Will Claude Littner be on The Apprentice 2023?

Last year, the BBC revealed that Claude's role would be reduced on the upcoming season, with Lord Alan Sugar explaining that it was a "no-brainer" to replace him with Tim Campbell.

But exactly how much is Claude going to be in The Apprentice 2023? And why is he taking a step back from the show?

Here's everything you need to know about the aide switch-up ahead of The Apprentice's new season.

Will Claude Littner be on The Apprentice 2023?

Well, there's good news and there's bad news.

The good news is that Claude Littner is back for The Apprentice's first episode of 2023, sitting alongside Lord Alan Sugar and Karren Brady as an aide.

However, he'll be taking on a reduced role in the upcoming season and fans will notice that he's missing from episode 2 onwards.

The BBC announced in November that while The Apprentice would be back with a "bigger and better" 17th season, Claude would be taking on a smaller role in the show.

Why is Claude Littner missing from The Apprentice 2023?

Claude Littner will be taking a step back from the show after episode 1 due to "medical issues", Lord Sugar explained earlier this week.

"Obviously it's been a great journey starting with [former aide] Nick Hewer and then Claude. Unfortunately, Claude suffered some medical issues and so I was asked to think of someone else – and who better than somebody who's actually been through the process," he said, referring to Tim Campbell, who steps in for Claude.

"So it was a bit of a no-brainer really, because when it comes to making excuses like these candidates do, you've got Tim there, who's been there, done that, seen it and heard it all," he continued.
Claude didn't take part in last year's season of The Apprentice in order to recover from a serious bike accident.
Speaking about the experience, he said that he sustained serious injuries after a bike crash near Mill Hill, London. Following the incident, he was rushed to emergency surgery, as doctors feared his leg would otherwise have to be amputated.

“I was just pottering along, I must have been doing no more than 10 kilometres an hour on this sort of two-track road. The next thing I knew, I was on the left hand side of the street, my bike was in the middle of the road and I didn’t know what happened," Littner told Press Association at the time.

“I suspect I hit a pothole or something like that, but I must have blanked out at the moment of impact, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground.”

Will Claude Littner return to The Apprentice?

Not to worry – Claude Littner will be back for the interviews stage of the 2023 season.

Tim Campbell, who'll be replacing him in the season, told RadioTimes.com and other press: "To be clear, [Claude is] back again so he will be there towards the end as well for the interviews. He's very good."

Aside from episode 1 and the final interview episode, Tim Campbell will be filling in for Claude Littner as he did in last year's season.

On stepping in for Claude a second time, the season 1 winner added: "The big thing is that Claude's boots are massive to fill.

"We have a huge responsibility that we know, and particularly me having gone through the experience, how important the decisions and information that we feed back to Lord Sugar as he makes his decision about who he's going to invest into.

"So it's a great honour but it's one that we don't take lightly because we know the impact it has on that final decision."

The Apprentice airs on 5th January at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide for more to watch.

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