Lord Sugar: The Apprentice longevity is down to show being "authentic"

During a Q&A with RadioTimes.com and other press, the question was posed to Lord Sugar and his advisors as to why they think the show is so popular, with Brady noting that it's because "it's so authentic".

Brady continued: "This show is great, and I hope you will forgive me for saying because, Alan, he's done it, he's been successful, he's honest, he's straight to the point, he's candid, he's unscripted and he's authentic.

"And I think people really like that. Lots of people have tried to recreate the show, do a business show, and have completely failed, and this show continues to go from strength to strength."

The Apprentice continues to be one of the most popular shows on television, with an average of 6.6 million viewers per episode during season 18. The series also proved popular with younger audiences, with 1.4 million viewers aged between 16 and 34 tuning in.

While Lord Sugar noted the introduction of BBC iPlayer has helped, it's something that wasn't introduced until a couple of years into the series.

The business mogul added to Brady's point, saying: "I've done everything. All of these tasks that these people are asked to do, I've done it, done every single thing.

"I've loaded lorries, I've packed parcels, I've traveled all over the world and so I don't ask any of these people to do anything that I can't do myself, and that's why it rolls off my tongue when I'm in the boardroom.

"I haven't got a script or anything like that. I'm interacting with the people and the questions I'm asking them [are] proper business questions.

"So I think it is very authentic if I say so myself and unfortunately, some of the imitations often copied and [are] often with all due respect, pretty pathetic."

The Apprentice returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Thursday 30th January 2025.

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