Celebrity Apprentice confirms line-up for first ever full series - including Emmerdale star and and Radio 2 legend

The line-up for the first ever full-length series of The Celebrity Apprentice has been announced by the BBC – with Emmerdale star Danny Miller and Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson among the 12 stars looking to prove their business credentials to Lord Sugar.

The contestants also include previous winners of both The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent in the shape of Alexandra Burke and Diversity's Jordan Banjo respectively, in addition to UK garage legend DJ Spoony, presenter Gethin Jones and Gladiator Sheli McCoy.

The other competitors include journalist Kay Burley, actress and online personality Maddie Grace Jepson, podcaster and content creator Max Balegde, comedian and writer Laura Smyth and television personality Toni Laites.

Although there have been previous one-off celebrity editions of the long-running reality show, this is the first time there's been a full series featuring famous faces – with the contestants set to compete across six episodes for the chance to win a £100,000 donation to a charity of their choice.

Meanwhile, the iconic boardroom will be relocating to a London City skyscraper for the series – and Lord Sugar has promised fans that he won't be going any easier on the participants than he would in a regular series.

"We’ve not done anything like this before, and it’ll be entertaining to see these 12 celebrities being put through six weeks of some brilliant business challenges," he said.

"But just because they’re celebrities, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get an easy ride, especially when there’s £100,000 at stake for their chosen charity."

The BBC's head of entertainment commissioning Kalpna Patel-Knight added that the series "takes everything audiences love about the format and turns the pressure right up."

She added: "This year’s celebrities arrive with strong reputations – but in the boardroom, status counts for nothing. They’ll be tested on leadership, teamwork and commercial instinct, and only those who can truly deliver will make it through.

"It’s bold, unpredictable and hugely entertaining – and viewers are in for a brilliant ride."

Broadcast details for The Celebrity Apprentice have not been confirmed at this stage, but we'll be keeping an eye out for the latest news and will update you in due course.

The first full-length series of The Celebrity Apprentice is coming to BBC One and iPlayer later in 2026.

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