DRAMATIC music? Check. Panoramic shots of London? Check. Lord Alan looking like he’s stepping out of a shower into his boardroom? Check!
Yes, tonight sees the start of the eleventh series of The Apprentice. We all know the format but this time there’s a new face in the boardroom – although he should be familiar to most of us.
Exit the no-nonsense, multi-expressive faces of Nick Hewer, enter the even more no-nonsense, acid-tongued sharpness of Claude Littner. If his boardroom discussions live up to the brashness of his interview techniques we should be in for a treat.
So, what can we expect from The Apprentice 2015?
Cocky candidates
With names like April Jackson and Scott Saunders you might think the producers have chosen them because they sound like the pseudonyms of Marvel comic book characters but we expect their only credentials would be their attitudes. Looking at their BBC profiles, quotes like “I can never be the person that comes second”, “You will see my name in lights…” and “I am the Godfather of business,” it sounds more mockery that Marvel.
Task disasters
Admit it, the sight of watching 18 wannabe Alan Sugars’ race around London trying to flog various items fills you with joy on a cold Wednesday night. Who is going to kick off first? Which diva will lose it when their pitch is pants? The possibilities are endless and all the more watchable for those of us who love to see the next generation of business leaders suffer in their vain attempts for world domination.
The unseen scenes
There are a few unanswered questions when it comes to the production of The Apprentice. How do all 18 candidates manage to get themselves ready in just 30 minutes? They all crawl out of bed looking like they’ve just had a heavy night but half-an-hour later they are in pristine condition, hair immaculate, suits pressed and beards trimmed. Who cooks in the house? How do they manage to get across London so quickly? Why doesn’t Lord Sugar’s receptionist have a face, let alone a laptop? So many unanswered questions.
Boardroom banter
Without doubt the best part of the series is the boardroom when the candidates scuttle in to sit at the biggest desk on the planet to get a roasting off Lord Sugar. Cue fireworks, insults, sarcasm and TV gold. “I’ll fire the whole bloody lot of ya…” screamed Lord Sugar last year, and we want him to as well, only to realise that if he did, there’d be nothing to watch for the next 10 weeks. Keep them in and make them suffer, we say!
Task-winning treats
To the victor, the spoils. Or in The Apprentice’s case, a treat which sometimes feels a little rubbish considering what they have put themselves through. Yes, we’d all love to race around Silverstone in a flash car or sup cocktails on top of the Shard, but abseil a piece of modern art next to the Olympic Stadium or jump into a boxing ring to kick seven shades out of each other? If you don’t mind I’ll go back to the house and put my feet up.
So, are you ready for two months of Apprentice chats in the office? And don’t forget the brilliant You’re Fired! which follows with new host Jack Dee, expect deadpan put downs aplenty.
Bring on 9pm tonight, we say! For regular updates on The Apprentice, stay tuned to our website or Happy Creative’s Twitter feed @Happy_Creative and on our LinkedIn page.
Nick Hyde is PR & Content Manager at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
