BBC Faces Dilemma Over Apprentice Contestant’s Past Tweets

The 20th season of the UK’s hit reality business competition, The Apprentice, is set to return to BBC One and iPlayer on January 29, 2026, and it’s already making headlines for reasons both inside and outside the iconic boardroom. This landmark series brings together 20 ambitious candidates from across the UK and Ireland, all vying for Lord Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment and a shot at a transformative business partnership. But as the countdown to launch ticks down, controversy has erupted around one contestant’s historic social media activity, prompting urgent discussions at the highest levels of the show’s production.

According to Deadline, the BBC and The Apprentice producer Naked are in ongoing talks about whether Levi Hodgetts-Hague, a Doncaster-based entrepreneur, should appear on the show’s companion series, Unfinished Business. The spin-off, formerly known as You’re Fired, features interviews with each fired contestant after their departure from the main show. The debate was triggered by the resurfacing of offensive tweets Hodgetts-Hague posted more than a decade ago—messages that included derogatory remarks about Muslims and women. While the tweets have since been deleted, The Sun on Sunday published screenshots, and Hodgetts-Hague has openly acknowledged and apologized for his past words.

“I take full accountability for the publishing of those posts,” Hodgetts-Hague stated, as reported by Deadline. “They are not a reflection of the values I uphold today. I would like to apologise for my actions, as well as to the production team for failing to bring this account to their attention.” He further explained that he joined the Royal Air Force shortly after the 2013 posts, describing his military service as a catalyst for personal growth. “It was my time here that played a significant role in my personal growth.”

The BBC, reacting swiftly after learning of the tweets on January 16, demanded that Naked “fully review the social media checks undertaken given the process has clearly failed in this instance.” Naked, owned by Fremantle, admitted its third-party vetting had not flagged the offensive posts and promised to review its procedures. “Levi’s historical posts contain language which is unacceptable and Levi has been spoken to about this behaviour,” a spokeswoman for Naked said. “He has apologised and insists that these posts do not reflect the man he is now.”

This isn’t the first time The Apprentice and its companion show have faced such dilemmas. In 2024, the BBC cut scenes featuring contestant Dr Asif Munaf from You’re Fired after discovering antisemitic, racist, and sexist social media posts. Munaf was subsequently struck off the UK medical register after a tribunal reached its verdict. The swift action taken then, under pressure from staff and community groups, set a precedent that looms over the current situation with Hodgetts-Hague.

Despite the controversy, the main show’s pre-recorded episodes featuring Hodgetts-Hague will go ahead as planned. The question now is whether he will appear on Unfinished Business—a decision that, as of January 19, remains unresolved. The BBC’s response underscores the growing scrutiny reality shows face in vetting contestants’ online histories, especially as social media posts from years past can resurface and spark public backlash.

Yet, the drama outside the boardroom is just one part of what’s shaping up to be a compelling season. The candidate lineup is as diverse as ever, with entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals from across the UK and Ireland bringing their own ambitions, backgrounds, and business dreams to the table. Among them is Nikki Jetha, a mortgage broker from Hornchurch, Essex, whose rapid rise in the industry has made her one of the top mortgage advisers in the UK. Jetha’s goal is to streamline the mortgage process, making it more efficient and accessible for clients. As she explained, her journey from knowing “absolutely nothing” about mortgages to industry recognition in just four years gives her a unique edge, especially as a working mother inspired by figures like Kim Kardashian. “She’s glamorous, family-orientated and the complete boss all at once. You can have it all,” Jetha said, according to Essex Live.

This season’s tasks promise to push the candidates’ commercial instincts and leadership skills to the limit. According to The Independent, challenges will range from creating a children’s book and selling products live on television, to organizing a corporate away day on the Red Sea in El Gouna, Egypt. Lord Sugar will once again be joined by his trusted advisers, Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, as they whittle down the field across 12 demanding episodes.

The cast is a cross-section of modern Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit. There’s Andrea Cooper, a 46-year-old grandmother and lettings agency owner from Barnsley, who achieved a first-class honours degree in midwifery at 40, and Conor Galvin, a photobooth business owner from Cork, Ireland, aiming to expand his company across the UK. Other standouts include Karishma Vijay, the first female entrepreneur in her family’s business lineage, and Dan Miller, a student recruitment firm owner who started his company at 17 and now works with global giants like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Goldman Sachs.

Each candidate brings a distinctive vision: Carrington Saunders is growing a social media-based loungewear brand, Megan Ruiter runs a bespoke womenswear label worn by celebrities, and Lawrence Rosenburg seeks to revolutionize public relations through automation. From tech project managers and pharmacists to barbershop owners and AI consultants, the boardroom will be a melting pot of ideas, ambition, and—undoubtedly—conflict.

The show’s format remains unchanged: each week, candidates face high-pressure, business-themed tasks, with one or more being fired by Lord Sugar at the end of every episode. The stakes are as high as ever, with £250,000 and a business partnership on the line. For many contestants, The Apprentice has served as a springboard to national recognition and business success. With the addition of an audio version of Unfinished Business on BBC Sounds, the franchise continues to evolve, mirroring the changing landscape of media consumption.

As the series prepares to launch, the BBC and production team’s handling of the Hodgetts-Hague situation will be watched closely, not just by fans but by an industry grappling with the realities of social media’s long memory. If recent history is any guide, decisions made in the coming days could set the tone for how reality television addresses contestant conduct in the digital age.

With a fresh batch of candidates, high-stakes challenges, and a dose of real-world controversy, the 20th season of The Apprentice promises to be one of its most talked-about yet. The boardroom battles may be fierce, but it’s the choices made behind the scenes that could define this milestone year for one of the BBC’s flagship shows.