Belfast, Are You Brave Enough for Lord Sugar’s Boardroom? The Apprentice Applications Are Open

You might be brilliant at growing a business, pitching an idea or persuading a customer to part with their cash—but could you do it with cameras following your every move and Lord Sugar waiting in the boardroom?

Applications are now open for aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to take part in The Apprentice, and we think it is time Belfast and Northern Ireland showed the rest of the UK exactly what our business community can do.

Could you be Lord Sugar’s next business partner?

Lord Sugar has already invested more than £3 million in start-ups through the programme. The winning candidate can receive an investment of up to £250,000, entering a 50:50 business partnership with one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs.

That opportunity will not be handed over after one impressive sales pitch.

Candidates are expected to battle through 12 demanding tasks designed to test their judgement, leadership, creativity, negotiating skills and ability to keep calm when a seemingly simple challenge descends into television gold.

There will be difficult decisions, unforgiving deadlines and, almost certainly, at least one team insisting its baffling product name is “premium”.

Northern Ireland has the talent—now who has the nerve?

Belfast is full of founders, independent traders, hospitality innovators, digital entrepreneurs and ambitious people building businesses from the ground up.

We know the talent is here. The question is whether someone is confident enough to take it into Britain’s most famous boardroom.

Perhaps you have developed a product that deserves a national audience. Maybe your business is ready to grow but needs serious backing. Or perhaps you watch every series from the sofa and confidently explain how you would have handled the task better.

This is your chance to prove it.

The programme is looking for people with the confidence to make decisions, defend their ideas and demonstrate that their business has genuine potential. You do not need to arrive with a designer briefcase or a collection of motivational slogans—but you will need ambition, resilience and a business proposition capable of surviving close scrutiny.

Northern Ireland has already made its mark

Anyone wondering whether a candidate from this part of the world can go all the way should remember Dr Leah Totton. The Derry-born doctor won the ninth series in 2013, securing Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment for her cosmetic-clinic business. More than a decade later, Dr Leah Clinics had grown into a major success, with a majority stake sold to a private investment group in 2024. The Irish News reported that the company was understood to be valued at more than £7 million.

Cookstown businessman Jim Eastwood also became one of the programme’s most memorable Northern Irish candidates. Nicknamed “Jedi Jim” for his remarkable powers of persuasion, he reached the final four during the seventh series in 2011. If ever there was proof that confident Northern Irish salesmanship can make an impression in the boardroom, Jim provided it.

Make-up artist and entrepreneur Gráinne McCoy represented Northern Ireland in the 2016 series and made it all the way to the demanding interview stage. She has since continued building her profile across beauty, broadcasting and business.

So there is already a proud Northern Irish history on The Apprentice: a winner, a master negotiator and an entrepreneur who survived long enough to face the interview grilling. The next name on that list could be yours.

Who can apply?

Applicants must be aged 18 or over at the time of application.

The process begins with an online application form. Applications are due to close at 11.59pm on Friday 27 November 2026, so do not leave your future business empire sitting unfinished in the drafts folder.

The Apprentice is produced for the BBC by Fremantle, trading as Naked.

Ready to take on the challenge?

If you genuinely believe you could impress Lord Sugar, there is only one useful response: apply.

Northern Ireland has never been short of entrepreneurial energy, straight talking or people willing to back themselves. Now we need a candidate capable of bringing all three to the boardroom.

You could spend the next series shouting at the television—or you could be the person everyone else is watching.

Applications close at 11.59pm on 27 November 2026.

Apply through the BBC’s official The Apprentice Take Part page.