The Apprentice 2026 candidates: Meet the contestants facing Lord Sugar

The Apprentice is making a return to screens for a landmark 20th season on the BBC.

To mark the occasion, Lord Alan Sugar will be welcoming 20 candidates to his boardroom, all of whom are eager to impress the business mogul and secure his £250,000 investment in their business plan.

This season, the stakes are high – and the first task kicks off with a buying challenges, before the candidates dive into a series of tasks which take them across London and beyond, testing their instincts for branding, selling and negotiation.

So, just who are these candidates? Read on to find out who is braving the boardroom this year on The Apprentice.

The Apprentice 2026 candidates: Full line-up

• Andrea Cooper
• Carrington Saunders
• Conor Galvin
• Dan Miller
• Georgina Newton
• Harry Clough
• Karishma Vijay
• Kieran McCartney
• Lawrence Rosenberg
• Levi Hague
• Marcus Donkoh
• Megan Ruiter
• Nikki Jetha
• Pascha Myhill
• Priyesh Bathia
• Rajan Gill
• Rothna Akhtar
• Roxanne Hamedi
• Tanmay Hingorani
• Vanessa Tetteh-Squire

Scroll on to find out more about each contestant.

Andrea Cooper

Occupation: Owner, Lettings Agency

Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Andrea is hoping she can secure Lord Sugar's investment to develop a software system which managers short-term accommodation, making it simple for landlords and tenants.

"Lord Sugar is interested in property businesses like me and I feel he will be interested in a business where there is a gap in the market," Andrea said.

"My proven track record can evidence that I am willing to put my whole into something that will work, and he will not regret taking me on as I am honest, a realist and will say it how it is."

Carrington Saunders

Occupation: Owner, online loungewear business

Location: South East London

Carrington is hoping to turn comfort into capital and expand her already established loungewear fashion business through an app and brand partnership.

"I've already had my business for two years, so my goal is to scale, reach a bigger audience and build a bigger turnover," she added.

Conor Galvin

Occupation: Owner, Photobooth business

Location: Cork, Ireland

If he secures Lord Sugar's investment, Conor wants to expand his photo booth business and set up hubs in London, Manchester and Birmingham.

He explained: "With Press Print Paper, every photo becomes its own story and every event guest becomes the cover star. Whether it’s a vintage newspaper, a comic book cover, a wanted poster, an art deco print or a circus-themed design, I want to bring storytelling into weddings, birthdays and corporate events, creating fun, unique and memorable prints that people will still smile at years later."

Dan Miller

Occupation: Owner, Student recruitment company

Location: London, Richmond

Dan is the owner of a thriving student recruitment company and is looking to take his business to the next level.

His company, Young Professionals, specifically helps students in school and university to secure opportunities with companies via their apprenticeship, graduate and work experience programmes.

Georgina Newton

Occupation: Actress and events manager

Location: East London

Georgina needs Lord Sugar's investment to take classic fairy tale stories and pantomimes on the road. Her business plan is a touring theatrical production company specialising in the magic of pantomime.

She explained: "The idea is to convert a large truck into a fully functioning theatre that travels around the UK bringing magic to everyone, no matter where they are. Think hospital car parks, care homes, private events and festivals."

Harry Clough

Occupation: Financial sales manager

Location: Battersea, London

Harry is the owner of Makemyday, a free food and drinks subscription box.

Describing his business model, Harry said: "The customer will receive one box every month, for free. After signing up and answering a few questions, the customer will receive a free box each month with products chosen for them. It's the opportunity for people to try new things and find their favourite food and drink products."

Karishma Vijay

Occupation: Owner, Beauty brand

Location: Ashford, Surrey

Karishma is eager to seek investment into her current skincare business, and is hoping to make it into a "global obsession".

Unlike some of the other contestants, Karishma isn't a "committed viewer" but won't let that hinder her as she is the first businesswoman in her family.

"I have every intention of winning this by being exactly who I am," she said.

Kieran McCartney

Occupation: Estate agent

Location: East London

Kieran prides himself on always getting the deal down and is heading into The Apprentice to win Lord Sugar's investment.

If successful, Kieran plans to put a decade of "experience, hustle and personality" into a venture that has his name all over it and prove he is worth "every penny".

Lawrence Rosenberg

Occupation: Public relations specialist

Location: Watford, Hertfordshire

Lawrence wants to "reinvent" the public relations industry for the modern era, though delivering "smarter, faster and more transparent PR through intelligent automation, without losing the human touch that drives meaningful media outcomes".

Levi Hague

Occupation: Former RAF gunner and HGV driver

Location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Levi is hoping to leave a lasting impression on Lord Sugar with his personalised pet cremation urns.

"Each urn is crafted with care to help families honour their pets in a truly meaningful way," he said. "I plan to scale production, expand into the pet cremation service sector, and establish Living Forever Memories as a globally recognised brand within the cremation industry."

Marcus Donkoh

Occupation: Owner, Barber shop

Location: South London

Marcus is looking to scale his fully established barber shop into a global grooming and lifestyle conglomerate through building a network of premium barber shops that "redefines men's grooming, driven by recurring revenue, low cost expansion, and strong brand equity".

Megan Ruiter

Occupation: Owner, Online women's clothing brand

Location: Wirral

Megan's business is a bespoke womenswear clothing brand which allows customers to modify designs online to suit their own personal style preferences.

She added: "We are not a fast fashion brand where one size fits all, our bespoke feature allows customers to make all our designs their own, appealing to a wider demographic."

Nikki Jetha

Occupation: Mortgage broker

Location: Hornchurch, Essex

Nikki wants to simplify what is often seen as a complex and intimidating process by combining clear advice, strong lender knowledge and consistent educational content across social media.

She said: "I want to take the fear out of mortgages with a digital-first mortgage brokerage offering radically transparent, expert-led advice to underserved buyers and home movers in the UK."

Pascha Myhill

Occupation: Recruitment consultant

Location: Reading, Berkshire

Pascha is hoping to get Lord Sugar's investment into her recruitment company within private healthcare.

Her business plan focuses on "supplying experienced, compliant, and compassionate professionals to private nursing homes, care homes, supported living services, and domiciliary care providers and nurseries within the UK".

Priyesh Bathia

Occupation: Global account manager

Location: Harrow, London

Priyesh is hoping to transform his small mobile cocktail bar business into a scalable national brand.

He also wants to develop a ready to drink cocktail and mocktail product line to be launched on supermarket shelves, inspired by flavours from Asia and the success of BuzzBallz.

Rajan Gill

Occupation: Pharmaceutical sales specialist

Location: Medway, Kent

Rajan's business plan focuses on mounting TVs and building bespoke media walls targeting mainly new build homes.

Rothna Akhtar

Occupation: Student wellbeing adviser

Location: East London

Rothna hopes to expand her part-time business into a threefold physical space through combining bespoke occasion cakes, interactive baking workshops and a personalised cake bar station.

Roxanne Hamedi

Occupation: Pharmacist

Location: Aberdeen, Scotland

Building on her expertise as a pharmacist, Roxanne started her own beauty brand, Browtasia.

She explained further: "Browtasia is a beauty brand I founded, building on my expertise as a pharmacist and aesthetics practitioner after experiencing my own struggles with brow loss and thinning hair. Blending scientific expertise with natural, results-driven formulations, the brand delivers clean beauty solutions that restore confidence from the root.

"My hero product, the nourishing brow palette features a unique blend of vegan pomade and powder infused with argan oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and vitamin E. Made in a UK-based lab and complete with its own applicator brush, it aims to fill sparse gaps while nourishing the brow root.

"The brand is positioning itself as an affordable luxury line destined for major UK retailers and international expansion. My mission is simple: confidence begins at the root."

Tanmay Hingorani

Occupation: AI product consultant

Location: Islington, London

Tanmay's business plan is for an AI-powered digital loyalty and marketing platform revolutionising how food and drink businesses connect with customers.

Vanessa Tetteh-Squire

Occupation: Tech project manager

Location: Enfield, London

Vanessa's swimwear and resort wear brand, AYORKOH, is aimed at women with fuller busts. She is committed to pushing boundaries, using innovative methods to ensure every piece is "as supportive as it is chic".

The Apprentice returns on Thursday 29th January at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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