The announcement comes as 12 celebrities take part in a task to create festive biscuits to be launched across the UK to raise money for BBC Children in Need.
This festive season, a host of famous faces are stepping into the boardroom as The Apprentice returns with two celebrity Christmas specials in aid of BBC Children in Need.
The celebrities taking part are TV presenter AJ Odudu, Broadcaster and Podcaster Angela Scanlon, Radio 1 DJ Charlie Hedges, comedian Eddie Kadi, actor Jake Wood, singer and TV presenter JB Gill, paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox, Gladiators’ Legend Matt Morsia, barrister and TV presenter Rob Rinder, actor Sarah Hadland, comedian Shazia Mirza and businessman and TV personality Tom Skinner.
Tasked with putting the celebrities through their paces for Children in Need, Lord Sugar calls upon Santa Claus for help, who has just the thing! In this two-part Christmas special, the celebrity candidates are split into two groups and sent to Lapland, the official home of Santa, to develop their own gingerbread biscuits. Not only will the celebrities have to create their own biscuit, but they will have to develop marketing for their product by creating an advert and a jingle - keep an eye out for a surprise sprinkle of stardust to help the celebrities on their merry way. Both teams will then have to face the dreaded task of pitching to retailers, to help secure those all-important sales – will they secure enough dough or crumble under the pressure?
Team one, featuring AJ Odudu, Charlie Hedges, Eddie Kadi, Jake Woods, Kadeena Cox and Rob Rinder, created the biscuit Jolly McTrouble, a gingerbread biscuit with a vanilla and Christmas pudding flavoured festive icing – quite the combo! With the tagline “Be Naughty, Get Nice” the biscuit is a portrait of Santa’s naughty brother – Jolly McTrouble. Will this biscuit leave you feeling jolly, or will your tastebuds be in McTrouble?
Opposite them, Angela Scanlon, JB Gill, Matt Morsia, Sarah Hadland, Shazia Mirza and Tom Skinner created Gary the Penguin. The biscuit combines gingerbread with bubble-gum and white pepper. No that’s not a typo; the celebrities really did enjoy that combination. Coined with the tagline “A Cheeky Treat for Your Little Rebel”, the biscuit is in the shape of a festive penguin – Gary, where the flavour combination is as rebellious as the celebrities who made it.
Accompanying the teams and keeping a watchful eye in Lapland are Baroness Karren Brady and Mike Soutar.
From the 14th November, coinciding with the Children in Need appeal night on BBC One, the public can get their hands on these stocking filler must-haves, as the biscuits created by the celebrities will be available to buy from many outlets, with every purchase helping to support children and young people across the UK.
Both biscuits will be available at the following locations: Asda, Tesco, Boots, Debenhams, One Stop, Ocado Retail, Amazon Online, Amazon Fresh stores (London), Lola’s Cupcakes, Knoops, Haven Holidays, Wenzel's The Bakers and Greenhalgh’s bakeries.
With every purchase of these limited-edition biscuits, shoppers can enjoy a unique celebrity creation whilst also contributing to Children in Need. Perfectly paired with the joy of watching The Celebrity Apprentice: Christmas Specials, airing later this year on BBC One and iPlayer.
As part of the special, the celebrity candidates visited the BBC Children in Need-funded project Chickenshed Theatre Trust to share samples of the biscuits they created and their adverts - where they received some honest, no-nonsense feedback.
Chickenshed receives funding from BBC Children in Need to support disabled children and those with additional needs to enable them to take part in positive activities that develop their confidence, learning and create opportunities.
Lord Sugar says: “It’s the first ever time on The Celebrity Apprentice that the public can buy products that were created by the celebrity candidates. It’s added some real pressure to the process. I think the celebs thought they were in for an easy ride, but they were wrong! Raising money for BBC Children in Need is serious business, so the candidates really need to deliver if they want to avoid ending up on my naughty list.”
Paul Broadbent, Director of Programmes at Naked, adds: “It is a rare opportunity for audiences to buy, taste and enjoy something they’ve watched being created on screen and it has been great fun seeing the celebs’ ideas come to life, all in aid of a fantastic charity.”
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC says: “The celebrity candidates will be giving viewers a tasty treat or two this Christmas that viewers can literally sink their teeth into, all while supporting the incredible work of BBC Children in Need. Are viewers going to be Team Gary the Penguin or Team Jolly McTrouble? Let the festive boardroom battle begin!”
The Celebrity Apprentice: Christmas Specials (2 x 60’) have been commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC. The series is a co-production with Naked (a Fremantle label) and MGM Alternative UK for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Paul Broadbent and Naomi Banat are the Executive Producers; Francesca Maudslay is Consultant Executive Producer and Rachael Hankinson is Production Executive. For MGM Alternative UK, Dom Bird is Executive Producer; Sarah Clay is Commissioning Editor for the BBC. It is produced and distributed pursuant to a licence from Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.
The Celebrity Apprentice: Christmas Specials will air later this year on BBC One and iPlayer and the biscuits should be available to purchase from Friday 14th November.
