Lord Sugar has been sharing his thoughts on the new series of The Apprentice in a brand new interview…

You’re back for series 19, how do you think this series stands out from the rest?

Well, as time goes by and we do more and more series, I think we find that the quality of the candidates gets better and better, and it’s important because the candidates make the show. The series is not about me or just the tasks that we set, most of all it’s about the individuals that join the process. I think this series is going to be great. We start off with a great trip to Austria which really sets the tone for the series. We also have lots of really good tasks, from buying and selling potatoes, making a virtual pop star to creating a banking app for kids.

This year you haven’t split the teams into ladies and men, why?

We’ve split them into sexes in the past purely to help the audience get to know the candidates quickly, it just felt like an easy thing to do. But this year we decided to mix it up from the outset. I think it's quite a refreshing addition to the first episode and it’s interesting to see how they handle being a mixed team because it’s not what they necessarily expected from the start.

There are so many candidates at the start of the process, how do they impress you and make sure they stand out early on?

The thing is, you start off observing certain people thinking, “wow, this one’s very good, that one knows their stuff”. You're making an early impression of them, but as time goes by, others grow on you. You start to see the real contenders - what I would call the cream - rising to the top. The thing for me is I want to see that they understand what it is I’m looking for without me having to spoon feed them; do they understand the purpose of the task, do they have that instinct I’m looking for?

If someone winds you up early on, do you allow for nerves or do they have a strike against their name that they need to clear during the process?

No, there’s no mark against their names. You know, these are younger people. They're all desperate to win. The only way they annoy me is if they continually make the same mistake. They don't annoy me from what they say or anything like that. But if you've told them about certain things and they continue to make mistakes, that's annoying. What fascinates me is they all say they love the show and they've followed it for many, many years. And if they have, then of course they should be able to pick up on what things they shouldn't do and what things they should do. They need to have done their homework on us just as I have on them.

Can you tell if they haven’t prepared?

Yes, I think you can. To be fair, most of them have done their homework. And viewers have to understand they go through a very rigorous process just to even become one of the candidates. They've already shown in that process that they've understood what it's all about. They just need to put it into practice on the show.

The boardroom is often intense to watch, what’s it like to film?

It's all natural, no one meddles once we are in that room. They come in and they're obviously very nervous. From the very beginning I try to make them feel okay, we have a little joke and a laugh and things like that to change the atmosphere and relax them. I've had many, many years of experience dealing with people – as you can appreciate – so I do understand that they are nervous. I think the nerves fade slightly as the process progresses, but those nerves still exist, particularly when they don't know how well they've done in a particular task. Once we’re in, it’s all about us, the producers are not in and out telling me what to do.

Have you ever fired someone and regretted it later?

Well, the only time I have second thoughts is when it gets down to the final few when they are very, very credible. And you sometimes wonder to yourself, have I made a mistake here? You know, would this person be better off staying in than the others? And it's difficult, you have to make a decision in the moment, that's the problem, the decision has to be made. I can’t go away and think about it overnight.

And sometimes, yeah, it could be that I have made a mistake. But saying that, there’s not many people that have gone on to fame and fortune afterwards that I missed out on, from what I can remember anyway. But the decision isn’t an easy one, especially towards the end of the process, you're talking about people that have put in a great performance throughout the process and often the line is fine between them.

Next year will be the 20th series, how are you going to mark such an incredible milestone?

We are already working on ideas for that. It's got to be a very special occasion, hasn't it? There needs to be a lot of promotion and excitement around it, it’s what it deserves. We've got a great team of people that think up ideas and all that stuff. And again, it's all down to the candidates, which we have not chosen yet, of course. I want a really good set of candidates for the 20th.

Fans might be worried that you will shut the boardroom after the 20th, what are you thinking when it comes to the future of the show?

I honestly don’t know. I have to see how I feel. I mean, I'm getting older, I’m nearly 78 years old. So it really depends; so long as I've got my health and strength... I've always said I will carry on as long as the BBC wants me to. It's also a consideration that it's not my call, it's the BBC's call.

Many past winners of the show have gone on to have huge business success, what’s the secret?

I think because it doesn't end with the win. You see, when they win the show, they also win my support and they win the backup of my people and my infrastructure that helps them. It is not just about the money, it's more that it's a dream for them because they don't have to worry about things like filing accounts, doing VAT returns and all that stuff. We teach them how to do all of that until such a stage where they're able to do it for themselves and become self-sufficient, it’s a real apprenticeship. And we've had some very, very good successes.

People might be surprised to hear you are so hands on with the winners after the show?

Why? That's the deal. It's not just a case of “here's the money, get on with it. Goodbye”. I open up myself and my team to them, we want them to succeed. They are appointed a bunch of great accountants who look after them and do all their books and they have access to people who are incredibly successful to rely on. That’s more than just a financial investment, that experience is priceless.

Women have won the show for the last five years in a row, what impact do you think that has on young girls watching at home?

It’s huge. But I’ve always said women in business are great. Women are very, very focused, they haven't got that kind of problem of flexing their muscles and trying to show what big shots they are, they just get on with it. They get on with the job in hand. Some of my best employees have been women going back to the eighties, it’s just always been that way.

So what do the male candidates have to do to get your investment this series?

Just be shrewd. Just be clever. And just be smart. It’s not rocket science.

The Apprentice returns Thursday 30 January, 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.