The Apprentice slammed as ‘cringe TV’ as viewers beg BBC to ‘let it die’

Can The Apprentice be saved, or should it just be axed?

Is The Apprentice “dead”? After the 20th series’ opening episodes, fans have asked the BBC to “put it out of its misery”.

Two decades on, Lord Sugar is still on the hunt for his next business partner. But, while the formula remains intact, fans are increasingly questioning whether the spark has gone.

The milestone series kicked off in Hong Kong with the classic scavenger hunt task. Since then, we’ve seen chaotic children’s books and boardroom showrooms that feel all too familiar.

Instead of celebrating 20 years on air, viewers are asking a blunt question: is The Apprentice past its prime?

Is this the worst series of The Apprentice yet? (Credit: BBC)

The Apprentice branded “cringe TV” as fans say it’s hit a “new low”

Online reaction has been brutal. In one Reddit thread titled, “This show and format is dead”, hundreds of comments pile in on the current crop of candidates and the direction of the show.

“The group of candidates are terrible now… I think they should end with this series,” one viewer wrote.

Another added: “I remember the first series; there were far more qualified and articulate candidates. Now it really is just TV execs picking the most irritating half-wits that generate ‘drama’.”

After the children’s book task in episode two, some fans declared the show had reached a “new low”, arguing that watching constant failure isn’t entertaining when the challenges feel stacked against the contestants.

Lord Sugar responds to ‘stale’ claims

Lord Sugar has publicly rejected the criticism.

Posting on X after the premiere, he wrote: “IF IT’S NOT BROKE DON’T FIX IT… I compare it to football. The rules are the same every game, but something special happens every game.”

Responding to a viewer who called it the “worst first episode ever”, he added: “Come off it… very unfair comment.”
Should The Apprentice continue? (Credit: BBC)

Are ratings falling?

The show is still pulling solid numbers – but there’s been a steady decline.

Series 20 launched with 3.1 million viewers, down from 3.5 million in 2024 and 4.8 million in 2023.

By comparison, The Traitors finale recently peaked at 9.6 million, while its celebrity edition reportedly drew 15 million viewers. I’m a Celebrity even opened with 6.6 million.

It may not be the juggernaut it once was, but it’s still popular. It’s too late for series, but time will tell if there’ll be any changes in the future.

Lord Alan Sugar had to Fire one more contestant on this week’s Apprentice as fans complained over the challenge on the BBC show.

21:43, Thu, Feb 13, 2025 Updated: 22:14, Thu, Feb 13, 2025

The Apprentice made fans ‘cringe’ with this week’s task (Image: BBC)

A “cringey” challenge on this evening’s episode of The Apprentice had fans at home begging for one contestant to be fired by Lord Alan Sugar. The candidates headed off to the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, with the task of securing nine items in nine hours.

The team that spent the least on the correct items would be declared this week’s winners. But the teams ran into snags as they argued over haggling with prices, while one hopeful entrepeneur admitted that they didn’t know what a rhubard was and others were not aware of how pricey gold was.

The episode saw plenty of overpaying, over-negotiating and under-delivering as Karren Brady and Tim Campbell monitored the progress out in the field to report back to Lord Sugar.

As fans at home watched disaster unfold and the contestants butt heads, they took to social media to share their thoughts. Posting to X/Twitter, one wrote: “#TheApprentice God, are they so stupid! I like the item task but this is total cringe.”

Another added: “Promised I wouldn’t watch this series but they’re so bad it’s compulsive viewing, love the cringe factor #theapprentice.”

Fans hoped that Nadia would be fired by Lord Sugar (Image: BBC)

Meanwhile, some fans hoped that the challenge meant it would be the end of the road for one participant. Writing online, someone said: “Nadia either needs to chill the f*** out or get fired #TheApprentice.”

Another echoed: “Please let Nadia get fired today. If nothing else, for being totally unaware how annoying she is….! #theapprentice,” while a third hoped: “Is this the task where Nadia gets fired?! #TheApprentice.”

In the boardroom, Karren’s team were declared as the winners after securing the most items correctly for the lowest price – meaning that the other team were at risk of losing their place in the competition.

Lord Sugar said to them: “For me, it’s clear. What killed you was the fines, end of. £100 for being late, the wine £277.94, and the boathook 50 quid.”

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The room then erupted into argumentative chaos as the losing team pointed fingers at each other, looking for someone to blame for the blunders.

It ended up being Max, Liam and Carlo in the firing line of Lord Sugar’s firing finger. Ultimately, it was Carlo who was Fired and sent packing.