The seventeenth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) premiered on 5 January 2023 in the UK on BBC One. Karren Brady and Tim Campbell returned as Alan Sugar's aides, the latter of whom joined the show on a permanent basis, after stepping in for Claude Littner in the previous series. Littner also returned to the series but in a "reduced role" and only appeared in two episodes. Eighteen candidates competed in the series, the highest number of candidates since the thirteenth series. The first trailer for the series was released on 20 December 2022. The candidates were revealed on 3 January 2023, two days before the show's premiere.

The series is the first to feature two candidates leaving the competition of their own accord. Shannon Martin resigned before the results were revealed in Episode 2, while Reece Donnelly left at some point during Episode 6. This is the second consecutive series with only women present at the interviews stage, and the fourth consecutive series with two women in the final.

The series concluded on 23 March 2023, and it was announced that Marnie Swindells was the winner of Series 17, with Rochelle Anthony as the runner-up.

Series overview Candidates Candidate Background Age Result Marnie Swindells Court advocate 28Winner Rochelle Raye Anthony Hair salon and academy owner 35Runner-up Megan Hornby Sweet shop and café owner 25Fired in the interviews stage Dani Donovan Hair salon owner 25 Victoria Goulbourne Online sweet business owner 28 Simba Rwambiwa Senior sales representative 26 Fired in the tenth task Avi Sharma City banker 24 Fired in the ninth task Bradley Johnson Construction company director 28 Mark Moseley Pest control company owner 39 Fired in the eighth task Sohail Chowdhary Martial arts school owner 27 Fired in the seventh task Joseph Phillips South Africa safari guide 26 Fired in the sixth task Reece Donnelly Theatre school owner 25 Withdrew during the sixth task Shazia Hussain Technology recruiter 40 Fired in the fifth task Denisha Kaur Bharj Financial controller 29 Fired in the fourth task Gregory Ebbs Online antiques marketplace owner 26 Fired in the third task Kevin D'Arcy Accountant 32 Fired in the second task Shannon Martin Bridal boutique owner 34 Withdrew after the second task Emma Browne Senior account executive 26 Fired in the first task

Performance chart Candidate Task Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Marnie BR IN IN LOSS WIN IN BR IN BR IN IN HIRED Rochelle LOSS IN LOSS IN LOSS LOSE LOSS IN BR IN IN RUNNER-UP Megan LOSS WIN LOSS LOSS IN IN IN LOSS IN LOSE FIRED Dani LOSS IN IN IN LOSS LOSS WIN BR WIN BR FIRED Victoria LOSE IN LOSS LOSS IN WIN IN BR IN WIN FIRED Simba IN LOSS LOSS WIN LOSS BR IN LOSS IN FIRED Avi IN BR WIN IN BR LOSS LOSS WIN FIRED Bradley IN LOSE IN IN LOSE LOSS BR IN FIRED Mark IN LOSS IN BR IN IN IN FIRED Sohail IN LOSS IN LOSS IN IN FIRED Joseph WIN LOSS LOSS IN LOSS FIRED Reece IN LOSS LOSE BR IN LEFT Shazia LOSS IN IN IN FIRED Denisha LOSS IN BR FIRED Gregory IN LOSS FIRED Kevin IN FIRED Shannon LOSS LEFT Emma FIRED

Key: The candidate won this series of The Apprentice. The candidate was the runner-up. The candidate won as project manager on their team, for this task. The candidate lost as project manager on their team, for this task. The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage. The candidate was on the losing team for this task. The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task. The candidate was fired in this task. The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired. The candidate left the process.

Episodes

Controversies Accusations of bullying by candidates Candidate Shazia Hussain allegedly made a complaint to the BBC claiming that fellow candidate Mark Moseley racially abused her. It was claimed that the incident was caught on camera with the contestants wearing microphones but the BBC chose not to include it in the final broadcast of the programme. A BBC spokesperson said that after Hussain had made a complaint, "an investigation was conducted and she received in-person support from senior members of the production team".

Interviews stage bullying allegations The interviews stage, where the final five candidates are grilled on their business plans, was accused by viewers of going beyond grilling into bullying and belittlement. Karren Brady's interviews with candidates Victoria Goulbourne and Dani Donovan brought both of them to tears. Brady called Victoria Goulbourne's business plan for her online sweet business as "crazy as it comes" and had "no depth or substance". Sarah Carson, culture editor at iNews, wrote on Twitter that "it is deeply unpleasant to watch Karren Brady bully or sneer her way through" the interviews such as "treat[ing] all the contestants with disgust". In an opinion piece for iNews, Emily Baker wrote that in contrast to previous years "this year's interviews felt different: more cruel, less substantial and, crucially, less fun than ever". She gave the examples of Linda Plant who recommended that Victoria Goulbourne return to her previous job as an airline stewardess and how Plant questioned Dani Donovan's use of mermaid branding in her hair extensions brand Mermane because mermaids do not actually exist.

Lord Sugar agreed with the allegations, calling the interview process for this season as 'hard to watch', and promised to tone it down in the next season. He has spoken to his advisors and the subsequent interview episodes will not be a repeat of the performance in this season.

References

External links The Apprentice Series 17