Reality shows

The Apprentice has reportedly had to make a change to the format as producers wanted viewers to see more explosive scenes set in the boardroom on the hit BBC series

The Apprentice has reportedly had to make a major change amid BBC budget cuts. Lord Alan Sugar’s hit reality show, which has been on air for more than 20 years, sees its contestants all vying to the next big thing in business trying to get their hands on the grand prize of a £250,000 prize.

In the early years of the show, the winning contestant landed a six-figure job with the magnate himself, and throughout the series, they are treated to luxuries such as spa breaks and helicopter rides if they perform well in various tasks within the competition. However, it’s now thought that these sorts of prizes have been ditched from the format entirely.

Currently on air for its landmark 20th series, it’s thought that producers got rid of the prizes in order to fit more “fiery debates” into the running time. A source said: “The Apprentice is known for laying on lavish gifts for the winning team.”

READ MORE: BBC licence fee set to rise in just a matter of weeks as new cost revealedREAD MORE: The Apprentice’s Lord Sugar fires third candidate who ‘loved being on camera’

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “Fans love to see them get to celebrate their victory by enjoying themselves. However the producers want the viewers to see more of the fiery boardroom debates this year.”

It comes amid news that the BBC licence fee is set to rise. . From April 1, it will go up to £180 as required by the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement, in line with inflation. The cost of an annual colour TV licence will rise by £5.50, which is the equivalent of 46p per month.

The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment

Last week, Marcus Donkoh became the third contestant to be axed from the programme this year after failing to impress. The group he was heading up were tasked with creating a book aimed at four top six year olds, and pitched it, along with an audio version, to retailers. Lord Sugar didn’t pull any punches when the team were unable to provide enough product sales. The book, which had missing illustrations, was said to have had “no point” to the story.

Following his elimination, he said: “I feel as though, in the real business world, you have a lot of information – you do have to make quick decisions, but you have a time to think.

“It was really intense in the boardroom, I had to make a decision very quickly on who to bring back. So, changing my mind didn’t help, but I feel as though there were other candidates that performed a lot worse than I did, didn’t do what they were supposed to do, and I feel as though they deserved to get kicked off rather than myself.”

Despite Lord Sugar’s decision, the failed contestant says he wouldn’t change anything. “I think what I did was fine,” he confessed. “I am human. Humans can change their minds, and I feel as though I did get penalised for it, but no, I would not change what I did.”

The first episode saw a double elimination as event manager Georgina Newton was first to go and quickly followed by Nikki Jetha.

Just before the launch of the show’s latest series, Lord Alan explained that the longevity of the programme likely relied on the fact that a new audience are discovering it year on year.

He said: “I think the programme itself brings in a new audience every year, because 20 years ago, I had nine-year-olds watching it who are now 29. And the new generation of 16-year-olds are coming in and loving it. So the audience is growing. The audience is holding up, and that’s why the BBC keeps doing it.”

* The Apprentice continues on Thursday nights on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.

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Princess Andre has shared that filming has wrapped on the second series of her ITV2 reality show The Princess Diaries, with the series expected to return in spring

Princess Andre has delivered a significant announcement regarding the future of her ITV2 reality programme. The 18-year-old followed in her famous parents’ footsteps by landing her own ITV series last summer.

The programme documented the teenager’s everyday life, though mum Katie Price was conspicuously missing after she was allegedly prohibited from appearing in any footage for the show. Dad Peter, however, featured prominently alongside her brother Junior.

Princess has now provided an exciting development on the programme, called The Princess Diaries, after it was confirmed for a second run following strong viewing figures.

The teenager has disclosed that production has concluded, with her final day on set taking place yesterday. She posted an image of the show’s clapperboard along with a backstage photograph of her recording her to-camera segments for the series.

Princess wrote: “Last day of filming.” The programme is anticipated to return to television screens during the spring months. Her announcement follows her parents releasing an unusual joint statement in which they detailed their commitment to cease making disparaging remarks about each other online.

Peter and Katie established a legal arrangement whereby both promised to end their public criticism of one another following numerous acrimonious public disputes – an uncommon ceasefire for the frequently feuding former couple.

The Sun learned that Katie had spent months declining Peter’s persistent efforts to broker peace. Sources suggest their children, Junior, 20, and Princess, 18, are the motivation behind her ultimate decision to accept her former husband’s An insider revealed: “Pete’s team have been begging Katie to end this for good for months.”

As far back as November, they were calling Katie and her family to try to end the row. “She was resolute, she wouldn’t make peace with him. It was the children who made her realise she needed to draw a line in the sand. Katie has done this for them.”

Taking to Instagram, they both posted: “Katie Price and Peter Andre have decided to close the door on the past and move forward into a new chapter with positivity and respect. We are both focused on creating a calm and supportive environment for our children.

“We have reached a mutual agreement, both legally and personally confirming that neither of us will speak negatively about the other going forward. This decision reflects a shared commitment to our family and stability.”

The statement continued: “We want to stand united for our children. We are hoping this is a start of a positive relationship. We ask for understanding and support from both the media and the public as we move ahead.”

The unusual move comes just after Katie exploded at her former husband on her weekly podcast, accusing him of keeping her away from their daughter Princess as she launched her own reality TV show and making her look like the ‘baddie’.

Peter hit back by saying he had tried to stay silent for ‘sixteen years’ to ignore ‘repeated lies from my ex-wife and her family’. “That ends today,” he fumed.

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After an explosive episode with tears and a sweary rant, a relationship expert has weighed in on whether Lucinda and Sean’s connection is real

Love Island: All Stars is heating up after a furious Belle Hassan branded Lucinda Strafford a “snake” following Sean’s brutal betrayal, but what is their real game-plan behind the scenes?

Sunday night’s episode saw contestants Belle, Sean Stone and Lucinda clash after the return of Casa USA to the main villa. Belle, 27, told her love-interest Sean, 26, that we was “fuming” and acted with “nothing but respect” for him while she was away meeting the US contestants. But when she returned, it quickly became clear that he had been getting cosy with Lucinda, 26.

Clearly distraught by the move, Belle exploded in a sweary rant while sat in the dressing room, where she told other women on the show: “I leave for three days. I uphold my dignity and respect for him. I’ve been nothing respectful. I’m sick of it… He doesn’t deserve it. I f*****g knew it. Three f*****g days.”

Others tried to deescalate the situation, but things boiled over further when Lucinda told Belle to stop looking at her ‘like I’m a piece of dirt on your shoe’. Sean quickly tried to defend himself and explain his feelings for Lucinda, but Belle pointed out what she deemed to be a savage double standard – that US star Carrington Rodriguez, 28, had been all over her like a rash’ but she didn’t bite, staying fiercely loyal to Sean.

The tense moment saw Sean tell Belle: ‘I’ve been straight up and honest with you, we’ve had a few flirty chats. I’ve got something there with Lucinda. I’m sorry”. The whole villa overheard as the argument unfolded, with Belle telling Sean she hopes his decision to go for Lucinda backfires. It all ended in tears with Belle later being comforted by other female contestants.

We asked sex and relationship expert Gemma Nice to decode Lucinda and Sean’s brutal move, and to weigh in on whether it’s a genuine connection or all just a game-plan. Earlier in the episode, viewers see Sean take Lucinda to the terrace where she said: “We’re naughty Sean!”.

He continued his schmooze, saying: “I feel amazing, I can’t lie whenever I look at you, I just smile….” and Lucinda then said brazenly: “I feel like when I’m with you, we’re similar vibes…it makes sense..” But their spark was quickly interrupted by Villa USA making a big entrance through the door, with Belle quickly asking where Sean was.

Fans watching the dramatice episode shared thoughts online, as one wrote, according to the Daily Mail: “I’m all for hurricane Belle delivering the drama. But Carrington awkwardly sat watching…. the guy she got to flirt with and Sean didn’t exactly snog Lucinda? Is it really this deep? Am I missing something?” Another said: “For those of you saying Belle is overreacting, this is not the first or second time Sean is ‘pieing’ her off .. he left her for Samie when samie came in only to come back when samie pied him off.. he deserves everything she said tonight and more!!!!’

Weighing in with her thoughts and speaking on behalf of Buzz Bingo, dating guru Gemma said: “To begin with, Lucinda was certainly playing the game and had a strategy, but from early on, she and Sean have had a strong connection with the way they look and act around each other”.

She continued: “They are very flirty when talking, and now there is a genuine connection with Lucinda following her heart with Sean. Yes, she has certainly upset Belle, and maybe she didn’t mean to, but she knew what she and Sean had so maybe she should have waited until Belle came back from the US villa and spoke to Belle herself regarding her own feelings towards Sean”.

Firmly believeing that their connection is actually real and not just a brutal snub, she added: “From the way they interact, Sean and Lucinda have more of a slow burner [dynamic] because they have been involved with other couples, and so they haven’t been able to really tell each other how they feel”.

She added that “Lucinda seemed upset that Belle had been upset by all this, especially when Belle didn’t want to talk to her about it because she was fuming. Lucinda kept trying to tell her from her side what had been happening but Belle wasn’t happy about it. Lucinda does have a game plan, but this connection with Sean is definitely real”.

Going further, Gemma spoke on Scott van-der-Sluis’ ‘hate him or love him’ reception online, and why the audience is claiming they knew ‘Scott was right about Sean all along’. Gemma said: “Viewers are backing Scott because Scott could see, from past experiences within the villa, how Sean had reacted. Scott can see that Sean hasn’t changed, even though Sean had said he was more genuine this time around”.

She went on: “Scott has never let his guard down when it comes to Sean, and he can see that Sean has a hidden agenda because of how he has handled the situation with Belle and Lucinda. Scott never liked him from the start and still doesn’t now; they just agree to disagree with each other to keep things civil within the villa”.

The expert concluded: “Scott can maybe see that this will get the fans talking and will divide the Sean and Scott camps, so this may be another of his game plans. Some people won’t like each other, and that’s true in the outside world too. Not everyone gets on with everyone, and that’s okay. It was good that Scott asked Sean to talk, and yes, they didn’t sort anything out other than to say they both don’t get on and to be civil for the rest of the time in the villa. Sean was trying to apologise to the other boys and saying that he has grown up and now can see exactly what Scott is doing, but it’s still upsetting him”.

Love Island: All Stars contestant Zac Woodworth has seemingly given away his “game plan” after entering the villa as a Bombshell on the hit ITV2 reality show earlier this week

Love Island All Stars contestant Zac Woodworth has seemingly given away his “game plan” after entering the villa. The reality star, 26, initially appeared on Love Island USA but recently entered the British version of the ITV2 reality dating show by arriving at the South African Villa as a bombshell.

He is currently getting close to Millie Court on the spin-off of the main show, which sees former contestants heading back onto the programme that made them famous, so they can have a second chance at finding love.

An Instagram account dedicated to Love Island memes screenshotted a story that was reposted onto Zac’s page, which was initially posted by his former co-star JD Dodard, who also appeared on the US version of Love Island in summer 2025.

READ MORE: Love Island viewers flood Ofcom with over 500 complaints over shocking scenesREAD MORE: Love Island fans spot problem minutes in as three new bombshells arrive

He wrote: “Pre game plan executed perfectly @zacwoodworth,” with a crying tears of laughter emoji, whilst his other co-star Zak Strakaew said: “Make sure ya’ll go back my boyyyy @zacwoodworth,” which was then reposted onto his Stories.

Viewers of the reality show rushed to the comments to share their thoughts, with some claiming that some contestants are just hoping for a spot on the show.

The original account wrote: “From Zak’s story!! I hope this wasn’t his plan all along and is leading her on,” and in response, one fan said: “Of course it is, the Americans all just want to get into the main villa. No one is there ‘looking for love,'” whilst another wrote: “Producers should step in because that’s someone’s feelings!”

Another wrote: “You can see this a mile off!” and a fourth viewer said: “It could be that he really likes her and happy he’s got what he went in for… never judge a book by it’s cover as they say.” Another shared: “Feel like pre game plan means that he saw her before on there, that was who he wanted and he beelined for her and got her! Really doubt it’s a negative thing.”

Just before heading into the villa, Zac said: “I am super social, I love talking to everybody. They can expect me to be gentlemen but also go for what I want.

“In the US Villa I was conscious of not wanting to talk to ‘somebody’s girl’ but I would do that differently this time. I’m really excited to just get in there and do my thing!” The reality star also shared that he thought his time was “cut short” the first time round, after making it to just day 20.

Zac, a native of Arizona, explained: “Honestly, I felt that my time in the Love Island USA villa was cut short, I didn’t get the best shot at getting to know someone so for me, experiencing Love Island again but in the UK is perfect. I’ve always travelled the world and I love meeting girls outside of the US. “

Love Island: All Stars airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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