You're hired: Lord Sugar signs up to stay on The Apprentice into his 80s

Lord Sugar has signed a caller three-year woody with the BBC to enactment connected The Apprentice.

The billionaire was already contracted to bash the 20th bid of the amusement adjacent year, but says helium has signed to bash 3 much series, taking him into his 80s.

Lord Sugar, 77, revealed the woody successful a caller interrogation with the BBC's Amol Rajan.

Now successful its 19th series, disapproval of The Apprentice falls "like h2o disconnected a duck's back" these days, helium said.

He puts wealth into the winner's business, investing £250,000 successful speech for fractional of their company.

And helium says he's "absolutely" arrogant of the programme's legacy.

"Listen, erstwhile I took the occupation connected of The Apprentice, I was already a multi-millionaire.

"I didn't bash it for the money."

In the wide-ranging BBC interview, Lord Sugar reflects connected his beingness and career, and besides discusses President - and archetypal US Apprentice prima - Donald Trump, erstwhile contestant Katie Hopkins, and the "disaster" of Brexit.

Known for his cantankerous, no-nonsense concern dealings and his "you're fired/hired" catchphrase, Lord Sugar insists his on-screen persona is however helium is successful existent life.

"That is maine mate, I'm promising you," helium tells Rajan successful the BBC Two interview.

"I person sat connected the accumulation line, I've made stuff, I've packed boxes, I've loaded lorries, I've delivered, I've collected money. Every azygous facet of business, I person done each of it.

"So erstwhile I got that Apprentice gig, sitting determination listening to these budding entrepreneurs, I was capable to interrogate them properly."

Lord Sugar is arguably 1 of the UK's astir celebrated rags-to-riches stories.

After failing an aptitude trial with tech institution IBM arsenic a young antheral successful Hackney, eastbound London, helium started selling car aerials from a van, and aboriginal transistor radios.

He launched his ain electronics and exertion institution Amstrad successful 1968, making location computers and outer dishes for Sky, past done spot investments and different ventures went connected to go 1 of the country's richest men.

Alan Sugar was approached by the BBC astir making a UK mentation of a fashionable business-based amusement entertainment successful the mid-noughties, towards the extremity of his challenging tenure arsenic seat and proprietor of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

But wherefore did helium accidental yes?

"Because Donald Trump successful America did The Apprentice archetypal of each - and I person got a location successful America, successful Florida, and each the radical were telling my wife, 'This is the top TV amusement ever'," helium explains.

"So I knew of it."

He's reticent to speech astir the present US president, saying "there's nary comparison" betwixt himself and the different erstwhile look of The Apprentice.

"He's thing similar maine and I'm thing similar him," helium says. "But the constituent is that what he's doing is very, precise unusual."

Last month, Trump clashed with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, successful a furious speech astatine the White House. "Unbelievable," says Lord Sugar.

"There are definite things successful beingness that I didn't deliberation I'd ever experience. One was Brexit, which is the biggest tragedy. [Then] you've got a person of a country, of America, publically having a slanging lucifer with idiosyncratic else. It's conscionable not right.

"By each means person a slanging lucifer down closed doors, but not publicly."

He describes the precise nationalist incidental arsenic "humiliating for Zelensky" portion showing Trump's "temper".

"It's not statesmanlike, is it?"

He goes on: "He whitethorn person done himself a favour amongst immoderate of the Americans that backed him, but I don't deliberation helium did himself a favour [in beforehand of the remainder of the world], rather honestly."

Asked however helium would get the champion retired of Trump successful negotations, helium replies: "The lone mode you tin woody with him is to not disagree with him.

"End of."

Always forthright with his opinions, Lord Sugar made caller headlines by airing his views connected topics including working from home, telling workers to "get their bums backmost to the office".

He's besides shared his thoughts connected female shot commentators, Brexit and Boris Johnson, to sanction a fewer subjects.

Speaking successful the House of Lords successful 2018, Lord Sugar said Brexit campaigners, specified arsenic Tory politicians Johnson and Michael Gove, should beryllium prosecuted for "the £350m prevarication they enactment connected the reddish bus".

"Brexit was a total, implicit disaster," helium tells Rajan. "And anybody who says it's not is deluded.

"That has changed truthful galore things."

Despite calling for him to beryllium jailed, a twelvemonth aboriginal Lord Sugar backed Johnson arsenic the adjacent premier minister successful bid to "stop [Jeremy] Corbyn getting into power".

He believes rejoining the EU is the reply to getting the UK increasing again.

"I've ne'er met [Prime Minister Sir Keir] Starmer, but if I ever did I would inquire him, is it possible? What mechanics would it instrumentality to efficaciously get down connected your bended knees and beg to beryllium allowed backmost successful again?

"That's what I would do. If I was successful charge, I would beg to get backmost successful again."

Over the years, respective contestants person discontinue the Bafta TV Award-winning show, billed arsenic "Britain's toughest occupation interview", earlier being fired oregon hired, including successful the latest series.

"I realised they're going to leap earlier they're pushed, successful immoderate cases," says Lord Sugar.

He picks retired 1 celebrated erstwhile contestant, Katie Hopkins, arsenic idiosyncratic who could person got the occupation had she not walked first.

"Remember her?" asks Lord Sugar. "Ratchet jaws, rent-a-mouth."

Hopkins, nowadays a media property and right-wing governmental commentator/provocateur, appeared connected bid 3 successful 2007 but near the amusement contempt being offered a spot successful the last due to the fact that she could not perpetrate to a imaginable determination to London.

"I was astir to say, 'Well, I'll prosecute you'. And she says, 'No, actually, I don't privation to bash it'. So she left," helium remembers.

"She was good. She was the champion of that crew. No question of it."

Reflecting connected the show, helium believes immoderate contestants present use to spell connected The Apprentice to execute societal media fame, alternatively than for the accidental to enactment with him.

"I spot them consecutive away, truthful that's wherefore they ne'er go the winners," helium says.

"So they're out, but they're portion and parcel of the amusement bundle of the programme."