The Apprentice has reportedly made a major change to its format, ditching luxury prizes such as spa breaks and helicopter rides to make room for more boardroom confrontations. The hit BBC show, now in its landmark 20th series, traditionally rewarded winning teams with lavish gifts, but producers have decided to cut these to focus on 'fiery debates'.
A source told The Sun: 'The Apprentice is known for laying on lavish gifts for the winning team. Fans love to see them get to celebrate their victory by enjoying themselves. However the producers want the viewers to see more of the fiery boardroom debates this year.' The change comes amid BBC budget cuts, with the licence fee set to rise to £180 from April 1.
Last week, Marcus Donkoh became the third contestant to be eliminated after his team failed to secure enough sales for a children's book. Lord Sugar criticised the product, which had missing illustrations and 'no point' to the story. Donkoh said: 'I feel as though there were other candidates that performed a lot worse than I did... I feel as though they deserved to get kicked off rather than myself.'
Despite the elimination, Donkoh said he would not change his actions. The first episode saw a double elimination, with Georgina Newton and Nikki Jetha both fired. Lord Sugar attributed the show's longevity to a constantly renewing audience, saying: 'The audience is holding up, and that's why the BBC keeps doing it.'
