he is by making empty threats, I would have thought if he threatens to do something, then he's surely done his homework to find out if he can do it.

What they need to have is a series of The Apprentice for people who don't have any businesses behind them, no qualifications, no experience etc, just regular, run of the mill people who might show a bit of potential. It'd be entertaining because you will end up with people who are completely shit, but you'll also find someone who (for example) works in a supermarket and didn't know they had a good business head on them.

Tim Campbell, the first Apprentice winner back in 2005, was in that category. He had no business experience behind him, he was just a normal, working-class guy who had worked for London Underground all his life. Then on The Apprentice, he did really well, went on to win the series, and since then has been one of the most successful winners since it started.

It used to be like that but I think Lord Sugar ran out of things he could give people to do in his own organisations so wanted to go into business with someone 50/50 which completely changed the dynamic of who could apply.

I don't think it was that he ran out of jobs! There was a big problem in that all the Apprentices had the impression that they would be working with LordSirAllan on a regular (perhaps daily) basis and were then disillusioned to find themselves doing a mundane job (often a lessor one than before they had applied for the show), reporting to regular managers and NEVER seeing Sugar!

Iv read somewhere that Young Apprentice is likely to be shelved and that Lord Sugar is suggesting he will take the format elsewhere. It was I think a major factor in LS going forward to do more of the adult shows so the Beeb may be playing with fire (even more fire to add to all the rest going on at the moment) in seemingly letting it go.

I think YA is as enjoyable as the main show btw.

Nooooooo they cannot end it. Not until they do an adult team vs junior team. I think it would make very interesting viewing.

I don't see why they'd cancel it. Are the really expecting the Young version to get more than half the viewers of the main version?

There has been feedback to the BBC about the fact that the format has gone quite stale, it needs re-working.