How much The Apprentice candidates get paid to go on the show

Have you ever been watching The Apprentice and thought you'd do a much better job?

Probably.

One of the main attractions of the show is watching the candidates running around and generally making a shambles of things while feeling like you'd do better from the comfort of your sofa.

However, if you wanted to give it a go and prove you really could outshine the current crop of candidates, you'd have to put your normal life on hold for a decent chunk of time.

With that in mind, you might be wondering whether The Apprentice candidates get paid for their time on the show, and according to a report from the Evening Standard in 2016 they do get a little bit of dosh.

More of the candidates have already got their own jobs and businesses which they're taking a break from to be on the show, but according to the Standard, if you're going on The Apprentice you can expect 'somewhere in the region of £2,000'.

BBC

It's not a life-changing fee by any means, but it can help cover your bills while you're away.

Granted this was back in 2016 so maybe the figure has changed in the years since, especially as everyone's seen their bills go quite a bit higher.

According to the Standard, the candidates get this money regardless of how long they're on the show, so even if you're told to pack your bags on week one you'll get a decent sum.

As for what the candidates say they're doing when they pop off to film The Apprentice, apparently they have to lie to protect confidentiality so many of them claim they've been approached for jury duty.

When approached by LADbible about how much the candidates might be paid The Apprentice declined to comment.

BBC

The latest series has had plenty of the twists and turns you'd expect from The Apprentice, including a moment where the entire losing team was brought back into the boardroom for a b*****king.

Then again, sometimes the candidates genuinely do a pretty good job of their task and get a rare bit of praise from Lord Sugar and his aides.

While the candidates may look a bit incompetent and leave you wondering how any of these people should be put in charge of a £250,000 investment, lots of the tasks involve doing stuff they're not really familiar with on a hectic schedule.

It's fun to watch, but you try and dash across Jersey attempting to figure out what a bachin is without a smartphone or haggle another 20p off the cost of a freshly shucked oyster.

You might see more of the loser's café than you were expecting.

Topics: TV and Film, BBC, Business

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker