The Apprentice: You're Fired!
The companion show that fires up the discussion.
The Apprentice: You're Fired! is a BBC companion show that debuted in 2006, created by Mark Burnett. It originally aired on BBC Three before switching to BBC Two in 2007. Each episode brings together a host, a panel, and recently fired candidates from the main series for interviews, expert commentary, and comedic sketches. Over its history, Adrian Chiles, Dara Ó Briain, Jack Dee, Rhod Gilbert, and Tom Allen have served as hosts.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Reality game show
- Creator
- Mark Burnett
- Presenter
- Adrian Chiles
- Dara Ó Briain
- Jack Dee
- Rhod Gilbert
- Tom Allen
- Starring
- Romesh Ranganathan
- Theme music
- Dru Masters
- Opening theme
- "Dance of the Knights" by Prokofiev
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
History
Plans for a companion show to The Apprentice were made in December 2005, following the BBC's decision to commission a second series of the main programme. The spin-off, subtitled You're Fired!, was modelled on similar companion programmes such as Big Brother's Little Brother and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Adrian Chiles, a football and business presenter, was chosen to host the first run on BBC Three, which aired alongside the second series of The Apprentice, beginning on 22 February 2006. After the first series, the BBC moved the companion show to BBC Two, as The Apprentice itself was moved to BBC One to reach a mainstream audience. Chiles remained host through the fourth series, then left the BBC after signing a deal with ITV. Comedian Dara Ó Briain replaced him from the fifth series and hosted until after the ninth series, leaving to focus on a comedy project. Following Ó Briain's departure, the production team redesigned the set to be brighter, added more audience seats behind the main stage, and replaced the large boardroom table with a large desk shared by the host and the interviewed candidate, with chairs and small tables for the panel. On 11 September 2015, it was announced that comedian Jack Dee would host the tenth series, and that the show would feature only two guest panellists, with comedian Romesh Ranganathan as a regular recurring panellist. Dee left after the tenth series due to other work commitments, and Ranganathan dropped out because of scheduling conflicts. The production team then dropped the regular panellist role, returned to the original host-panel format, and restored the original main stage layout, removing the added audience spaces.
Format
Each episode begins with the host entering the set and delivering an introduction to camera, explaining the programme's content and typically including at least one humorous highlight from the recent episode of The Apprentice. During Adrian Chiles' tenure, the introduction was conducted from within the audience before the host moved to the main stage; early in Dara Ó Briain's tenure, this changed to introductions from the main stage, with rare reversions to the earlier format. For Jack Dee's short tenure, more than one clip was used in the introduction, before the format reverted to the previous arrangement for Rhod Gilbert. The host then introduces that episode's panellists, usually a journalist, a businessperson, and a comedian, though occasionally one panellist is one of Lord Sugar's aides or a member of his interviewing panel. In the final episode of each series, Lord Sugar joins the host, panel, and candidates, sitting beside the host and acting similarly to a panellist but receiving greater attention during candidate interviews.
More in Television Series by Fremantle
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced