BBC’s The Apprentice is back for 2026 with 20 candidates hoping to impress Lord Sugar
BBC’s The Apprentice is back for 2026 with 20 candidates hoping to impress Lord Sugar
Megan Nisbet Content Editor
19:30, 29 Jan 2026
BBC’s The Apprentice is almost here ans will see Lord Sugar return for the 2026 series along with 20 new hopefuls.
As usual, the candidates will be looking to impress Lord Sugar and secure his £250,000 investment in their business plan as well his priceless mentorship. Across 12 epiodes, Lord Sugar will whittle down the 20 candidates with help from advisors Baroness Karren Brady CBE and Tim Campbell MBE.
The new series marks the twentieth season and for the first time will see the boardroom move to Hong Kong as the candidates complete a task in one of the world’s most vibrant trading hubs.
Among them is Megan Ruiter, who is the owner of her own clothing brand. The ambitious candidate, from Wirral, has made bespoke clothes for a host of famous faces and is now looking for investment in her clothing brand.
Speaking about her business plan, Megan said: “My current business is a bespoke womenswear clothing brand, Ruiter, which allows all customers to modify our designs online so that they suit their own personal style preferences.
“Whether that be a shorter or longer version, with or without sleeves, different neckline options or different colours and fabrics. We are not a fast fashion brand where one size fits all, our bespoke feature allows customers to make all our designs their own, appealing to a wider demographic. Our aim is to make our customers feel confident in every piece of Ruiter clothing and to create pieces that last a lifetime. With Lord Sugar’s investment, I can scale this brand and build on its successes.”
Megan believes she deserves Lord Sugar’s investment because she’s “hardworking,” and has been from a young age. She explained: “During university most students were out partying whilst I was at home teaching myself to sew and starting my own clothing business.
“Whenever I reach a goal in life, I am already working on how to achieve the next goal set. I always give everything my absolute all because when my work life is thriving that is when I feel most content within my personal life too. Plus, I think myself and Lord Sugar would make a great team together.”
Megan owns three successful businesses and says each one has taught her a new life lesson. She added: “I have such a strong desire to succeed in life as a well-established businesswoman and I am currently on a mission to achieve that dream goal for myself. I have no ‘off’ button, it’s always go, go, go.”
The candidate says people often describe her as being “extremely organised,” and positive. However, she admits her boyfriend would call her bossy, explaining: “I like things done my way, because I know they will get done.”
Megan is one of 20 candidates vying for Lord Sugar’s investment in the new series, where stakes are high from the offset. The latest season will kick off with the fan-favourite buying challenge before a demanding run of tasks that takes the candidates across London and beyond, testing their instincts for branding, selling and negotiation.
The BBC said: “Viewers can expect to see the candidates create a children’s books, sell live on television and host a corporate away day on the Red Sea in El Gouna, Egypt, before tackling a second helping of the discount buying task on the Isle of Wight. It all leads to interviews week, where the final five face Lord Sugar’s closest associates, their business plans stripped back and examined in detail.”
The Apprentice returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Thursday, January 29.
