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James Rodger & Sonia Sharma

Alan Sugar speaks on The Apprentice future and what should happen to BBC show

Lord Sugar has spoken about The Apprentice ahead of the show's finale and shared what he thinks should happen to the programme when he finally leaves.

The BBC star said: “I don’t want to sound too big-headed but a lot of people underestimate me. They hear me talking like a cockney, but I know everything, I really do. I’m not degrading people like (Dragons’ Den star) Peter Jones, because they’ve done a lot also.

“But none of them have done as much as I have. Who would I put in my place? I can’t think of anybody. There’s loads of people that would queue up."

Read More: BBC The Apprentice viewers complain about 'nasty' interviews and vow never to watch again

He added: “There’s no reason why I can’t go on to do 25 years. I’m very fit, so I don’t know whether it stops at 20. But if I ever did stop, I get a feeling the BBC wouldn’t stop it. I think they would try to find someone new to do it and that’s where it may kill itself off.

“When Donald Trump gave up his one in the US they got Arnold Schwarzenegger to do it," he added to the Sun newspaper. “But he was pathetic — and Trump was bad enough. It really destroyed the format.

“If it was up to me, I think it should be, ‘Thank you very much, it’s been great, but maybe in ten years’ time we’ll bring it back’. like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, but with different characters hosting.”

The final, on March 23 on BBC One at 9pm, will see boxing gym owner Marnie Swindells and hair guru Rochelle Anthony go head-to-head to win the investment for their respective businesses, reports BirminghamLive. This series kicked off with 18 candidates vying for £250,000 of Lord Sugar's cash.

They began selling and running bespoke tours on the Caribbean Island of Antigua. And now, to win the tycoon's investment, each finalist is launching their business. They have three days to create a brand for their company, produce a digital billboard, direct and edit a TV advert and design a metaverse, before pitching to Lord Sugar and industry experts at a black-tie event.

Lord Sugar said: "They are two worthy finalists, there's no question of that. I always say the cream comes to the top and they worked very, very well through the course of the 12 weeks. They deserve to be where they are.

"I have a dilemma on deciding eventually, which one I'm going to choose as the winner. (Over the years) it's actually got a bit harder because the quality of the candidates are getting better and there's so much good talent in there among the others."

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