Lord Sugar reveals why The Celebrity Apprentice stars had the same 'hunger to win' as the civilian version as star-studded show returns after six years off screen
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The Celebrity Apprentice is set to make its long-awaited return this Christmas, as a new crop of business-savvy stars go head-to-head in a festive challenge.
And while some may think that given it's in aid of Children In Need, it would be a far friendlier process than the ruthless civilian show, Lord Sugar has revealed that these pampered stars weren't afraid to show their competitive side.
Lead by stars such as presenter AJ Odudu, Gladiators star Matt Morsia, actress Sarah Hadland and former Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner, 12 celebrities were split in to two teams with the task of creating their own gingerbread biscuit.
But in a festive twist, the teams were sent to Lapland to create their biscuits, a jingle and a promotional advert, with Baroness Brady and Mike Soutar keeping a watchful eye over proceedings.
Speaking at a Q&A ahead of the first special, Lord Sugar revealed that even though they weren't competing for a life-changing investment like civilian contestants are, they still boasted the same 'hunger to win.'
And it seemed stars weren't afraid to dip into their little black books, with Baroness Brady also hinting the specials will feature a host of celebrity cameos.
It may be for charity, but Lord Sugar has revealed that the stars on Celebrity Apprentice were just as ruthless in their quest for victory as their civilian counterparts
Lord Sugar said: 'The thing is, is that there's no financial gains, obviously with the celebrities or partnerships with me in business.
'But what you do have is the same hunger to win and the same desire to win. So I suppose it's their own personal pride to make sure that they come out looking good, and they do and they do a great job.
'With the civilian version, there is that competitiveness for the ultimate goal of becoming my business partner and getting a £250,000 investment. So that's the comparisons, really.
'But the celebrities are, believe it or not, they're not slack at getting on with trying to win and do the best they can.'
Baroness Brady added: 'I think I felt that energy from each and every one of them. They wanted to do well, not only as a team, but to raise the money, to raise the profile, to bring something to the process.
'Lord Sugar asked them all a very important question. ''What can you bring to the process? What do you know about business?'' And they all contributed to lesser and greater degrees. But they all contributed and they had a lot of fun doing it.'
This year's Celebrity Apprentice featured 12 new faces going head-to-head to display their business knowhow, with the first team consisting of AJ, Radio 1 DJ Charlie Hedges, comedian Eddie Kadi, EastEnders star Jake Wood, Paralympian Kadeena Cox and presenter and barrister Rob Rinder.
The second team was formed of presenter Angela Scanlon, JLS star JB Gill, Gladiator Matt, actress Sarah Hadland, Apprentice alumni Thomas and comedian Shazia Mirza.
And it seemed stars weren't afraid to dip into their little black books, with Baroness Brady also hinting the specials will feature a host of celebrity cameos
While stars will be competing for bragging rights in the process, in a historic first the Christmas biscuits created by the celebrity teams would be available to buy in store, with proceeds going to Children In Need.
Baroness Brady added that the celebrities weren't afraid to use their famous connections to land any extra sales, with stars, including the ex-BBC favourite Gary Lineker, set to make cameos on the special episodes.
She said: 'Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch. I mean, tell me who else? Robbie Williams... Rylan, Gary Lineker. I mean, there are so many people that are coming across and they're coming because they love the show.
'They love the charity, and clearly they have a connection with the celebrities.'
Lord Sugar added: 'I was very impressed that they managed to pull these people in. They're top names, as you know, as Baroness Brady just rattled off, to get those people in it was great, really.
'Because you'd normally expect to pick up the phone to one of these top celebrities, and they would say, ''no, not really.''
'But they are charitable. And I thank them for joining in and making the programme what it is. And it's a great programme.'
The Celebrity Apprentice will air on Monday 29th December and Tuesday 30th December at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
