Lord Sugar, you’re fired! The Apprentice viewers slam 'dead' series: 'Put it out of its misery'
Alan Sugar says "if it's not broke, don't fix it"
The Apprentice has become a “tired, stale farce”, according to fans, with the BBC show’s return sparking calls for major changes – or just killing it altogether.
Two decades and 20 series later, Alan Sugar is still sifting through The Apprentice’s candidates to find new business partners.
The long-running reality series returned with a bang: a trip to Hong Kong for its famous scavenger hunt. From there, we’ve had (woeful) attempts at children’s books and a battle between chickens and eggs.
The show’s 20th anniversary should be a happy occasion. Instead, fans are starting to wonder… is the show “dead”?
The Apprentice hits “new low” as fans slam it as “cringe TV”
The Apprentice’s halcyon days are long gone. Whether it’s the quality of the contestants, the ‘softening’ of Alan Sugar, or tasks that are ridiculously hard or disingenuously presented, there is no shortage of criticisms levelled against the latest series.
In a Reddit thread – titled, “This show and format is dead” – there are hundreds of comments echoing all of the show’s faults.
“The group of candidates are terrible now. How these people be in business [but] can’t do one simple task. I think they should end with this series,” one user wrote.
“Another example where each series of a show has gotten more and more stupid. 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’,” another wrote.
Some people have made the point that recruiting business-savvy people wouldn’t make for good TV. If that’s the case, why were previous seasons with stronger candidates (like Ruth Badger and Mark Wright) so well-received?
After episode 2’s children’s book task, some fans even said The Apprentice hit a “new low”.
“The makers think all anyone wants to see is total failure, and that is entertaining, but it’s failure when they are given a fair chance that is tasty,” they wrote.
Lord Sugar hits back at “stale” criticisms
It’s safe to say, Sugar doesn’t agree with the viewers’ complaints.
Shortly after the series 20 premiere, he took to X to hit back at reports of The Apprentice becoming “stale”.
IF IT'S NOT BROKE DON'T FIX IT. The media seem to think The Apprentice format is stale. I compare it to football. The rules are the same every game, but something special happens every game. That something is different players every season. We inspire young people every year.…
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) January 30, 2026
“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. That something is different players every season. We inspire young people every year,” he wrote.
He even honed in on a specific complaint about episode 1, with one viewer branding it the “worst first episode ever”.
“Come off it,” he wrote. “We spent a fortune flying 20 candidates plus the whole production team to HK. The pictures were fantastic. Very unfair comment.”
Are people still watching The Apprentice?
Yes, but The Apprentice’s ratings have suffered continual dips for the past few years.
Series 20 opened with 3.1 million viewers, a drop from 2024’s 3.5m premiere viewership. That was over a million less than 2023’s opening episode, which attracted 4.8 million viewers.
To be clear, these aren’t bad ratings. But it does indicate faltering interest in the series, bolstering claims that it’s become ‘stale’.
Those figures seem particularly shocking when you compare them to The Traitors. The series 4 finale peaked with 9.6 million viewers, while the celebrity version bagged a whopping 15 million viewers.
Even I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, which has faced similar complaints, opened with 6.6 million viewers.
Read more: What happened to The Apprentice You’re Fired as Tom Allen is replaced in brand new spin-off
