The BBC’s forthcoming Celebrity Apprentice, celebrating 20 years of the show, will feature some huge A-list stars – including one Oscar-winner.
Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Dermot O’Leary are rumoured to be contestants on the special alongside musicians Craig David and Tom Grennan, who will be enlisting the help of the A-list friends in their phone book to avoid being fired by Lord Sugar.
However, it’s now been reported Oscar-nominated talent will show up in the series in the form of Best Actress winner Olivia Colman and Best Actor nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.
According to The Sun, Colman and Cumberbatch will appear alongside Robbie Williams in a special task that puts the contestants’ business skills to the test.
“Lord Sugar’s Celebrity Apprentices were already an impressive bunch but the extra names featuring in one surprise task have considerably upped the ante,” a source said.
“Benedict and Olivia are both huge names and of course are beloved by fans so everyone was very excited when the candidates mentioned they would be calling on the duo for help. The starpower is off the scale.”
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
Earlier this month, it was also reported that Rob Rinder, JLS singer JB Gill, Angela Scanlon, Jake Wood, Gladiators star Legend (Matt Morsia) and comedian Shazia Mirza would all compete on the show.
The Celebrity Apprentice special is airing to mark the long-running show’s 20th anniversary, with teams expected to be split between two teams of men and women who’ll battle it out in the boardroom.
A source previously told The Sun the 12 rumoured contestants: “JB certainly isn’t afraid of a challenge, in fact he relishes one. And that was pretty obvious from his barnstorming performances on Strictly.” They continued: “But at least he had a background in dancing and performing in front of big audiences thanks to being a member of a huge boyband.
“He doesn’t quite have the same level of experience when it comes to running a business, but that only makes for more entertaining viewing, which is the whole point of the show.”
The latest series of The Apprentice is currently airing on BBC One and will draw to a close in April.
