The Apprentice announces special series for 2020
It starts in October!
Just like a lot of the nation's favourite TV shows this year, including Love Island, Line of Duty and Peaky Blinders, hit BBC show The Apprentice was forced to cancel the latest series due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fans of the show were left gutted back in April when Lord Alan Sugar confirmed the 2020 series wouldn't be happening, but now we have some good news for you!
BBC bosses have today announced a special 'best of' series of The Apprentice, which will start on Thursday 1st October!
The show, titled The Apprentice Best Bits, will feature Lord Sugar, Baroness Karen Brady and Claude Littner as they take a trip down memory lane at some of the most memorable moments of the last 15 years.
Speaking about the new show, Lord Sugar said, “It has been very enjoyable recapping the series’ so far and watching how The Apprentice has evolved over the years, going from strength to strength. There have been some outstanding characters and great moments from across the series and this Best Bits show is a testament to that. Long may it continue.”
Starting on Thursday 1st October, The Apprentice Best Bits will run for six weeks, with each episode airing for 60 minutes on BBC One.
Sarah Clay, Commissioning Editor at the BBC, said, “The Apprentice is an Autumn highlight for viewers each year, so whilst there is no new series this time around, we can take a trip down memory lane! There will be a chance to relive some unforgettable moments from the last 15 years, alongside some new insights from Lord Sugar, Karren and Claude so viewers can definitely look forward to the very best bits of all things Apprentice in this special series.”
Check out which TV shows we wish would make a comeback:
Footballers' Wives
Broadcasting between 2002-2006, Footballers' Wives followed fictional Premier League football club Earls Park, as well as all of the drama from both the players and their fiery wives!
Bad Girls
Set inside a fictional women's prison, Bad Girls aired on ITV between 1996-2006 and featured some very famous faces, including Claire King and Debra Stephenson.
The Bill
First broadcast in 1983, police drama The Bill certainly proved popular, airing until 2010. The show focused on the lives and work of police officers and starred well-known actors such as Trudie Goodwin, Graham Cole and Mark Wingett.
Outnumbered
Although all of the kids from BBC sitcom Outnumbered are now grown up (Tyger Drew-Honey is now 26), we'd love to see a remake of the hilarious programme, which followed the lives of a mother and father who were outnumbered by their three children.
Of course, the mum and dad are now officially a couple in real life!
Don't Try This At Home
Who remembers sitting down in front of the TV on a Saturday night, watching on as Davina McCall helped members of the public take on tough and fearful challenges?
This needs to come back!
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
She was confident, funny, magical AND she had a talking cat. Sabrina made us all want to be a witch!
The show was also rebooted between 2018 and 2020 as a Netflix series called Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Ugly Betty
Believe it or not, it's been a massive 16 years since Ugly Betty last aired on our screens! The show, which featured actress America Ferrera, followed a character called Betty Suarez, who despite her lack of 'style', landed a job at a very prestigious fashion magazine.
Where The Heart Is
The British drama, which was filmed in the Yorkshire town of Skelthwaite, proved very popular with viewers between 1997-2006, showcasing the lives of a group of district nurses and their families.
It's a Knockout
It was stupid, it was crazy, but it was certainly fun! It's a Knockout started way back in 1966, but the show made a number of returns on BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5!
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
We'd love to see Will Smith get back into his character alongside Carlton Banks, however we got the next best thing earlier this year, with the Fresh Prince reboot called Bel Air, which was released earlier this year where Jabari Banks played Will Smith.
Stars In Their Eyes
A true classic! Stars In Their Eyes, originally hosted by Leslie Crowther, first aired in 1990 with Matthew Kelly taking over in 1993. The show did make a return with Harry Hill in 2015, but it didn't quite take off!
The Queen's Nose
Who would have thought that rubbing a 50p coin would be so interesting? We used to love watching the adventures of Harmony as she used up her magic wishes.
Gossip Girl
Although the show was given a reboot in 2021 with a brand new cast, it didn't live up to expectations of the original series, which aired between 2007-2012.
Fun House
We used to love watching two schools battle each other in three rounds of madness. Bring back the gunge and Pat Sharp's crazy hairstyles!
Grange Hill
Despite being at school all day, we loved to come home and watch other people be at school. Strange. But gripping story lines and relatable characters had us glued to our screens.
London's Burning
Airing between 1988 and 2002, London's Burning documented the lives of a fictional London Fire Brigade Blue Watch at the fictional Blackwall fire station.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory was on TV from 2007 until 2019. The show centred around two physicists who shared an apartment, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, and their friendship with Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, who lived opposite.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones lasted for eight seasons between 2011 – 2019. The show starred Sean Bean as Eddard 'Ned' Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.
House of Dragons is the new prequel but we really wish we'd have gotten more (or another ending) to the original Game of Thrones TV show. Who knows, maybe when the last book is out they might make some more episodes…
Lord Sugar confirmed back in April this year's series of The Apprentice had been cancelled, in the height of lockdown.
When a fan on Twitter asked him the question, 'Is the Apprentice cancelled this year, Lord? Sorry if you have already answered that?', Lord Sugar responded saying, 'Yes I guess so. Could be back in Spring 2021 or skip a whole year and back in October 2021.'
In June, bosses then released an official statement, writing, 'Sadly, we have decided to postpone #TheApprentice for 2020. Production safety and the wellbeing of everyone involved in the show is our number one priority. Whilst this is understandably disappointing news, you can still get your weekly fix of memorable tasks, favourite candidates and boardroom bust ups alongside brand new insights from Karren, Claude, Lord Sugar and many more from the past 15 years in a special highlights series airing later in 2020 on @bbc One.'. (sic)
The Apprentice Best Bits starts on BBC One on Thursday 1st October.