If you loved season 20 of The Apprentice and are gutted it's over, then you’re in luck. The Celebrity Apprentice is officially returning this year, this time with a full-length series (unlike the Christmas special, which was a shorter version).
Following the success of the previous charity specials, the BBC gave the green light to a brand-new line-up of celebrities, from singer Alexandra Burke to content creator Max Balegde. Through six episodes, they'll battle it out in Lord Sugar's boardroom to avoid being fired and ultimately be crowned The Celebrity Apprentice winner.
"We’ve had some great celebrity names walk into my boardroom over the years, but they’ve only ever had a small taster of what it’s like to be a candidate," Lord Sugar said.
"It’ll be interesting to see how our future celebrities fare across a full series, removing their PAs, PRs, agents and all the other assistance they have in their day-to-day lives to fully immerse themselves into The Apprentice world."
So, when does it start? And what can viewers expect?
Here's everything you need to know.
When does The Celebrity Apprentice start?
The BBC hasn't confirmed an exact start date yet for The Celebrity Apprentice, but we do know that the six-part series will air in late 2026.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC said: "The Apprentice is a much-loved part of the BBC’s entertainment offering and we can’t wait to see how the celebrity candidates rise to the challenge when the series launches later in 2026."
We'll update you right here with an exact release date once we know more.
How to watch The Celebrity Apprentice
The Celebrity Apprentice will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It's expected to air in the channel's prime 9pm slot.
Who is in The Celebrity Apprentice cast?
The BBC have just announced the list of celebrities taking part in the show. They are:
- Alexandra Burke - Singer
- Danny Miller - Emmerdale (Aaron Dingle)
- Gethin Jones - TV presenter
- Jordan Banjo - Dancer (from Diversity)
- Kay Burley - Journalist
- Maddie Grace Jepson - Actress and online personality
- Max Balegde - Presenter, podcaster and content creator
- Sheli McCoy - Gladiators star Sabre
- DJ Spoony - UK garage star
- Richie Anderson - Presenter (TV and BBC Radio 2)
- Laura Smyth - Comedian and writer
- Toni Laites - TV personality
Paul Broadbent, executive producer, said: "The celebrities will need to leave their ego at the boardroom door and prepare to roll their sleeves up for some very challenging - and hugely entertaining - tasks."
How many episodes of The Celebrity Apprentice will there be?
Since the show is rolling out over six weeks, there will be six episodes in total. Not enough in our opinion!
When does The Celebrity Apprentice finish?
The Celebrity Apprentice will air across six weeks on BBC One - at the end of which the first winner of the new series will be crowned.
Bookmark this page for the latest info.
The Celebrity Apprentice will air on BBC One late 2026.
