The Apprentice (British TV series) series 18

The Apprentice
Series 18
Starring
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release1 February (2024-02-01) –
18 April 2024 (2024-04-18)
Series chronology

The eighteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) premiered on 1 February 2024 in the UK on BBC One.[1] Karren Brady and Tim Campbell returned as Lord Sugar's aides.[2][3] The eighteen candidates competing in the series were revealed on 23 January 2024.[4] The series concluded on 18 April 2024, with Rachel Woolford emerging as the overall winner, finishing over runner-up Phil Turner.[5]

Production

In January 2023, whilst the previous series was airing, the BBC announced applications were open for the eighteenth series.[6][7] The applications closed on 29 January 2023.[8] In November 2023, it was confirmed that the series would be pushed back to February 2024 instead of the usual slot due to the second series of The Traitors launching in January.[9][10][11] The first teaser for the new series was revealed on 17 January 2024.[12]

Before the series, Lord Sugar spoke during an interview with The Times announcing his plans to "tone down" the penultimate "interviews" episode for this series, following the controversy surrounding the interrogations from the interviewers in the previous series, which Sugar himself said he found "hard to watch."[13][14] His aide Karren Brady defended the segment of the process however, insisting that she was not trying to upset the candidates, [during the interviews] however added that "resilience" was critical for running a successful business.[15]

Series overview

The two teams are named Supream and Nexus.[16]

Candidates

Candidate Background Age Result
Rachel Woolford Boutique fitness studio owner 27 Winner
Phil Turner Pie company owner 37 Runner-up
Paul Midha Dental practice owner 29 Fired in the interviews stage
Florence "Flo" Edwards Recruitment consultant 29
Tre Lowe Musician & wellness entrepreneur 48
Steve Darken Management consultant 37 Fired in the tenth task
Foluso Falade Project manager 25
Maura Rath Yoga company owner 33 Fired in the ninth task
Raj Chohan Mortgage broker 41
Noor Bouziane Jewellery company owner 22 Fired in the eighth task
Virdi Singh Mazaria Music producer 24 Fired in the seventh task
Samantha "Sam" Saadet Perinatal fitness coach 33 Fired in the sixth task
Onyeka Nweze Chartered company secretary 25 Fired in the fifth task
Jack Davies Recruitment director 29 Fired in the fourth task
Amina Khan Pharmacist & business owner 32
Asif Munaf Doctor & wellness brand owner 34 Fired in the third task
Paul Bowen Pie company director 34 Fired in the second task
Oliver "Ollie" Medforth Sales executive 27 Fired in the first task

Performance chart

Candidate Task Number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Rachel IN IN IN IN IN IN LOSE LOSS IN LOSE IN HIRED
Phil LOSS LOSE LOSS BR LOSS BR LOSS LOSS BR WIN IN RUNNER-UP
Paul M. LOSS LOSS IN IN LOSE LOSS IN WIN LOSS IN FIRED
Flo IN IN WIN IN LOSS LOSS IN IN BR IN FIRED
Tre LOSS LOSS IN IN WIN IN LOSS LOSS WIN IN FIRED
Steve BR LOSS IN IN IN WIN IN IN IN FIRED
Foluso IN WIN IN IN IN IN BR LOSS IN FIRED
Maura IN IN LOSS BR LOSS BR WIN IN FIRED
Raj IN IN IN WIN IN IN IN IN FIRED
Noor IN IN IN IN IN IN LOSS FIRED
Virdi LOSE LOSS LOSS BR BR LOSS FIRED
Sam IN IN BR BR LOSS FIRED
Onyeka WIN IN BR BR FIRED
Jack LOSS LOSS LOSS FIRED
Amina IN IN BR FIRED
Asif LOSS BR FIRED
Paul B. LOSS FIRED
Ollie FIRED


 HIRED  The candidate won this series of The Apprentice.
 RUNNER-UP  The candidate was the runner-up.
 WIN  The candidate won as project manager on their team, for this task.
 LOSE  The candidate lost as project manager on their team, for this task.
 IN  The candidate was on the winning team for this task / passed the Interviews stage.
 LOSS  The candidate was on the losing team for this task.
 BR  The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task.
 FIRED  The candidate was fired in this task.
 PM  The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions) [17]
2371"Highlands Corporate Away Day"1 February 2024 (2024-02-01)6.24
Lord Sugar begins his search for a new business partner for 2024 amongst eighteen new candidates. For their first task, the teams are sent to the Scottish Highlands challenged to host a corporate retreat at Cawdor Castle, including a tour, catering, and a team-building activity. The women focus on a tour of the Highlands' waterways with a team-building exercise themed on Highland games, serving fish cakes and rhubarb crumble for lunch, suffering a serious mistake due to a mix-up in their cooking. The men focus on a "land tour", serving toad in the hole and brownies for lunch, but do not impress with their poor time management and undercooked food. In the boardroom, the women win with a profit despite refunds, whilst the men face questions over their mistakes that left them suffering a loss. Of the final three, Oliver Medforth is the first to be fired for contributing too little to the task.[18]
2382"Cheesecakes"8 February 2024 (2024-02-08)6.32
The teams find themselves tasked by Lord Sugar to create two sets of mini cheesecakes; one set to punt to the public, and one set for a corporate client. The men create white chocolate cheesecakes for the public, and dragon fruit and avocado cheesecakes for their corporate clients; yet they face issues with costings, negotiations with their difficult clients, and selling prices. The women create mango cheesecakes for the public, and fig-flavoured cheesecakes for their clients; they sell well and control their costs, but face issues with logistics. In the boardroom, the women secure a larger profit over their opponents, leaving the men facing questions over their strategy. Out of the final three, Paul Bowen is dismissed for pushing the wrong type of cheesecake to his team's client in initial negotiations and for making too many mistakes on a task tailored to his line of work.
2393"Virtual Escape Rooms"15 February 2024 (2024-02-15)6.05
The teams are mixed up and form names, as both sides find their next task is to create a new virtual Escape room - coming up with a concept, developing a demo, and then pitching their creation to industry experts. Nexus creates a medieval-style experience, themed around trying to create a cure for a Black Death-type plague, which is seen as having a feeling of resembling a game rather than an escape room. Supream creates an experience themed around survival on a deserted island, which is seen as being confusing. In the end, Nexus' concept is voted the best, with Supream being critiqued on its failure. Four of the team are called back, out of which Dr Asif Munaf is fired for not living up to his promises from his last boardroom appearance and not providing clear instructions to his team. Following the firing, Lord Sugar visits the candidates' house to inform them of the next task.
2404"Jersey Discount Buying"22 February 2024 (2024-02-22)6.43
Lord Sugar sends the teams to Jersey to purchase a list of nine items associated with the island, for the cheapest price. Nexus manages to secure eight of the correct items, making good negotiations through a clear strategy, although waste time waiting around for certain items. Supream manages to secure seven items, but face severe issues from a clear lack of strategy, poor negotiations, and a poorly managed sub-team, resulting in fines for an incorrect item and lateness. In the boardroom, Supream's spending is revealed to be far greater than Nexus', leaving the entire team to face scrutiny by Lord Sugar over their dismal performance. Among the losing team, Lord Sugar dismisses Amina Khan, for her mismanagement of the sub-team and for being regarded as a weak contributor to the four tasks, and Jack Davies, for demonstrating weak leadership and strategic skills, and his poor track record.
2415"Formula E"29 February 2024 (2024-02-29)6.03
Lord Sugar instructs the teams to come up with a concept for a new Formula E team, and then sell sponsorship at a launch event, which includes a potential separate deal with one major corporate client. Nexus' concept revolves around plastic pollution and the oceans; despite poor branding from the sub-team, the concept is well received at their launch event, which leads to some strong deals from sponsors. Supream focuses its concept around clean air, but despite one good deal, it suffers from a relatively poor branding effort, compounded with overall poor sponsorship sales at its launch event due to the concept not being properly communicated during the presentation. In the boardroom, Nexus wins after delivering high sales figures, leaving Supream to face questions about their campaign. Of the final three, Onyeka Nweze is fired for delivering a poor presentation at the launch event.
2426"Cereal"7 March 2024 (2024-03-07)6.07
Both teams find themselves designing a brand new cereal for six to eight-year-olds, including the product's box, mascot, and a VR feature, before pitching their creation at a launch event to secure orders with retailers. Nexus create a superhero-themed cereal; despite problems with the cereal's flavour and the simplicity of their VR feature, they secure a very large deal at their launch event following positive comments. Supream produces an arctic-themed cereal, but suffer several issues including a bland flavour, a poorly designed box, and a VR game that faces heavy criticism from retailers at the launch event. In the boardroom, Nexus - despite gambling on an exclusive deal - secure the most sales from their cereal, leaving Supream to face the boardroom over their flawed product. Of the final three, Sam Saadet is ejected from the process for her poor leadership and overseeing an overall extremely lacklustre campaign.
2437"Budapest Tourism"14 March 2024 (2024-03-14)5.45
The teams are sent to Budapest, Hungary, to each host a tour for tourists to enjoy. After a minor switch in the team, Nexus focus on a wine tour, where despite a last minute decision, the team work on a strong sales strategy, and provide a quality tour with added commission from wine sales. Supream produce a boat tour on the Danube including a visit to Margaret Island, but despite delivering quality, the team suffer from a poor ticket sales at lower prices. In the boardroom, Nexus' profits are revealed to have been significantly higher than Supream's, leaving the latter to face scrutiny over their flawed sales strategy. Of the final three, Virdi Singh Mazaria is fired for their poor ticket sales, along with their track record over the last seven tasks.
2448"XBUS Advertising"21 March 2024 (2024-03-21)5.54
The teams are challenged to promote an XBUS electric van for a particular market with an advertising campaign, pitching their concept to industry experts. Nexus opt to promote the vehicle as a camper van for the leisure market, creating a comedic advert, along with a brand name inspired by the Bed & Breakfast market. Supream choose to promote the vehicle as a mobile shop for business owners, with advertising and branding reflecting this. Neither campaign is without issue, with Lord Sugar determing that Nexus's brand is the best, leaving Supream to face severe questions over their brand and advertising. Amongst the losing team, before being able to select a final three, Noor Bouzaine is dismissed for directing a poor advertising campaign, refusing to accept the flaws of the team's campaign, and for failing to demonstrate any leadership skills to Lord Sugar.
2459"TV Selling"28 March 2024 (2024-03-28)6.01
The teams are given instructions by Lord Sugar to select and sell products during a primetime Saturday slot on a shopping channel. Supream focus on high-price self-care items; although their performance is decent, the team face issues with their selection and selling in bulk. Nexus focus on unusual mass-market items; the team suffer from a lack of strategy with their products, alongside poor presenting, and mismanaged pricing efforts. In the boardroom, Nexus learns their sale figures are lower than that of Supream's, leaving them to face significant scrutiny over their performance. Of the four candidates brought back to the final boardroom, Raj Chohan is fired, for her poor leadership and presenting skills despite an impressive track record, along with Maura Rath, for delivering a horrible broadcast segment and for being regarded as a weak contributor throughout the tasks.
24610"Vegan Alternative to Cheese"4 April 2024 (2024-04-04)5.90
The teams find their next task is to produce a vegan cheese product, which they will then pitch to retailers. Nexus creates a high-end truffle-based spread; despite concerns about the branding, the flavour is praised, which leads to orders from both retailers. Supream concocts a curry-flavoured soft cheese, but they suffer from an overall poor branding effort, compounded with the flavour being very poorly received by the public and the retailers. In the boardroom, Nexus win by securing orders, whilst Nexus are scrutinised for their failure upon finding their product received no orders at all. In the end, Lord Sugar fires Foluso Falade almost immediately, for the critical failure in the branding despite her claimed expertise; Steve Darken is later dismissed for his poor decision on the curry flavour and showing no viable qualities as a future business partner.
24811"Interviews"11 April 2024 (2024-04-11)6.04
After facing ten tasks as teams, the remaining five candidates now compete as individuals in their next task – a series of tough, gruelling interviews with some of Lord Sugar's closest associates: Claudine Collins, Claude Littner, Mike Soutar and Linda Plant. Each member faces scrutiny over their backgrounds, work experience, track record, and business proposals when questioned by interviewers. Feedback to Lord Sugar, alongside observations by his aides, leads him to firing Tre Lowe for lacking the necessary experience for his proposal with an untested and undeveloped product, Flo Edwards for raising concerns over the financial structure of her proposal, and Dr Paul Midha for refusing to give Lord Sugar half of his existing business after his initial business proposal is deemed unworkable. Of the remaining two, Phil Turner is commended for having a business that could compete in the crowded food market despite concerns over his weak track record, while Rachel Woolford earns praise for an established track record in the fitness industry and her ambitious plans to grow her business.
24812"The Final"18 April 2024 (2024-04-18)6.02
After facing a multitude of business tasks and a tough interview, the two finalists, aided by old colleagues, face the task of launching their respective new businesses, produce advertising campaigns and pitching their businesses to a series of industry experts. Phil works to present his plan for an online pie shop, receiving praise for his recipes, but is faced with questions regarding his online delivery strategy, which experts find to be too confusing. Rachel works to open new locations for her fitness studio, receiving praise her business' ability to compete in a crowded market, yet faces questions on its USP. Based on feedback from these presentations, Lord Sugar decides that Rachel Woolford will be his business partner for 2024 for her strong performance throughout the process and offering a more lucrative proposal, leaving Phil Turner as runner-up due to the complicated aspects of his proposal and having a poor track record.

References

  1. ^ "The Apprentice reveals first details about series 18". Virgin Radio. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  2. ^ Fawehinmi, Yolanthe (27 November 2023). "The Apprentice is back with Lord Sugar for its 18th series". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  3. ^ Collier, Katie (28 November 2023). "BBC's The Apprentice to return in 2024 with its 18th series". Stourbridge News. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. ^ "The Apprentice 2024 candidates - Meet the hopefuls vying for Lord Sugar's investment in series 18". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Who won The Apprentice 2024? Rachel Woolford crowned winner of season 18". Radio Times. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  6. ^ Collier, Katie (21 December 2022). "BBC The Apprentice: How to apply for 2024 series". Wandsworth Times. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  7. ^ Meechan, Simon (6 January 2023). "How to apply to be on The Apprentice for next series to be shown in 2024". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. ^ Ross, Alex (19 February 2024). "Applications for The Apprentice are now closed". Planet Radio. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ^ Sarrubba, Stefania (28 November 2023). "The Apprentice teases season 18 with first look photo". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ^ Ross, Alex (23 February 2024). "The new series of The Apprentice has been delayed by the BBC". Planet Radio. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  11. ^ "When will The Apprentice season 18 be released? Everything we know so far". Virgin Radio. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ^ The Apprentice [@bbcapprentice] (17 January 2024). "Guess who's back... Watch brand-new #TheApprentice on #iPlayer and #BBCOne from 1 Feb at 9pm" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 February 2024 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  13. ^ Billen, Andrew (12 May 2023). "Alan Sugar: Antisemitism hurts. But it's ignorance, really". The Times. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ^ Bacon, Jess (16 May 2023). "The Apprentice making change to one stage after Alan Sugar admits to finding "hard to watch"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  15. ^ Cooper, Brenna (26 May 2023). "Karren Brady comments on "hard to watch" Apprentice scenes after Alan Sugar promises change". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Who left The Apprentice? Full line-up of 2024 candidates". Yahoo News. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Weekly top 50 shows". BARB. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  18. ^ Rowat, Alison (31 January 2024). "The Apprentice heads to Scotland for new series". The Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
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