The Apprentice 2009

The identities of the fifteen contestants taking part in this year's Apprentice have been revealed.

Eight females and seven males will compete for a job working with multi-millionaire Sir Alan Sugar in the business-based reality show. The series kicks off on March 25 on BBC One.

This year's hopefuls include a city stockbroker, a teacher, an award-winning restaurant owner and an ex-professional footballer.

Sugar's no-nonsense advisers Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford will return, while spinoff show The Apprentice: You're Fired! hosted by Adrian Chiles is also back on Wednesday nights.

The list of contestants in full:




Anita Shah - A 35-year-old business strategist from Birmingham. She is a cricket fanatic and law graduate, who wants to one day create a business "providing emotional, psychological and spiritual therapy". She describes herself as a "humanitarian with a Bridget Jones alter-ego".


Debra Barr - A 24-year-old senior sales consultant from Surrey. Awarded the 'Mouth Of The Year' prize at her office Christmas party, Debra admits to being "tenacious". She battled with illiteracy in her youth, but went on to get a English literature BA. Her business heroes are Bill Gates and Richard Branson.


Kate Walsh - A licensing development manager from Hampshire, Kate is an indie music fan with a passion for snowboarding, cooking and the gym. She admires Sex & The City's Samantha's approach to business. "My CV speaks for itself," says the 27-year-old BSc graduate.


Kimberly Davis - Born in the Bronx, Kimberly now works as a marketing consultant in London. Her first business was at the age of five when she sold lemonade from an iced-tea stand. The 33-year-old New Yorker has performed Mozart at Carnegie Hall and performed on stage on Disney Land and Disney World. "I bring honesty to the table. I don't lie, cheat or backstab," she says.


Lorraine Tighe - A 36-year-old national accounts manager, who is a mother-of-two. She left school at 16, but claims to have been the top sales person at every company she's worked for. She admires Victoria Beckham for being resourceful with "not much talent", and claims her career has been a battle "against the odds".


Mona Lewis - A 28-year-old senior financial manager, who was previously a Tanzanian beauty queen. She is a mother-of-one and considers herself a shrewd and honest worker. She wants to appear on The Apprentice to go outside of her comfort zone. "I knew I would be selected," she says.


Paula Jones - A 29-year-old human resources consultant from Walsall. She is a fashion conscious academic, who enjoys interior design. She admits to being a "scatter brain" and "shying away from conflict". A former four-star sergeant in the army cadets, she represented the army at county level in shooting.


Yasmina Siadatan - A restaurant owner in London, Yasmina has spent time in Hull, Los Angeles and Iran. She describes herself as "dominating yet adaptable" and cites Richard Branson as a business hero. The 27-year-old says she would have loved to have been the brains behind Microsoft.


Ben Clarke - A 22-year-old trainee stockbroker, Ben admits to being ruthless and money-obsessed. He has worked as a Gavin Henson lookalike and describes himself as "cocky". He is inspired by Hugh Hefner's Playboy brand and believes "making money is better than sex".


Howard Ebison - A 24-year-old retail business manager from Derby, Howard is a dancer, self-trained musician and area manager at ten pubs. He claims to be "family orientated" but "ambitious". He wants to one day set up his own consultancy specialising in customer service.


James McQuillan - A 32-year-old self-styled "schmoozer", who works as a senior commercial manager. A former child chess champion, doorman and trolley collector, he says that Al Pacino and J.K. Rowling are his inspirational figures. He admits to suffering from "foot in mouth syndrome" and says he would love to have been the brains behind the A-Team.


Majid Nagra - A 28 year-old business development manager from Coventry, Maj is a "reformed rebel". Expelled from school for wayward behaviour, he now works in youth centres and charities while running his own car hire service. He describes himself as "funny" and "talkative".


Noorul Choudhury - A science teacher from Rochdale, Noorul wants to become a property developer millionaire. He claims to be a straight-talking leader and says that he always puts work first. The 33-year-old believes business is a "dog eat dog game that you must play to win".


Phillip Taylor - A 29-year-old from Country Durham, who claims to be "confident and charming". He works as an estate agent and confesses to being a "control freak". He says, "Business is the new rock 'n' roll and I'm Elvis Presley."


Rocky Andrews - The youngest contestant at 21, Rocky runs a 15-store sandwich chain in the North of England. He was a footballer at Middlesbrough United, but was diagnosed with arthritis, bringing his career to an early halt. He believes business is about "hard work" and "learning from these mistakes".

SBBB - Next Clue - The clock has finished ticking for Carol.

The Prokofiev opening theme tune is back, Nick and Margaret are back and most importantly of all, Sir Alan Sugar is back on the hunt for a new Apprentice. 15 new contestants with delusions of business grandeur have been lined up to tackle the East London-born self-made millionaire in the boardroom. Do they know their profit from their turnover? And maybe more importantly, will they know what Kosher chicken is? We chatted to Sir Alan about what we can expect from the forthcoming fifth series.

Has the credit crunch altered how you set the tasks on this year's Apprentice?
"I think you'll find as we go through the series, you'll see some shows that are specifically tuned for difficult times. I don't want to spoil it too much for you, but for example, I guess you would accept the current economic situation means people are considering where they are going to go on holiday more. So there is a good opportunity to reinvent one of our old seaside towns, one of the ramshackle old places. One of our tasks is about that."

In the first episode you reveal that a contestant dropped out at the last minute. Do you know why?
"I personally don't know who he is. As I joke in the first episode, I've never met the bloke! From what I understand from the production team there's nothing sinister about it. It was just that he got himself into the hotel room on the last night and he finally realised that this was it. He knew that he was going to be away from his family and kids for 12 weeks and the reality hit home. That's what done him in. The thought of being away from the family."

Do you know from an early stage who will be in the final?
"You really don't. It's like when you start any job and enter a new office. Your immediate reaction is that you like certain people and dislike certain people, but its wrong to make those early opinions. I've learnt on The Apprentice and in life, you can't form an opinion about anyone at such an early stage. Throughout the course of the 12 weeks, and I'm sure Nick and Margaret would agree, we often change our minds and our opinions switch as we go along."

Are you concerned that contestants may want to be on the show just to get their faces on TV?
"It happens, doesn't it? They are sifted out by the production people from the thousands that apply. We can usually tell from a mile off who is here for the wrong reasons. But what can you do? All I can say is that when we start the process, the contestants have no intention of embarking on a media career. But as soon as their face appears on the TV screen, they quite like it. They go and hire themselves Jonathan Ross or Cheryl Cole's agent as if they are something special. Some of them end up with small roles in some programmes, but you know about that better than me."

This is the fifth series. Have people stopped making the same mistakes and what are the chances of a sixth series?
"You would have thought that with this being the fifth series, they would come in well armed knowing what not to do. But as you'll find out they never learn the lessons and they still get it wrong. It never ceases to amaze me, but you'll see in the first episode there is a classic error. I do say in the boardroom - but they don't show it for editorial reasons - 'You lot have got to be bloody dumb to not know what's gone in the past shows'. They must have been in Mongolia or some space station not to notice the same silly mistakes. Will there be a sixth series? That depends on the punters. Like any product, we can like it, the BBC can like it, journalists can like it, but at the end of the day, the customers are the ones who will decide."

One contestant on this year's show claims making money is better than sex. Do you agree?
"I don't know. It very much depends. You should have asked me the question thirty years ago. Now, definitely, making money is my main priority."

You criticised Jeremy Paxman in a recent interview. Would you get him on a celebrity edition of the show?
"I'm not sure, but I think he was approached for one of the celebrity editions. I think he bottled it. Don't hold me to that because I don't do the recruiting, but it would have been good, wouldn't it?"

What's the truth about the rumours that you may be running for Mayor of London?
"The story about me being Mayor of London came from some rag. They didn't understand that I couldn't be Mayor because of obvious conflicts of interest."

Will there ever be a full-length celebrity version of the show?
"The Americans have done that. I don't know how successful that was. I know Piers Morgan won that thanks to me coaching him, but I haven't any real heard talk on that. I would like to do a Junior Apprentice and we are currently in negotiations about doing it. That's something I'm more interested in, personally."

The Apprentice returns Wednesday, March 25 at 9pm on BBC One.

Sir Alan Sugar has revealed that one of this year's Apprentice contestants pulled out of the show at the last minute.

The eight women and seven men competing on the fifth series were revealed earlier today.

However, during the opening boardroom scene in the first episode of the new series, Sir Alan tells the 15 contestants that one male hopeful has already withdrawn because of nerves.

"I personally don't know who he is," said Sugar at The Apprentice launch. "As I joke in the first episode, I've never met the bloke!

"From what I understand from the production team there's nothing sinister about it. It was just that he got himself into the hotel room on the last night and he finally realised that this was it."

He added: "He knew that he was going to be away from his family and kids for 12 weeks and the reality hit home. That's what done him in. The thought of being away from the family."

The Apprentice returns on Wednesday, March 25 on BBC One.

Next week it's back :cheer: :cheer:

:cheer::cheer::cheer: ah yeah.. my dance class finishes at 8.30 so I will be home in time

The 16th Apprentice contestant, who pulled out of the show at the last minute, has been revealed.

31-year-old Adam Freeman from Essex dropped out of the BBC series shortly before filming started on the first task. Sir Alan Sugar refers to Freeman as a "bottler" in the opening episode.

The father-of-two, who currently works on a loans website, claims to have made his first million by the age of 25 selling ringtones.

Freeman insists that he would have won the £100,000-a-year job if he had remained on the show, but admitted that he was concerned about being "whipped silly" by Sir Alan Sugar.

"We would be like two peas from the same pod. Sir Alan would have been all over me like a rash," he told The Sun. "He would have wanted me to be as good as he's been all his life.

"I'm up for a bit of pressure, but he would have whipped me silly. And I knew I would have won it. It could have been hell. Let's face it - working for Sir Alan is no stroll in the park."

He added: "I knew I'd win it, so I would be away for 12 weeks. I did think about bailing out after a few weeks - but I would have looked like a bottler. I'm not a bottler. I work hard and always have done."

The Apprentice returns on BBC One tonight.

Sir Alan Sugar will kick off the fifth series of The Apprentice tonight, launching a hunt for a new £100,000-a-year employee. The East End entrepreneur has been one the country's most successful businessmen during the last 30 years as the founder of Amstrad and one-time owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club. But what do you really know about Sir Alan beyond his fierce reputation and boardroom battles? Here's ten tantalising facts about the bearded millionaire that you may not have heard.

1. Sir Alan was born in Hackney on March 24 in 1947 to Fay and Nathan Sugar. At the age of 13 he was already making more money than his dad, who was a tailor, by boiling beetroots, making ginger beer and selling photographic film to school friends.

2. Sugar is a qualified pilot with 30 years of experience. He apparently owns a Cirrus SR20 four-seat aircraft, based at Stapleford Airfield. Very flash!

3. TV fame obviously runs in Sugar's family. His niece is Rita Simons, who plays Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders. I did not know this

4. Sir Alan is patriotic when it comes to The Apprentice. Speaking about Donald Trump's US version, Sugar said: "When you're on a winner, you stick to the winner. You polish it and enhance it and try to make it more interesting to the public...they've made the fatal error of trying to change things just for the sake of it and it backfired."

5. Sir Alan famously said that he didn't like "schmoozers" and "a**e-lickers", but what does the East End boy think of academic University types? "Qualifications are meaningless in the world of business. They are a badge that shows a person is at a certain level of intelligence - it doesn't demonstrate that they are an expert in anything," he says. Well that's told us!

6. Sugar's triumphs as a businessman are well documented, but as a football chairman he was far less successful. During his nine-year run as owner of Spurs, Sugar's team only won one measly trophy, the 1999 Worthington Cup.

7. Sir Alan's dislike for journalists is well known, but who does he hate more than tabloid hacks? "Football players are scum, total scum," he said. "They're bigger scum than journalists, don't you understand? They don't know what honesty or loyalty is. They're the biggest scum that walk on this planet and, if they weren't football players, most of them would be in prison, it's as simple as that."

8. When he's not busy grilling people in the boardroom and making big money deals, Sugar has been known to give up his time and cash for charity. He's raised large sums of money for Great Ormond Street, the Hackney Empire and Jewish Care.

9. Is Sir Alan Sugar as grumpy as he's made out to be on The Apprentice? His trusty aide Nick Hewer certainly thinks so. "He's not cuddly. I've seen him being charming, but it's not an everyday thing. He can be pretty gruff with his friends, too. He can tear into you if you've made a mistake," said Hewer.

10. Sir Alan has frequently been accused of sexism during his time on The Apprentice, so where does he really stand on women in the workplace? "I have great sympathy for women," he said. "I think some of the employment laws are counter-productive. They prevent employers asking questions, which 99% of the women would be happy to answer...Where they live, whether they have children, have they made provision to have their children looked after. It gets blown out of proportion by the media."

Can't wait for this to start tonight (and Perdita, I did know that about Roxy been his niece)

That is because you are a clever bunny :D

i know who goes out and managed to let it slip at work, oops!