The Apprentice | Series 17 Preview (BBC One)

Joining Lord Sugar will be his trusted advisors Baroness Karren Brady, Tim Campbell MBE and Claude Littner, who returns for two episodes.

For the first time since series 13, the show will return with 18 new candidates, all competing to win a life-changing £250,000 investment in their businesses. Thrown in at the deep end from day one, the candidates travel to Antigua where they are tasked with creating and selling excursions to tourists.

Candidates who aren’t cast away in the first task are back to face a host of equally tough challenges for the series ahead. From creating their own cartoon, to the world of male beauty, from immersive events to street food, our aspiring titans of industry will once again have to prove that they have what it takes.

Lord Sugar kicksthings off on the magnificent Caribbean island of Antigua. Under the watchful eye of Baroness Karren Brady and Claude Littner, the teams must sell and run bespoke tours. After bickering on the beach and some woeful negotiations, back in the boardroom, one candidate is sent packing.

With the stakes higher than ever and the loser’s cab on standby, as always there’s no easing gently back into boardroom life in this series as our candidates bid to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner and winner of The Apprentice.

Over the years, Lord Sugar has invested close to a staggering £3million into winning pitches, and this year’s ambitious entrepreneurs will be doing their utmost to prove they mean business as they fight it out for the life-changing investment opportunity.

The Apprentice returns Thursday 5th January at 9pm on BBC One.