The Apprentice veteran Karren Brady has spilled details on the intensity of filming the much-awaited 2025 series, warning fans to brace themselves for a gruelling season.
As the high-stakes business show returns next week, The Apprentice is set to introduce 18 ambitious hopefuls ready to vie for their spot in Lord Alan Sugar’s empire.
Joining Baroness Brady in guiding these entrepreneurs is Tim Campbell, who clinched the title in the debut series and now plays a pivotal advisory role.
Having stamped her authority in the boardroom since 2008, Karren is synonymous with the stern scrutiny candidates face. Nevertheless, the forthcoming season challenged her expertise like never before.
Announcing on a yet-to-be-named social platform, she penned: “Filming Season 19 was intense. When everything’s on the line, tensions rise, friendships are tested, and the boardroom battles get brutal. You won’t want to miss it.”
Karen Brady has opened up about the challenges she faced while filming (Image: BBC)
Lord Sugar himself is whipping up anticipation with hints at an impending revamp of The Apprentice format. In a marked departure from the traditional first task dividing contestants by gender, he’s stirring the pot with an intriguing new start-up strategy, reports .
For the first time ever on The Apprentice, opening challenges will pit mixed-gender teams against one another, adding an unexpected twist right from the start. Set against the backdrop of the breathtaking Alps, this inaugural task promises to deliver both excitement and demanding trials, as the candidates strive to make a strong impression.
Discussing the fresh approach to team selection, he shared: “We’ve split them into sexes in the past purely to help the audience get to know the candidates quickly, it just felt like an easy thing to do.”
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The Apprentice season 19 will hot screens soon (Image: BBC)
Noting the change, he continued: “This year, we decided to mix it up from the outset. ” Elaborating further, he added, “It’s quite a refreshing addition to the first episode, and it’s interesting to see how they handle being a mixed team because it’s not what they necessarily expected from the start.”
The new series follows the triumph of Rachel Woolford in 2024, who announced her venture with Lord Sugar in Leeds expanding her fitness studio North Studio with a new dedicated Reformer Pilates space.
The Apprentice UK 2025 debuts on BBC1 and iPlayer on Thursday, January 30 at 9pm