One of this year\u2019s contestants is Avi Sharma, a banker who is hoping that Lord Sugar\u2019s backing will give him a ticket out of the \u201crat race\u201d of the finance world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Avi is the youngest candidate taking part in the new season, but will he have youthful enthusiasm on his side or will his lack of experience compared to some of his more seasoned rivals be his undoing?<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ll have to wait to find out \u2013 but in the meantime, here\u2019s everything we know so far about Avi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Job:<\/b> City banker<\/span><\/p>\n From: <\/b>London<\/span><\/p>\n Avi describes himself as a \u201cconfident chap\u201d which will certainly help him when it comes to some of the show\u2019s infamous selling challenges, while his experience in the world of finance could give him the edge when it comes to balancing budgets. He promises that he \u201ccan bring a smile to the most miserable face\u201d \u2013 but will he be able to make the famously hard to please Lord Sugar crack a grin in the boardroom?<\/span><\/p>\n As for Avi\u2019s biggest weakness? The banker admits that \u201csome say I\u2019m delusional\u201d, although he \u201cprefer[s] the term optimistic\u201d. We\u2019ll have to wait and see him in action in the first challenge before we can make up our minds as to which word better describes him\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Avi reckons that he should receive Lord Sugar\u2019s investment because it will \u201chelp me escape the rat race of a banking job\u201d, and believes he\u2019s \u201cthe hardest working rat [Lord Sugar] will ever meet\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The Apprentice will be back on our screens on Thursday 5th January at 9pm on BBC One, when we\u2019ll meet the 18 new candidates who will be jetting off to Antigua for the very first challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n Once they\u2019ve touched down, they won\u2019t have much time to relax and enjoy the island\u2019s scenic views as they\u2019ll be tasked with creating and selling excursions to tourists. What could possibly go wrong?<\/span><\/p>\n Casting their watchful eyes over the candidates\u2019 progress will be Lord Sugar\u2019s trusted advisors Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, while his right-hand man Claude Littner is also set to return for two episodes<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n The Apprentice airs on 5th January at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. <\/strong>C<\/strong>heck out more of our Entertainment<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide <\/a>for more to watch.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home <\/b><\/span>\u2013\u00a0<\/b><\/span>subscribe now<\/b><\/span><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<\/b>Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/b><\/span><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Katie Rosseinsky Published: Tuesday, 03 January 2023 at 12:00 am Brace yourselves for a barrage of business buzzwords and cutting boardroom takedowns: The Apprentice is back on our screens for its 17th season, bringing with it a new cohort of seriously self-confident hopefuls vying for a \u00a3250,000 investment from Lord Sugar. One of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":28057,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker.jpg",1536,1024,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker.jpg",1536,1024,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/meet-avi-sharma-the-apprentice-2023-candidate-and-city-banker.jpg",1536,1024,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Katie Rosseinsky Published: Tuesday, 03 January 2023 at 12:00 am Brace yourselves for a barrage of business buzzwords and cutting boardroom takedowns: The Apprentice is back on our screens for its 17th season, bringing with it a new cohort of seriously self-confident hopefuls vying for a \u00a3250,000 investment from Lord Sugar. One of this…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/28056"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Who is Avi Sharma?<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/apprenticeseason17cast-4234cd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What has Avi said about joining The Apprentice?<\/b><\/h2>\n
When does The Apprentice start?<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/FjiYhTxXwAI9r1b-7229866.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"