The Apprentice 2020 has officially been axed after coronavirus lockdown made it impossible to film the show
THE BBC will not air a series of The Apprentice this year due to the coronavirus crisis.
It will be the first time fans miss out on the annual show since it started in 2005.
Bosses have been delaying an announcement on the TV favourite, famous for Lord Alan Sugar’s catchphrase: “You’re fired.”
They hoped the easing of lockdown rules would let filming start soon.
But after crunch talks at the end of last week, producers have decided it would be too difficult to shoot overseas challenges and maintain even relaxed social distancing.
Instead, they will screen highlights from previous years.
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A telly source told The Sun: “The Apprentice is one of the BBC’s biggest and most popular shows so they were desperate not to have to axe it. But they could wait no longer and they’ve run of time.
“It does also beg the question what the knock-on effect to other shows could be. If the Apprentice can’t film, can Strictly and others?
“It’s a stark warning to the industry that even the biggest shows are not immune from this crisis.”
The Sun first revealed in April the Beeb had temporarily axed filming of the show, won last year by Carina Lepore, despite having a full cast of business hopefuls ready to go.
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Today a BBC spokesman confirmed: “Sadly we have decided to postpone The Apprentice for 2020.
"Production safety and the wellbeing of everyone involved in the show is our number one priority.
“While this is understandably disappointing news, viewers will still be able to get their weekly fix of memorable tasks, favourite candidates and boardroom bust ups alongside brand new insights from Karren, Claude, Lord Sugar and many more from the past 15 years in a special highlights series airing on BBC1.”
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