Alan Sugar takes swipe at Dragons’ Den – saying ‘no disrespect but I’m looking for big businesses’ on The Apprentice

LORD Alan Sugar said there is no comparison between his series The Apprentice and Dragons' Den - saying "no disrespect but I'm looking for big business people".

The businessman, who is back on our screens this week for the news series of BBC One business show, said hopefuls should continue to apply for his hit show because it offers more than the Dragons'.

The Apprentice puts contestants through a gruelling 12 week process - but Dragons' Den gives aspiring entrepreneurs one chance to make their dreams come true when they pitch their business idea to five multimillionaire investors.

Speaking at The Apprentice press launch, Lord Sugar said: "The Apprentice is a more rounded proposal, it's about learning to become a big business person and no disrespect to Dragons' Den but some of the people that apply for it are looking for small amounts of money to start their cottage industry up.

He continued: "I'm looking for big time people who are going to make a big business.

"Both programmes are very good and one chance opportunity of talking to five people - you either succeed or don't succeed.

"When they come into The Apprentice, they have 12 weeks to do the talking and there's a complete difference there."

Lord Sugar's aide Tim Campbell also echoed those sentiments and said the process helped him gain a wealth of experience.

Tim said: "I think also with The Apprentice, the transitional phase for many of the candidates, they might be in a corporate situation and they've got an idea and this allows them to test out their business acumen skills on tasks before actually starting a business.

"So there is a much broader pool of talent whereas with Dragons', you might have to have the business already going or started before you secure the investment.

"And you need more channels rather than less particularly in this current economic industry, to encourage more people to start businesses, so we should have more shows talking about starting businesses.

"The thing is with business, it's about the person as well as the idea and actually what you see is the personality of people and how they grow, interact and how they learn with new experiences."

While Baroness Karren said The Apprentice challenges candidates more than any other show, in order to mould them into a business leader.

She added: "This is a much longer process and when people leave this process, many often tell them it's changed their life for the better. How much they've learnt, how much confidence it's given them, they've found out things they can do they didn't know they could do before and they've gone on to launch their business anyway.

"I think that's a testament to the whole business and how Alan runs it and the ability that he gives them to learn and improve skills that will never leave them."

Eighteen new candidates will soon begin begin the battle for a huge £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar on The Apprentice.

The eighteenth series The Apprentice will kick off on February 1, 2024 on BBC One and the iPlayer.

Lord Alan Sugar once again resides over the show, with the help of his aides Karren Brady and Tim Campbell.

Fans will be treated to 12 brand new episodes, with the show set to run every Thursday at 9pm , until April 18, 2024.

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