The initial roster for the inaugural Celebrity Apprentice has been unveiled by the BBC.
Twelve well-known personalities will compete in Lord Alan Sugar’s flagship business competition.
Contestants will tackle a series of weekly business tasks set by Lord Sugar across a six-week period.
The victor will be named the first Celebrity Apprentice champion and receive £100,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
The BBC has officially announced the twelve celebrities participating in this special edition.
They are:
Alexandra Burke – Singer
Danny Miller – Actor who played Aaron Dingle in Emmerdale
Gethin Jones – Television presenter
Jordan Banjo – Diversity dancer
Kay Burley – Journalist
Maddie Grace Jepson – Actress and social media personality
Max Balegde – Presenter, podcast host and content creator
Sheli McCoy – Former Gladiators competitor known as Sabre
DJ Spoony – UK garage musician
Richie Anderson – Television presenter and BBC Radio 2 host
Laura Smyth – Comedian and writer
Toni Laites – Television personality
For this celebrity version, the boardroom will move to a skyscraper in London’s financial district, offering a fresh backdrop for Lord Sugar’s concluding decisions.
Regarding the new edition, Lord Sugar explained that this marks uncharted territory for them, and it should prove entertaining to watch these twelve celebrities navigate six weeks of demanding business tasks. He noted that their fame would not guarantee them any special treatment, particularly when there is £100,000 hanging in the balance for their selected charity.
This announcement follows shortly after Karishma Vijay was announced as the winner of The Apprentice 2026, the standard version of the programme.
She defeated nineteen other hopefuls to claim victory on the popular BBC programme, securing a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar for her skincare business, Kishkin.
Filming for the upcoming series commenced recently, with broadcast scheduled for later this year on BBC One.
The BBC has indicated that further information regarding transmission dates for The Celebrity Apprentice will be released in due course.