The Apprentice series 20 has quietly tweaked two core parts of its format – and most viewers didn’t even clock it.
The BBC show’s return has seen Lord Sugar’s new crop of candidates jet off to Hong Kong, butcher children’s book pitches, and now battle it out with 25kg of chicken and eggs for corporate clients.
Ratings have dipped, and the online reactions haven’t been kind. Some fans have even called the show “dead”.
But while viewers are demanding a full revamp, two subtle changes have already slipped under the radar.
The teams didn’t get to choose their names (Credit: BBC)
The Apprentice changes team names
Traditionally, once the boys v girls split ends, the candidates pick their own team names.
Some have been decent, like Renaissance, Alpha, Stealth, Eclipse, and Phoenix. Others? Supream (yes, really), Decadence, and Graphene… which speak for themselves.
This year, the choice has been taken out of their hands entirely.
In episode 3, Lord Sugar reshuffles the teams and simply assigns the names himself: Eclipse and Alpha.
It may sound minor, but it’s a clear shift. Last year, fans expressed confusion about what the teams were called.
For weeks, they were referred to by the project manager’s name. Later, it appeared they had unofficial names: Forest and Ice. Then, suddenly in week four, they were officially Ascendancy and Parallel.
If you don’t remember that, you’re not alone.
No more rewards for The Apprentice candidates (Credit: BBC)
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