Two Irish contestants, Emma Browne from Co. Kildare and Mark D'Arcy from Dublin, are taking part in this year's British Apprentice as tycoon Alan Sugar hunts for his next business partner.
Helping the businessman decide who is worthy of the £250,000 ( €284,000) investment are Karren Brady, Tim Campbell and Claude Littner,
The series will be slightly different this year, with the 18 candidates completing their first tasks on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
Emma Browne hails from Kildare, to-date she has worked as a senior account executive.
Browne, describes herself as a "workaholic" and promised her business idea will be "one of the most successful ideas to ever come out of The Apprentice.
"I am extremely competitive. I won't let anything get in my way. If I have an opinion and I think it’s going to allow us to win the task, I will be sure to be straightforward with the other candidates," she added.
Dubliner Kevin D'Arcy is an accountant working in financial services.
D'Arcy started a water sports equipment business during lockdown and hopes Sugar will help him expand into the UK.
Speaking about his business he said: "It's gone from strength to strength in Ireland and is now stocked in some of the country’s biggest stores. With Lord Sugar as my business partner, I know we can ride that wave into the UK and beyond."
The Apprentice returns on Thursday, 5 January, at 9pm on BBC One.
