Why is Claude Littner not in The Apprentice 2022?

Following a two-year break, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, The Apprentice will return for series 16 on Thursday, 6th January.

The new series will sew the 16 candidates who are part of The Apprentice 2022 cast, showing off their business skills in order to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.

For the series, Sugar will be joined by two trusted advisors. Returning to the boardroom this year is Baroness Karren Brady, who joined the series in 2009, after taking over from Margaret Mountford.

Claude Littner had appeared on every series of The Apprentice since its start, initially as one of the interviewers towards the final of the show, before becoming an aide to Sugar in 2015.

However, he won’t be taking part in series 16, and will instead be replaced by the show’s first-ever winner, Tim Campbell.

So, where is Claude? What happened to him? And will he be back?

RadioTimes.com has all the answers below.

Why is Claude Littner not in The Apprentice 2022?

Unfortunately, Claude Littner won’t be on series 16 of The Apprentice, as he’s currently recovering from a serious bike accident.

Last year, the businessman sustained serious injuries after a bike crash near Mill Hill, London. Following the incident, he was rushed to emergency surgery, as doctors feared his leg would otherwise have to be amputated.

“I was just pottering along, I must have been doing no more than 10 kilometres an hour on this sort of two-track road. The next thing I knew, I was on the left hand side of the street, my bike was in the middle of the road and I didn’t know what happened,” Littner told Press Association at the time.

“I suspect I hit a pothole or something like that, but I must have blanked out at the moment of impact, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground.”

Will Claude Littner return to The Apprentice?

Littner remains hopeful he’ll return for future series, saying: “There’s no ifs and buts about it.”

In the meantime, he’ll be replaced by entrepreneur Tim Campbell, who won the first series of the show back in 2005.

Speaking in an interview, Tim revealed he’s nervous to replace Claude Littner on The Apprentice.

He said: “I have a way of channelling the nerves, which is all about – listen, we could be anywhere and the fact is, if my heart’s beating really fast, that means I’m alive. So going into that scenario, where [Lord Sugar] calls you in and he says [you’re the] new person taking over from Claude, you are nervous because you don’t want to let him down.”

The Apprentice series 16 starts on 6th January 2022. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.