True. Equally importantly, the BBC will want to ensure the series does not clash with either the football World Cup or the Commonwealth Games, which takes us into mid-August. As I've mentioned on another thread, that would seem to indicate a start date in the first half of October.

I also think the BBC will wait to see how the first couple of episodes of series 10 fare before green-lighting series 11. Do I think it will be the last series? I'd say it's 50:50.

A problem for the Beeb is that their two big business-related formats - The Apprentice and Dragons' Den - are both getting a bit long in the tooth and I've not heard any mention of a potential replacement under development. (Not that I'd know - I have no inside track.) I'm pretty sure the Beeb would like to have at least one business competition format on the air - it's cheaper than funding another original drama, for instance - but I'm not sure where they'd go next.

Don't get me wrong - TA is still good fun and I will keep watching it, but there's no denying it's not as fresh as it used to be (how many series are after 9-10 years?) and the formula is a bit stuck as far as the weekly tasks are concerned.

There was quite a cool business programme on BBC Three last year called The Insider - like The Apprentice, it involved a group of candidates applying for a job in some kind of company and having to do tasks to prove their worth. The twist was that one of the group wasn't actually a real candidate, but a mole who was already working for the company and was secretly reporting back with their thoughts on who should get the job. It was really enjoyable actually - there was considerably less conflict, and most of the people seemed really likeable - but I can't see the format working for very long, as once it got a bit more well-known, the participants would know the point of the show and the format would be ruined.

In fairness to The Apprentice, it was refreshed a few years ago with the new prize. I can't comment on Dragons' Den, as I have only seen the first two series of it.

I missed The Insider - sounds like an interesting concept. The Apprentice meets The Secret Millionaire, maybe?

I gave up on Dragons' Den 2-3 years ago, at the point at which the series became more about the Dragons and their snide put-downs than it did about the business ideas themselves. (Yeah, I know, watching a business programme to be interested in the business aspect of it - so old-fashioned!)

I still watch The Apprentice for that reason.

I recorded all the episodes of The Insider, with the intent of putting them on YouTube. I haven't got around to doing that yet, but I may still do that (won't be great quality though). I'll let you know if I do. Each episode was self-contained, about a different company, and the candidates all had to work together - they weren't divided into teams like on The Apprentice.

I watched the first series of Dragons' Den in December 2012, and I watched Series 2 in December 2013. I'll probably watch Series 3 in December of this year, it's become a sort of tradition. I preferred Series 1 though as I liked Simon Woodroffe.

I am really not sure that the BBC would axe a show that still comfortably brings in 7 million viewers each week - it still has such a strong fanbase!

Sorry, are we talking The Apprentice or Dragons' Den?

The Apprentice

Ignore the comment above - I was getting my 2014 mixed up with my 2015. Oops.