The Apprentice’s Karren Brady and Tim Campbell on the real Lord Sugar, ‘dire’ show tasks and a stern warning

The Apprentice’s Karren Brady and Tim Campbell have revealed their thoughts on the real Lord Sugar, ‘dire’ show tasks and the stern warning they’d give future candidates.

We’ve watched the 18 candidates get whittled down to just five: Amber-Rose, Anisa, Chisola, Dean and Jordan.

Now it’s the penultimate week of and the task fans have been waiting for: the stage.

“The candidates who got into the final five were crying tears of joy and I said: ‘I’d be crying too if I had to face Claude Littner!’”; laughs , 56, who has been Lord Sugar’s eyes and ears for 14 series and is vice-chairman of United FC.

She adds: “When you’ve got people like Claude looking over your plan, don’t expect to be able to hide anything.

“All the mistakes on your CV and in your plan will come back to haunt you.”

A lot of people might not agree with who starts, but by the end of it, we’ve usually got the right winner.

“The British public love the final stage and I do too,”; smiles , 47, who was the first-ever winner of in the UK in 2005, and took over from Claude as Lord Sugar’s aide in 2022.

He continues: “By the time you get to this stage, it’s clear that we’ve picked the right people to get through the process.

A lot of people might not agree with who starts, but by the end of it, we’ve usually got the right winner.

I’m obviously going to say that, but it’s true [laughs].”;

As well as Claude, the candidates will be interrogated by those three other familiar faces – media-firm boss Claudine Collins, publishing pioneer Mike Soutar and design-agency founder Linda Plant.

And with Amber-Rose, Claudine raises a very topical question that’s been fiercely debated on social media of late – do candidates now simply apply for the show to try to become famous and increase their followers?

“The inevitability of the world we live in is if you’re on national , you are de facto going to be recognised, but the way I like to see it is two-fold,”; explains Tim.

“Most of our winners go on to have an amazing platform to sell their products or services.

“They live by the jury of the British public, which can be quite severe sometimes about whether or not you’re the right person or you’ve got the right idea.

“I think so far we’ve picked the right people to win and they’ve gone on to do fantastic things.

“The second thing is, it’s very clear that the robustness of the process weeds out individuals who may not be in it for the right reasons.

“The brilliant production team presents us with a final list of candidates who we believe are really interested in the phenomenal prospect of getting Lord Sugar’s and his mentorship, which I think is more important.

You’ve got to have a brain, you’ve got to have a business idea and you’ve got to have a viable proposition.

“You’re not going to get through just because you look good – there’s nothing wrong with looking good, but the reality is that in this show, if you come with a lovely suit and a lovely smile, it’s not sufficient to get you through.

“You’ve got to have a brain, you’ve got to have a idea and you’ve got to have a viable proposition that Lord Sugar would think about into.”;

Plus, of course, you’ve got to be able to withstand Lord Sugar’s famously forthright observations.

“I just think he tells it like it is,”; says Tim. “He’s firm, but he’s incredibly fair in the boardroom.

“He was doing diversity and inclusion before anybody else was.

“He’s made it clear that his boardroom is all about people’s efforts and outputs, and I think that’s a great thing we should respect in both business and life.”;

I've got to tell you, Alan really is very funny.

“I’ve got to tell you, Alan really is very funny,”; adds Karren. “I love him personally. I’ve been on holiday with him.

“He’s been a very dear and long, long-time friend. At the time I went into the House of Lords, Alan was a Labour peer, and I asked him to walk me in.

“It’s unheard of for a Conservative peer to ask a Labour peer to walk them in, but he’s one of my closest friends.

“He’s so quick-witted. He’s great fun, but he doesn’t really go to events – you won’t see Alan in Hello magazine!”;

“I’ve also seen his softer side with some of the candidates,”; adds Tim.

“When they leave and he offers them an opportunity to connect with him later, that’s a heartfelt thing from him – he legitimately wants to stay in contact with people who have really impressed him throughout the process.”;

“And when beat Spurs, he has a little tear in his eye!”; laughs Karren [Lord Sugar supports FC and was chairman and part-owner of the club from 1991 to 2001].

Alan does The Apprentice because he enjoys it, he loves helping young people.

“Alan does because he enjoys it, he loves helping young people, he loves taking business into people’s living rooms, educating the group of young people.”;

This series has had more than its fair share of cringe-inducing moments from the candidates – and eye rolls from Karren – so is it hard for her and Tim not to step in when it’s all falling apart?

“The advertising task was particularly dire this season,”; says Karren. “I was thinking: ‘This couldn’t possibly get any worse.’

“But we don’t step in because Alan doesn’t want to give us a quarter of a million pounds.”;

The Apprentice makes sense because of Lord Sugar. He is The Apprentice.

And would either of them take over from 78-year-old Lord Sugar in the boardroom if he chose to retire?

“No, I’ve always said to Alan: ‘When you leave, I leave,’”; says Karren. “I do this show for him.

“I’ve been approached by the big reality shows, but I wouldn’t do any other TV as I have a full-time job.”;

“Likewise,”; says Tim. “The Apprentice makes sense because of Lord Sugar. He is The Apprentice.”;

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The Apprentice airs on BBC One and is available to stream on .