TV: Cork man among 20 candidates hoping to impress Lord Sugar 

“Just because we have been doing this for a while, that doesn’t mean you know what is coming next.”

This is the warning from Alan Sugar ahead of the 20th series of The Apprentice, as the business reality show returns on BBC1 on Thursday at 9pm.

The stern mogul adds: “Let me tell you, you don’t.”

Throughout this new series, we will see the 20 candidates create a children’s book, sell live on television, host a corporate away day on the Red Sea in El Gouna, Egypt, and tackle a discount buying task on the Isle of Wight.

Among them is Conor Galvin, the owner of a photobooth business in Cork, who wants the company to be a household name and expand to London, Manchester and Birmingham.

Conor studied medicine at university, but dropped out twice, before graduating in law and business.

He said his business may be fun and light-hearted, but he is a serious candidate who is “constantly learning the tougher side of strategy, structure and scaling”.

To kick off the latest series in style, the boardroom is moving to one of the world’s most vibrant trading hubs - Hong Kong. The candidates’ mission is to secure nine items at knock-down prices.

But as the teams juggle unknown geography, tight deadlines and business basics, Lord Sugar has a few surprises in store. In the end, there are plenty of fireworks and at least one firing.

“The thinking behind it was it’s the 20th series and what can we do that’s different?” Lord Sugar adds, when asked about the Hong Kong venture.

“So I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I jump on a plane and surprise them in Hong Kong?’ It’s not as if I’m surprising them in Hounslow or something like that.

“They didn’t know I was there. They knew they were going to Hong Kong, which is fine, they’ve been to South Africa, they’ve been all over the world, we’ve sent them to many places.

“But I’ve never turned up. So all of a sudden they come into this boardroom and there I am. So that was a nice surprise for them. They were surprised but they weren’t unhappy with it - maybe a little excited.”

Back alongside Lord Sugar are his formidable advisors Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, who will help him whittle down the 20 candidates over 12 episodes in a bid to choose the individual that will receive his life-changing £250,000 investment.

Others looking to impress Lord Sugar include an actress and events manager from London, a public relations specialist from Watford, and a former RAF Gunner and HGV driver