The Apprentice legends return in show's final
Two legends of The Apprentice will feature in the BBC show's final on Thursday night (16.04.26).
The Apprentice icons Margaret Mountford and Nick Hewer are returning for the first time in over a decade for the programme's final.
BBC show boss Lord Alan Sugar's former trusted aides last appeared in 2013.
And according to The Sun, Margaret, 74, and Nick, 82, will join past winners Dr Leah Totton, 38, Ricky Martin, 41, and Dean Franklin, 35, in sharing tips to 2026 finalists, Karishma Vijay, 28, and Pascha Myhill, 22, before the pair launch their business in a room packed with industry experts and Lord Sugar, 79, decides who will secure his £250,000 investment during Thursday night's (16.04.26's) final.
Margaret quit at the end of series five in 2009 to focus on her PhD, and was replaced by Baroness Karren Brady, 57, but Margaret still scrutinised candidates' business plans during the brutal interviews stage in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
In her final column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper in June 2009, Margaret penned: "I have really enjoyed making the series, and it will be a real wrench to say goodbye.
"But making The Apprentice takes up a large chunk of time each year, and that’s time I could, indeed should, be spending on my studies: I am working on a PhD in papyrology at University College London, studying documents found in Egypt and written in ancient Greek.
"I have not made nearly as much progress as I would like over the last few years – and I want to finish my degree before I need a Zimmer frame to get up on the platform to receive it.
"Unfortunately, The Apprentice is just too much of a distraction: I must get on! So I decided a while ago that I would not do another series."
Nick, meanwhile, exited in December 2014, because he felt it was "the appropriate time", and the star was replaced by 76-year-old Claude Littner, who left in 2021 and series one winner Tim Campbell, 48, took his place.
In a statement, Nick added: "I've been pondering my departure from The Apprentice for a while and have decided that year 10 is the appropriate time.
"So I leave with relief, tinged with regret. Anyone can do what Karren and I have been doing, but it takes stamina to follow the candidates week after week, and my stamina is not up to those long weeks."
Karishma and Pascha passed the brutal interviews stage on April 9, and they went through to the April 16 final, in which they will pitch their business plans and try to win over Lord Sugar to secure his £250,000 investment into their businesses.
Karishma is hoping to inject the investment into her skincare-infused beauty brand, Kishkin – the Skincare Miracle.
Pascha's business plan, meanwhile, is a recruitment company within private healthcare, focusing 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.
The latest odds from online bookmaker Betway are that Karishma has been named as the 2/5 favourite to win the £250,000 investment, while Pascha is close behind at 2/1 to be crowned the champion.
The Apprentice final airs on Thursday (16.04.26) at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
