Comedian among those trying to impress Lord Sugar

Stand-up Laura Smyth is taking part in the first full series of Celebrity Apprentice. 

The comic has been named among the 12 stars looking to prove their business credentials to Lord Sugar.

The  line-up also includes Emmerdale star Danny Miller, Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson, singer Alexandra Burke, Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, UK garage legend DJ Spoony, presenter Gethin Jones, Gladiator Sheli McCoy,  journalist Kay Burley, online stars Maddie Grace Jepson, and  Max Balegde, and Love Island winner Toni Laites.

Although there have been previous one-off celebrity editions of The Apprentice, this is the first full series featuring famous faces, who will be competing to win a £100,000 donation to a charity of their choice.

Lord Sugar said: ‘We’ve not done anything like this before, and it’ll be entertaining to see these 12 celebrities being put through six weeks of some brilliant business challenges. 

‘But just because they’re celebrities, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get an easy ride, especially when there’s £100,000 at stake for their chosen charity.'

Paul Broadbent, director of programmes at production company Naked added: ‘We’ve a brilliant cast of familiar faces entering our brand-new boardroom, and with a full six-episode series, viewers will get many opportunities to see the celebrities as they’ve never been seen before, battling to show off their business acumen for a massive charity prize.’

Smyth, 44, used to be a teacher before turning to stand-up, winning the Funny Women competition in 2019. She has made Radio 4 series about her breast cancer and about motherhood.

Her TV credits include Have I Got News For You, Live At The Apollo and Celebrity Mastermind. 

No broadast date for Celebrity Apprentice has yet been announced. 

Published: 20 Apr 2026