It’s a huge night for those of us who love a bit of good old British telly.
Nope, it’s not the return of Britain’s Got Talent or the launch of another new gritty drama. It’s the final of The Apprentice, obviously – practically the Champions League final for TV fans.
And tonight’s (18 April) episode will see Lord Alan Sugar choose between pie maker Phil Turner and fitness entrepreneur Rachel Woolford to give his £250,000 to and make his next business partner.
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It’s been a long load of weeks of tasks from launching a new Formula-E team to running tourist experiences in Budapest and now it all comes down to the pair working on and presenting their own real businesses.
But while all those boardroom chats with Lord Sugar and the episodes were filmed a while ago now, the candidates don’t necessarily know themselves who has actually won the series.
A man who previously won The Apprentice didn’t even have a clue until the day it was shown on TV.
Quite the memorable candidate, Joseph Valente won the BBC show back in 2015 with his plumbing business.
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The 35-year-old told The Sun: “I was definitely surprised when they told us they would film two endings – one where each of us won. They told us about two minutes before it happened.
“We had been filming for 10 weeks and I thought I would find out if I won on that day. So, it was a bit frustrating, but when they explained why, I completely understood.”
Valente went on to explain this was because the producers had ‘to do due diligence and see if any issues were found post-filming’ that would mean there was no way Lord Sugar could pick them as his business partner.
“Let’s say, for example, if you had any skeletons in your closet, then Lord Sugar may not be able to align you with his brand and that could stop you from winning,” he added.
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The winning candidate said this gave The Apprentice team chance to check over their accounts, insurance and that all their qualifications are legit ‘which is really important’.
Valente revealed: “I found out I’d won on the morning that the show aired, I met with Lord Sugar and he told me the wait was to make sure there weren’t any problems that he didn’t know about.”
The 2024 final of The Apprentice airs on BBC One at 9.00pm tonight.
Topics: Business, TV and Film, BBC
Jess Battison