The Apprentice: Portsmouth makes starring appearance in 16th series
16 entrepreneurs battle it out to win £250,000 worth of investment into their business
Last updated 6th Jan 2022
Portsmouth International Port will make a starring appearance in the launch of the 16th series of The Apprentice.
16 candidates will set sail from the city after being tasked to come up with marketing campaigns for a new cruise ship.
Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady was based in Portsmouth last summer.
The Apprentice returns to our screens with Lord Sugar aided by Baroness Karren Brady, and previous winner Tim Campbell filling in for Claude Littner while he recovers from an accident.
Asked how the pandemic impacted the new series, Lord Sugar said: "We are British, and I remember my mum and dad telling me during the war, when bombs were being dropped, and houses were being destroyed, they had to live and survive under certain circumstances.
"And this Covid thing brings out the true British spirit again.
"We've understood the problem, we've understood the issue. It took us a while to grab it but then afterwards we thought, 'right, well, let's work around it, let's work within it. Let's work within the constraints. Let's get something done. We're just not going to give up'.
"And that's exactly what we did, what the BBC did, what the production company did here, and I think hats off to them for adapting, and the true British fighting spirit. And it won't get us down, we will beat this thing."
Baroness Brady added: "A really good thing from the viewers' point of view is you won't sense there's any difference, you won't see any masks on screen, you won't know there's a pandemic going on.
"And I think from the viewers' point of view, that's important.
"But behind the scenes, obviously, lots of testing, social distances, masks when we weren't (on camera).
"It was a massive production just to get through the production and keep everybody safe. But from the viewers' point of view, there won't be any difference at all."
The new series of The Apprentice starts on January 6 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.