Copyright independent
Thomas Skinner is making a surprise return to The Apprentice for a brand new celebrity series. The businessman, who appeared as a contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, shot to fame as part of the BBC reality show in 2019. Since then. Skinner has racked up appearances on several shows, including 8 Out of 10 Cats and Celebrity MasterChef, but in recent months, received criticism for X/Twiter posts supporting Trump and for accepting an invite to Vice President JD Vance’s barbeque during his visit to Surrey in August. After becoming the first contestant to be eliminated from Strictly 2025, Skinner is now confirmed to return to the Apprentice boardroom for a new series filmed in aid of Children in Need. It’s set to be aired over Christmas. Skinner will be on a team with JLS singer JB Gill, Miranda actor Sarah Hadland, TV presenter Angela Scanlon, Gladiators star Matt Morsia and comedian Shazia Mirza. A second team will be made up of EastEnders actor Jake Wood, Good Morning Britain presenter Rob Rinder, Big Brother host AJ Odudu, radio presenter Charlie Hedges, comedian Eddie Kadi and Paralympian Kadeena Cox. The episodes will show the teams travelling to Lapland where they are tasked with creating their own gingerbread biscuits. Lord Sugar will feature in the specials alongside aides Baroness Karren Brady and Mike Soutar, who will step in to replace Tim Campbell. Soutar usually appears in the main Apprentice show’s gruelling annual interview episode. Series one winner Campbell has been an aide on the show’s most recent seasons after Claude Littner stepped away. The celebrity version – the first to have aired since 2019 – will mark the first time the public will be able to purchase items made by the celebrities on the show, which Sugar said “added some real pressure to the process”. He continued: "I think the celebs thought they were in for an easy ride, but they were wrong! Raising money for BBC Children in Need is serious business, so the candidates really need to deliver if they want to avoid ending up on my naughty list.” A release date is yet to be announced.
