The Apprentice’s Claude Littner is set to make a highly-anticipated return to the BBC show after he was forced to pull out as one of Lord Sugar's trusted aides.
The BBC competition returned to screens in January as Lord Alan Sugar put 16 new candidates through their paces for a chance to secure a £250,000 investment in their business.
Lord Sugar has been once again assisted by Baroness Karren Brady, 52, the vice-chairman of West Ham United - but former co-star Claude, 72, was forced to take a series break after a bike accident.
The business executive, who has appeared as an aide on the show since 2015, was subsequently replaced for this series by entrepreneur and winner of the first series Tim Campbell.
But the former chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur has said he is now feeling “absolutely fantastic” and is “raring to go” ahead of a return to The Apprentice screens for the interview stage of the process.
Claude went on to say that he “feels well enough” to return to the hit BBC business show next series, but has yet to confirm if he will be back in the boardroom for good.
He said: “The focus for the moment is about shining the spotlight on the remaining candidates in this series and finding the next successful business for Alan to invest in.”
On his upcoming appearance on BBC screens next week, he said: “The whole team went to so much trouble to have me back. I had written off this series, but it would seem Lord Sugar and the production company had other ideas!
“I’ve had so many messages on social media too from viewers saying they hope I’m coming back for the interviews and how much they miss my smiling, but obviously I’ve not been able to say anything until now.
“It was quite funny how it came about; Alan arrived at my house one day - although he phoned me almost daily - and he just said, ‘You will do the interviews, won’t you?’ and I replied, ‘Yes, of course’.
“The moment it came out of my mouth I was thinking, how on earth am I actually going to do it? The truth is, by the time it came to filming I was feeling better but the team had been so kind and gone to so much trouble so I could be involved.”
At the time of his electric bike accident, Claude told the Press Association: “I must have been doing no more than 10 kilometres an hour on this sort of two-track road.”
He continued: “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.”
Claude will return for the penultimate episode of The Apprentice on Thursday 17th March, 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
