The Apprentice (British TV series) series 13

The thirteenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 4 October to 17 December 2017.^[1] Unlike a number of series before which had both their filming and broadcast schedules altered to ensure the programme could aired without clashing with live TV coverage of major sporting and political events, primarily within the UK, it is the first series to focus its broadcast around late autumn to early winter, rather than in spring as had been done when the programme first premiered. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, the series was preceded by the mini online episode "Meet the Candidates" on 26 September, with two specials aired alongside the series – "The Final Five" on 8 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 14 December.

The Apprentice
Series 13
Promo group shot of Alan Sugar standing before the candidates for series 13
Starring	Alan Sugar Karren Brady Claude Littner
No. of episodes	14
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	4 October (2017-10-04) – 17 December 2017 (2017-12-17)
Series chronology

Eighteen candidates took part in the thirteenth series,^[2] with James White and Sarah Lynn becoming the overall winners, marking it as the first time in the programme's history that a series ended with joint winners.^[3] Excluding the specials, the series averaged around 6.94 million viewers during its broadcast.

Series overview

Applications for the thirteenth series began in late November 2016, towards the end of the twelfth series, with applicants assessed and interviewed by production staff between January and February 2017. Filming took place during Spring to early Summer that year, once the final line-up of eighteen participants had been finalised, with final editing completed before the programme's premiere episode was broadcast in mid-Autumn. Unlike previous series in which the filming schedules had to be rearranged so that the programme's broadcast did not clash with live coverage of major sporting and political events, it was decided that The Apprentice maintain its Autumn broadcast for the foreseeable future, out of convenience seen from the successive rescheduling in past consecutive years after the ninth series. Filming of the first task saw the men name their team Vitality, while the women named their team Graphene.

Of those who took part, both James White and Sarah Lynn would become the eventual winners, an event that marks the first time in the programme's history that Sugar invested in two business partners in the finals as well as choosing joint winners for a series. The aftermath of this result received mixed feedback from viewers and fans of the show. While James would go on to use his investment to start up his IT recruitment firm Right Time Recruitment, Sarah would go on to use her investment to start up an online personalised sweets gift service Sweets in the City.^[4]

Candidates

Candidate	Background	Age	Result
James White	Recruitment firm owner	26	Joint Winners
Sarah Lynn	Confectionery company owner	35
Michaela Wain	Construction business owner	33	Fired after Interviews stage
Elizabeth McKenna	Florist chain owner	39
Joanna Jarjue	Digital marketing manager	23
Jade English	PR & marketing manager	25	Fired after tenth task
Harrison Jones	Sales executive	27
Bushra Shaikh	Clothing company owner	34	Fired after ninth task
Charles Burns	Management consultant	24	Fired after eighth task
Anisa Topan	PR fashion agency owner	36
Andrew Brady	Project engineer	26
Sajan Shah	Event company owner	24	Fired after seventh task
Sarah-Jayne Clark	Clothing company owner	25	Fired after sixth task
Ross Fretten	Digital product consultant	29	Fired after fifth task
Siobhan Smith	Wedding company owner	34	Fired after fourth task
Elliot Van Emden	Legal firm owner	31	Fired after third task
Jeff Wan	Business analyst	28	Fired after second task
Danny Grant	Online retail store owner	32	Fired after first task

Performance chart

Candidate	Task Number
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
James	LOSS	BR	LOSS	IN	IN	IN	LOSE	WIN	LOSS	IN	IN	HIRED
Sarah	WIN	IN	IN	IN	LOSS	IN	IN	LOSS	LOSE	BR	IN
Michaela	IN	IN	LOSE	IN	LOSS	LOSS	WIN	LOSS	IN	IN	FIRED
Elizabeth	IN	IN	IN	BR	IN	WIN	BR	IN	BR	IN	FIRED
Joanna	IN	IN	IN	BR	WIN	IN	BR	IN	IN	WIN	FIRED
Jade	IN	IN	WIN	LOSS	IN	LOSS	IN	LOSS	IN	PM
Harrison	LOSS	LOSS	BR	IN	BR	IN	LOSS	IN	WIN	FIRED
Bushra	IN	WIN	IN	LOSS	IN	IN	LOSS	IN	FIRED
Charles	BR	LOSS	LOSS	IN	LOSS	BR	IN	PM
Anisa	IN	IN	IN	LOSS	IN	LOSS	IN	FIRED
Andrew	LOSS	LOSS	LOSS	WIN	LOSS	BR	IN	FIRED
Sajan	LOSS	LOSS	LOSS	IN	LOSE	IN	FIRED
Sarah-Jayne	IN	IN	IN	LOSS	IN	PM
Ross	LOSS	LOSE	LOSS	IN	FIRED
Siobhan	IN	IN	IN	PM
Elliot	BR	LOSS	FIRED
Jeff	LOSS	FIRED
Danny	PM

Key:

 HIRED  The candidate won this series of The Apprentice.

 RUNNER-UP  The candidate was the runner-up.

 WIN  The candidate won as project manager on their team, for this task.

 LOSE  The candidate lost as project manager on their team, for this task.

 IN  The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage.

 LOSS  The candidate was on the losing team for this task.

 BR  The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task.

 FIRED  The candidate was fired in this task.

 PM  The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
169	1	"Burgers"[1]	4 October 2017 (2017-10-04)	6.67
Lord Sugar searches for a new business partner for 2017 amongst eighteen new candidates. For their first task, teams must create a range of luxury burgers, selling their creations to customer either packed or cooked. The women create burgers with beef and chicken in them, but while they secure good sales, they use cheap meat for their patties and in an attempt to improve these they cook with high quality garnishes and buns, and face a slight manufacturing issue. The men create burgers with buffalo and turkey, but secure few sales due to long manufacturing times, relabelling their turkey patties, and choosing poor marketing locations. The women secure victory despite criticism of their creations, leaving the men to face the boardroom over their poor performance. Of the final three, Danny Grant becomes the first candidate to be fired for his indecisive leadership, poor time management skills and inability to handle the pressure of his role.
170	2	"Hotel Redesign"[5]	11 October 2017 (2017-10-11)	7.10
Teams become interior designers at a five-star hotel, where each must come up with a luxury hotel room concept and pitch their creation to the hotel manager and a leading interior designer. Graphene choose a golfing themed room that matches what the hotel offers, yet while they negotiate well on furniture so as to keep their concept's costs down, their decorating is poorly conducted, with their design criticised over its choice of furniture and theme. Vitality choose a British destination theme, managing their decorating efficiently, yet make poor negotiations on furniture and deliver a poor pitch, while facing criticism on their wallpaper design and prop piece. As neither the manager or the designer approves of either design, Lord Sugar makes the decision and shows approval of Graphene's concept, leaving Vitality to face scrutiny of their design and its costs. Amongst the losing team, Jeff Wan is dismissed for his lack of contributions and not performing his assigned role properly.
171	3	"Robots"[6]	18 October 2017 (2017-10-18)	6.95
Robots are the basis of the next task, as one half of each team sells a new line of robot toys, while the other create a new prototype robot with unique programming and pitch it to major retailers. Graphene sell a range of flying robot toys, while promoting a concept of a new educational robot that uses a unique teaching style, managing good sales of toys and large orders for their prototype, despite in-fighting amongst team members. Vitality sell a range of balancing robot toys, while promoting a concept of a senior socialising robot capable of teaching yoga positions and providing vocal reminders, yet while they make good sales on their choice of toys, the prototype receives no orders due to their poor pitches and the overall concept being overwhelmingly disliked. Graphene win the task with their performance, leaving Vitality to face questions over their flawed concept. Of the final three, Elliot Van Emden is ejected from the process for falsely claiming credit on the team's choice of toy, and his lack of contributions in tasks.
172	4	"Stadium Sales"[7]	25 October 2017 (2017-10-25)	7.00
Before the final of the Women's FA Cup commences at Wembley Stadium, teams must manage a corporate box, each providing food and entertainment to their VIP clients, along with selling snacks to match day crowds. Graphene manage good sales of their chosen snacks and achieve excellent customer satisfaction ratings from their clients, yet their efforts are hampered by one member not being supplied any costing information that results in them supplying their VIP box with unlimited drinks. Vitality focus on keeping costs down, but although they lack a pricing strategy with their snacks and make some mistakes while serving their clients, they manage the task proficiently due to a strong strategy. Graphene soon face questions in the boardroom when their lack of strategy leave them earning less profit than Vitality. Amongst the final three, Siobhan Smith is fired for providing a poor strategy, contributing to key mistakes in the team's performance, and failing a task she was qualified to lead.
173	5	"Lord Sugar's Birthday"[8]	1 November 2017 (2017-11-01)	6.95
Lord Sugar supplies each team with a list of nine items he requires, each marking a milestone in his life and career, expecting each to be purchased at bargain prices around London. Vitality focus on sourcing their purchases on the outskirts of the city, managing to secure six items, yet are hampered by wasting time with a gamble that backfires and a lack of focus on high value items. Graphene focus on quick research before leaving and conducting more on the move, securing all nine items despite paying more for some purchases and being fined for lateness. Vitality face questions over their performance, after their total spend is greater than that made by Graphene, despite the winning team being questioned over some of their purchases. Amongst the losing team, Ross Fretten is fired for his lack of contributions in tasks and demonstrating no notable business skills.
174	6	"Bruges Tour"[9]	8 November 2017 (2017-11-08)	6.84
Lord Sugar sends the teams to the Belgian city of Bruges, where each must provide a high-quality tour to a group of cruise ship passengers, complete with a visit to major tourist site and a choice of souvenirs. Graphene focus on a modern city tour with a tasting session of Belgian chocolates, managing good ticket sales and receiving good income from offering high quality bags as souvenirs, despite one member causing some issues for their group and the team misleading their tourists over an aspect of their tour. Vitality focus on a historical city tour with a beer tasting session, managing their costs and achieving reasonable ticket sales, but face poor feedback of their tour from their tourists while receiving few sales on their keychain souvenirs. Although both teams are forced to give refunds, Graphene are praised on their overall effort, leaving Vitality to face questions on their poor decisions. Amongst the final three, Sarah-Jayne Clark is ejected from the process for her poor strategy and weak presence as leader, and her lack of contributions in tasks.
175	7	"Advertising – Cars"[10]	15 November 2017 (2017-11-15)	7.31
Each team is given the same new model of car, with which to create a unique brand for it, complete with promotional campaign, before pitching their concept to industry experts. Graphene opt for their concept to brand the car for families, but face issues from a lack of co-ordination, using the wrong filming location for their TV advert, and delivering a poor pitch, with the experts criticising the branding and advertising. Vitality opt for their concept to brand the car for young women, yet despite issues from problematic members, and the experts raising concerns over their digital billboard and branding, they praise their well-conceived TV advert. Feedback from the experts leaves Lord Sugar deeming Vitality's concept to be a success, leaving Graphene to face criticism over their flawed creation. Amongst the losing team, Sajan Shah is dismissed for his weak creativity on the task and demonstrating a lack of notable business skills.
176	8	"Doggy Business"[11]	22 November 2017 (2017-11-22)	6.70
Each team runs their own canine care services for two days, with one half running a mobile operation, and the other operating a facility at an established dog care centre. Vitality conduct a poop-scooping service and handle a canine spa facility, but face issues as the mobile team are overwhelmed with the work they take on, while the spa team secures few appointments. Graphene conduct a mobile photoshoot service and operate a canine agility course, yet despite the mobile team conducting a sub-standard service, the training team provide a healthy income from selling canine products at their facility. While Graphene are praised on their business strategy, Vitality face further scrutiny of their performance in the boardroom. Amongst the losing team, three members are soon dismissed for specific reasons – Andrew Brady, for his unprofessional attitude and poor pricing strategy; Anisa Topan, for a prolonged lack of contributions, and receiving no confidence from other candidates; and Charles Burns, for his poor leadership and overall track record.
177	9	"Food Boxes"[12]	29 November 2017 (2017-11-29)	6.44
Teams must create their own healthy meal kit, complete with cooking instructions, before demonstrating their concept to leading cuisine experts. Vitality opt for a chicken curry meal kit, managing to provide an easy recipe for it and a good presentation, yet face issues over disagreement on their branding, with the experts questioning the healthy aspect of their kit, the branding, and the lack of photos to complement the kit's recipe. Graphene focus on a salmon risotto gourmet meal kit, yet despite providing a clear recipe with photos to complement it, their presentation is panned by the experts, who criticise the branding and raise questions over the manufacture of their kit. Votes made by the experts reveal that Vitality's concept was well-received, leaving Graphene to face questions over their performance in the task. Amongst the final three, Bushra Shaikh is fired for her team's poor presentation and her lack of contributions in tasks.
178	10	"Fashion Show"[13]	6 December 2017 (2017-12-06)	6.44
Each team represents a fashion designer, hosting a catwalk show, complete with magazine cover, of their new collection, earning commission from the sales of their pieces. Vitality represent a collection of expensive dresses for a 10% commission on each sale, yet despite a reasonable performance and good magazine cover design, they secure low sales due to the price of their fashion line, and a problematic member causing several problems. Graphene represent a collection of affordable dresses for a 17% commission on each sale, yet despite a poor magazine cover design and aggressive sales tactics of one member, the team secure a large amount of purchases. Vitality soon face questions on their decisions after Graphene are praised for their high overall commissions total. Amongst the losing team, Harrison Jones is fired for his lack of sales and contributions alongside raising questions on his track record, while Jade English is dismissed for her choice of designer, and her poor presentation and negotiation skills that contributed to the team's loss.
179	SP–1	"The Final Five"[14]	13 December 2017 (2017-12-13)	N/A
As this year's series of The Apprentice draws closer to its finale, this special episode takes a look at profiling the true story behind the five remaining candidates. Discussing their backgrounds, experiences, personality, and strengths and weaknesses, are a selection of each candidate's friends, family and colleagues, as well as Lord Sugar's aides, Claude Littner and Karren Brady.
180	11	"Interviews"[15]	13 December 2017 (2017-12-13)	6.80
After facing ten tasks as teams, the five remaining candidates now compete as individuals in their next task – a series of tough, gruelling interviews with four of Lord Sugar's most trusted associates. Each member faces scrutiny over their backgrounds, work experience, track record, and business proposals when questioned by interviewers. Feedback to Lord Sugar, alongside observations by his aides, leads him to firing Joanna Jarjue for lacking required experience in her proposal's associated industry, Elizabeth McKenna for the limited scale-ability in her proposal and her attitude, and Michaela Wain for confusing answers in interviews and her lack of required focus for her proposal. Of the remaining two, despite some concerns on each, James White is praised for his background and proposal, while Sarah Lynn receives good feedback on demonstrating a number of notable business qualities.
181	SP–2	"Why I Fired Them"[16]	16 December 2017 (2017-12-16)	N/A
As the final looms, Lord Sugar takes a look back to the tasks he set for this year's series of The Apprentice. From programming toy robots to crafting burgers, performing dog services and holding tours in Belgium, he relives all of the mistakes, doomed decisions, and other notable events that occurred during the process, and provides his reasons behind each firing he made amongst the candidates for the process, which ultimately whittle them down to the two finalists for this series.
182	12	"The Final"[17]	17 December 2017 (2017-12-17)	8.09
After facing a multitude of business tasks and a tough interview, the two finalists, aided by old friends, face the task of presenting their business proposal to an audience of business and industry experts, detailing key areas in it – its name, its goals, its target market, and its business structure. James works to present his plan for an IT recruitment firm, yet despite a good presentation and promotional material, alongside his positive enthusiasm, the experts raise concerns over the USP of his brand and the competitive market he would be entering. Sarah works to present her plans for an online personalised-gift sweet business, receiving positive feedback on her presentation, promotional material and potential of her concept, despite questions being raised over the scale-ability of her new business. Based on feedback from these presentations, Lord Sugar deems he will invest in both, declaring that James White and Sarah Lynn will both be his business partners for 2017, based on positive traits of each finalist's proposal.

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.^[18]

Episode no.	Air date	7-day viewers (millions)	28-day viewers (millions)	BBC One weekly ranking
1	4 October 2017	6.49	6.67	6
2	11 October 2017	6.90	7.10	3
3	18 October 2017	6.73	6.95	6
4	25 October 2017	6.79	7.00	4
5	1 November 2017	6.81	6.95	5
6	8 November 2017	6.76	6.84	7
7	15 November 2017	7.19	7.31	4
8	22 November 2017	6.57	6.70	7
9	29 November 2017	6.29	6.44	9
10	6 December 2017	6.34	6.44	10
11	13 December 2017	6.74	6.80	6
12	17 December 2017	7.99	8.09	2