The Apprentice 2016 - as it happened: It's all-out war in the first boardroom

Our favourite contestant is already Karthik Nagesan on the basis of his monobrow motto alone

Lord Alan Sugar meets his latest batch of entrepreneurial hopefuls on The Apprentice (BBC)

This year’s suited and booted candidates are ready to face Lord Sugar, Prokofiev’s “Montagues and Capulets” is echoing around our living rooms and our palms are already getting sweaty. Finally, The Apprentice is back, bringing Karren Brady, Claude Littner and the promise of a £250,000 investment for the winner with it.

Tune in tonight from 9pm on BBC1 to find out who the first casualty of the boardroom will be.

This year’s candidates include Jessica Cunningham, owner of an online fashion company, Essex boy Courtney Wood and IT consulting company owner Karthik Nagesan, who claims if he wanted to be like everyone else, he’d “have waxed [his] monobrow”.

The first task of the new series will test the candidates’ skills in negotiation and selling, with each team attempting to spot the rough diamonds among a stash of antiques and collectibles.

Other challenges throughout the series will see candidates devise an advertising campaign for jeans, manufacture a range of sweets, design virtual reality games and host “late night opening” events at well-known attractions.

Last year’s series was won by Joseph Valente, who beat Vana Koutsomitis to become Lord Sugar’s business partner.