Sir Alan Sugar has revealed he likes this year’s Apprentice line-up better than the last. The businessman-turned-reality TV star said he was unhappy with the series which saw winner Michelle Dewberry leave her prize job at Amstrad just weeks after starting.

“I wasn’t very happy with the calibre of contestants last year, to be frank with you,”

“There’s a lot of regrets from last year — maybe turning up would be the biggest.”

He said it took some convincing to get him to return: “I agreed to do it after a long period of debate. I’ve had more input into how the candidates are chosen, and there’s a core of very strong people this time.”

There are suggestions Sir Alan is picking four finalists to get temporary jobs to ensure he gets the right winner next month.

“We’ve not really decided how the final will work yet,” he explained. “But there are four in the frame at the moment. I was very happy with Tim and he’s doing absolutely the right thing branching off on his own.”