The Apprentice is to debut on BBC One this month and put a new group of aspiring tycoons through their paces to win a job with the multi-millionaire and self-confessed “most belligerent person you’ll ever come across”, Sir Alan Sugar.

The budding entrepreneurs will come to London to battle it out in the toughest challenge of their lives: a 12-week gruelling job interview, where all they have to do is impress the boss. The tasks are tougher, the candidates hungrier and the boss fiercer than ever before and, as always, each week will see an apprentice singled out for the sack with Sir Alan’s famous catchphrase: “You’re fired!”

Viewers can expect tears, tantrums and the most explosive boardroom scenes to date as the claws come out to win the coveted, six-figure-salaried job.