The Apprentice 2018 contestants: Meet Lord Sugar's 16 new candidates

Warm up the dramatic sounds of Prokofiev's “Montagues and Capulets” - Lord Sugar’s hunt for a brand new business partner is almost upon us as The Apprentice returns for a new series on 3 October.

Lord Sugar will once more be joined by aides Karren Brady and Claude Littner, as 16 brave souls enter the boardroom in the hope of securing the tycoon's £250,000 investment.

This year's crop have officially been unveiled - scroll through below to meet the candidates you'll be spending the next few months whose blunders will have you laughing away on the sofa.

The series will be upping the ante more than ever this year, as Lord Sugar's first challenge will immediately send candidates abroad, to Malta, with a strong warning: "Remember, this is NOT a holiday".

Challenges will also see candidates sent around the UK: to Glasgow to sell art, Birmingham to land deals at a Body Building Expo, and back to London to launch a budget airline.

Comedian Rhod Gilbert returns to host The Apprentice: You’re Fired, an aftershow airing at 10pm on BBC Two; two special episodes, The Final Five and Why I Fired Them, will also air.

The Apprentice returns to BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday 3 October.

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