Ten years. It takes a decade for a reality show to either find its soul or lose it entirely. By the time The Apprentice Series 10 rolled around in 2014, the BBC wasn't just looking for another business partner for Lord Sugar; they were celebrating a milestone. You could feel it in the air. The production felt bigger, the stakes felt heavier, and honestly, the candidates were just the right amount of delusional and brilliant.
It was a weird time for TV. We were moving away from the "mean judge" era and into something more nuanced, yet Series 10 managed to keep that sharp, unforgiving edge that made the early years so addictive. It kicked off with a double-bill on a Tuesday and Wednesday night. Bold move. But it worked.
If you remember the launch, Lord Sugar didn't mess around. He upped the investment to £250,000, which by then had become the standard, but the pressure felt fresh because it was the tenth anniversary. People forget that. They forget that the show was actually trying to prove it still had legs in a world where TikTok didn't exist yet and we still actually watched things on a schedule.
The Mark Wright and Solomon Akhtar Chaos
You can't talk about The Apprentice Series 10 without talking about the final four. Or, more specifically, the moment the wheels came off for Solomon Akhtar.
We’ve all seen the "Logos" scene. It’s burnt into the collective memory of British television. Solomon, who had been this energetic, tech-savvy guy throughout the process, walked into the interviews with Claude Littner. He handed over his business plan. It was basically a picture book. Claude, in his trademark style that oscillates between disappointed father and high-court judge, told him to "get out." Just like that. Solomon nearly walked out the wrong door. It was painful. It was beautiful. It was peak Apprentice.
Then you had Mark Wright. Not the one from TOWIE. The Australian SEO guy. Mark was a shark. He knew how to sell, and he knew how to navigate the egos in the room. His rivalry with Daniel Lassman was the engine that drove the middle of the season. They couldn't stand each other. Daniel was the "old school" salesman, lots of talk, lots of hustle, while Mark was the digital native who understood that the game had changed.
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Watching them bicker over selling hot tubs or sourcing items for a scavenger hunt was genuinely better than most scripted dramas. It wasn't just about business; it was about two different philosophies of work clashing in a boardroom that smelled of cheap coffee and expensive disappointment.
Why the Tasks in Series 10 Felt Different
Usually, the tasks are a bit of a slog to watch. You've seen one product design task, you've seen them all. But The Apprentice Series 10 had some gems.
- The New York trip. They sent them to the States to launch a soft drink. It highlighted the massive cultural gap between UK and US marketing.
- The dessert task. Who could forget the "High Tea" fiasco?
- The tenth-anniversary retrospective task where they had to sell items from previous series. It was a clever nod to the show's history, bringing back skeletons from the closet like the "Splasher" or those weird skeleton candles.
The show's editors were at the top of their game here. They caught every eye roll from Karren Brady and every sigh from Nick Hewer. This was actually Nick’s final series. That adds a layer of nostalgia to it now. His dry wit and his ability to look physically pained by a candidate's stupidity was a cornerstone of the brand. When he left, a bit of the show’s dignity went with him, let's be real.
The Reality of the £250,000 Investment
Mark Wright eventually won. His business, Climb Online, actually became one of the most successful winners in the show's history. That’s a rarity. Often, the winner’s business quietly folds or stays small-scale. Mark turned that quarter of a million into a multi-million-pound turnover company.
It proves a point that gets lost in the memes: the show actually works if the winner isn't just a TV personality. Mark was a worker. He understood Google Ads, he understood SEO (before it was as saturated as it is now), and he understood how to scale.
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However, looking back, the "Business Plan" era—which started in Series 7—really hit its stride here. In the first few seasons, you were just fighting for a job. A £100k salary to be a middle manager in one of Sugar’s companies. That was boring. By Series 10, the "Partner" model was refined. The candidates weren't just looking for a paycheck; they were looking for a venture capitalist who happened to be a Lord.
The Candidates Who Should Have Stayed Longer
We have to mention Roisin Hogan. She was arguably the most competent person in the entire process. A chartered accountant with a sharp mind and a solid business plan for healthy ready meals. Most people thought she had it in the bag. But the interviews—those brutal, soul-crushing interviews—exposed a flaw in her margins or her market research that Lord Sugar couldn't get past.
It’s a reminder that the show isn't just a talent search. It’s a dragon’s den on wheels. You can be the best leader, the best salesperson, and the most liked person in the house, but if your spreadsheets don't make sense to a billionaire, you’re gone.
Then there was Karthik... wait, no, he was a different year. My bad. In Series 10, we had Sarah Dales and her "wear more lipstick" strategy. That was... a choice. It felt like a throwback to a 1950s boardroom manual. The backlash was immediate, and it showed how much the audience had evolved even if some of the candidates hadn't.
Facts Most People Forget About Series 10
- It was the first time the show featured 20 candidates instead of the usual 16. It felt crowded at first, but it meant more "You're Fired" fodder early on.
- The final was filmed months before it aired, which is standard, but the secrecy around Mark’s win was legendary.
- The house was located in Highgate. Total luxury. Total pressure cooker.
- Claude Littner wasn't an aide yet. He was still just the "Interviewer from Hell." He didn't replace Nick Hewer until Series 11.
There’s a common misconception that the show is "fixed" or that the producers pick the winner. If you talk to anyone who worked on The Apprentice Series 10, they’ll tell you the same thing: Sugar makes the call. The producers might suggest who makes for good TV, but the money is his. He doesn't throw £250,000 at a "character" if the business is rubbish.
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Does Series 10 Hold Up Today?
Honestly, yeah.
If you go back and watch it, the pacing is better than the more recent seasons. Lately, the show has become a bit of a caricature of itself. The "failed" products are too obviously bad. The candidates feel like they're auditioning for Love Island but forgot their swimwear. In Series 10, there was still a sense of genuine professional stakes.
The rivalry between Mark and Daniel wasn't just for the cameras. It was a genuine personality clash between two guys who desperately wanted to be the alpha in the room. That’s what’s missing now. Everything feels a bit too polished, a bit too "produced."
Mark Wright’s eventual exit from the partnership with Sugar years later (selling his stake) also provides a full-circle moment for the series. It showed that the investment wasn't just a TV gimmick; it was a legitimate business transaction that reached its natural conclusion.
How to Apply the Series 10 Lessons to Your Own Career
If you're looking at this through a business lens rather than just entertainment, there are a few things you can actually take away from the 2014 cohort.
- Own your niche: Mark Wright won because he knew one thing—digital marketing—better than anyone else in the room. He didn't try to be a generalist.
- The "Solomon" Lesson: You can have the best personality in the world, but if you don't have the data (or the pages in your business plan) to back it up, you will fail at the final hurdle. Preparation isn't optional.
- Adaptability beats Ego: Daniel Lassman was a great salesman, but he struggled to adapt to the "corporate" requirements of the tasks. Mark was a chameleon. Be the chameleon.
- Watch the "Interviews" episode of Series 10 specifically. It is a masterclass in how to defend a position under extreme pressure. Pay attention to how Roisin handled the heat versus how Solomon crumbled.
If you want to dive deeper into the business side, go look up the current status of Climb Online. It’s a blueprint for how to use a reality TV platform to build something that actually lasts beyond the 15 minutes of fame. Most people use the show to sell protein shakes on Instagram; a few use it to build empires. Series 10 was the last time we saw that happen with such clarity.