'The Apprentice' 2018: The most colourful candidates to look out for

Lord Sugar’s hunt for a brand new business partner is almost upon us as The Apprentice returns to BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday, October 3. And this year’s series promises to be bigger, better – and weirder – than ever.

That couldn’t be clearer from first episode, in which Lord Sugar ups the ante right from the off and sends the sixteen budding entrepreneurs abroad on a scavenger hunt.

As ever, this year’s candidates competing for that £250,000 investment, consist of some colourful characters, some clearly exuding potential for success, while others… not so much.

Here are the ones you’ll want to keep an eye on, particularly going into the first challenge.

Jackie Fast

34-year-old sponsorship consultant Jackie Fast is quick to make an impression on the other candidates – albeit it be a negative one – when she immediately nominates Jasmine Kundra to be the project manager for the first challenge.

Jackie claims she put Jasmine forward for the scavenger task because of her experience in management, but the rest of the group don’t exactly see it that way. Was it really just attempt to put the spotlight on Jasmine and increase her chances of being fired? And if so, can we expect to see more of this calculated approach if she makes it further in the process?

Kayode Damali

Professional speaker Koyode Damali bursts onto the screen with enough confidence to cover every candidate in this year’s line-up. Talking at a million miles a second – sometimes to his detriment – and seemingly brimming with ideas, he’ll undoubtedly be a great source of entertainment for viewers.

Without hesitation, the 26-year-old puts himself forward as the project manager for the first task, hardly giving anyone a chance to say no. Viewers will want to keep an eye out for an excruciatingly embarrassing mistake the men make during their scavenger hunt, which leads to arguably one of the most ridiculous moments the series has ever seen.

Sarah Byrne

Owner of a children’s acting academy, 29-year-old Sarah Byrne is certainly likely to catch the attention of viewers. A self-proclaimed charmer and wannabe role model to her young daughter, she’s clearly full of passion, but it’s not long before she’s causing friction with the other candidates.

Sarah admits to being loud, and she’s not kidding. She raises her voice against her fellow teammates on more than one occasion, quickly proving herself to be one of the more disruptive candidates in the process.

Jasmine Kundra

Forced into taking the lead by Jackie Fast on the first task, 34-year-old Jasmine Kundra has to immediately put her managerial experience to use as she’s faced with handling a rather argumentative team of women.

Having built a career on training others to better themselves and develop their skills, it shouldn’t be a problem for Jasmine, but things are never that simple when everyone’s vying for position and stressing out about time management.

Kurran Pooni

Out-of-work film extra Kurran Pooni has the ambition of one day winning an Oscar. Yeah… For now, however, he has his sight firmly set on winning that £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar. The 22-year-old says he was inspired to get into business by his father, who started his own airline.

Obviously not short of self-belief, Kurran claims to “eat, sleep and breathe success”, although his life doesn’t revolve around business.

The Apprentice begins at 9pm, on Wednesday, 3 October.

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