The Apprentice: You're Fired!

The Apprentice: You're Fired!, sometimes named You're Fired!, The Apprentice: You're Hired! or You're Hired!, is a British television show made by the BBC and filmed at Riverside Studios as a spin-off from the reality TV hit The Apprentice. It was hosted by Adrian Chiles from 2006 to 2009, and Dara Ó Briain from 2010 until 2014.^[1] The programme airs in a 30 minute slot after each episode of The Apprentice finishes. It was originally shown on BBC Three, but moved to BBC Two in 2007. Its format is similar to that of Big Brother's Little Brother and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.^[2] The final episode of each series is renamed "The Apprentice: You're Hired!" and involves interviews with the winner, the runner-up and Lord Sugar himself, and a reunion with all of the former candidates.^[3]

History

You're Fired! was initially announced on 10 December 2005 to be presented by Adrian Chiles,^[4] and its first run, accompanying the second series of The Apprentice, began on 22 February 2006 on BBC Three. After the conclusion of this series it was announced that You're Fired! would move from BBC Three to BBC Two, and The Apprentice itself would move from BBC Two to BBC One.^[5] The second run of You're Fired, accompanying the third series of The Apprentice, accordingly began on BBC Two on 28 March 2007. The fifth series (accompanying the sixth series of the main program) was the first to be presented by Dara Ó Briain, after he was brought in to replace Adrian Chiles, who had left the BBC. Ó Briain left the show after the 2014 series and a replacement has not yet been announced.^[6]

Format

Each episode begins with host Dara Ó Briain entering, sitting at a table and addressing the camera, where he explains the content of the upcoming programme and shows a video clip of the highlights. The previous host, Adrian Chiles, would address the camera from the audience at the beginning, but this was dispensed with early into O'Briain's tenure, although it has been used on rare occasions. He then goes on to introduce the guests. Although there is some variation, the panel is typically composed of a journalist, a businessperson, and a comedian. Sometimes Lord Sugar's aides Nick Hewer and Karren Brady (and formerly Margaret Mountford) are present. A video of the moment that the candidate is fired is then shown, and that person is introduced onto the stage. An interview then takes place between O'Briain and the candidate, with the celebrity guests airing their views in between "never before seen" footage. Often, the family of the fired candidate are also interviewed and Lord Sugar reveals why that person had to leave.

In the final episode of each series, Lord Sugar appears alongside the winning candidate.

In the fourth, fifth, eighth, and tenth series, a regular feature was introduced called "The One That Got Away", recapping the contribution of a candidate who appeared to be a likely prospect for firing that week, but who survived into the next round.

In the fifth series, a feature called "Quote of The Week" was introduced, which recapped the best quote from that week's show.

The evicted contestant, Dara Ó Briain and the celebrity guests then discuss their favourite moments from the night's show, as well as any other notable ones from the contestant's time on the programme, and also who impressed them and why. At the end, the guests are asked whether they agree with Lord Sugar's decision, and the studio audience are asked to vote on whether the candidate should have been fired, by holding up the appropriate card (a red "FIRED!" card or a green "HIRED" card). The evicted candidate is shown their "best bits" — montages of video clips that reflects their time in the competition. This is usually accompanied by a popular music track, in the style of Big Brother Live Eviction, with the contestant's reaction to the clips shown in an inset. O'Briain then often presents the fired candidate with a parting gift, which is something appropriate to one of the candidate's memorable moments on the show. A preview of next week's episode is then shown before the end credits. Often, O'Briain also announces that the fired candidate will appear on BBC Breakfast the next morning.

During the 2009 and 2010 series, a longer edit of the show was used for the late-night repeat, though unlike other programmes with extended versions (such as QI and Have I Got News for You) the longer versions were not explicitly promoted as such and did not appear on iPlayer. As of 2011, late-night repeats of the show have been discontinued.

No episodes of The Apprentice: You're Fired! were made to accompany Young (formerly Junior) Apprentice.

References

External links

• The Apprentice: You're Fired! at BBC Programmes
• The Apprentice: You're Fired! at the Internet Movie Database
• The Apprentice: You're Fired! at TV.com