Lord Sugar missed out on US Apprentice

Claude Littner (right) has joined the panel

Alan Sugar has revealed he missed out on fronting the US version of The Apprentice because he wasn't well known enough.

"They did consider me but, to be perfectly blunt, the American public haven't got a clue who I am," he said.

The job became available earlier this year, when host Donald Trump plumped for the 2016 presidential election campaign over another series.

"I would have done it but the producers wanted someone the US public knew."

Trump's replacement is Hollywood star and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Littner gave candidates a good grilling during the interview stage of the show

Lord Sugar joked: "They've got Arnie now - I can't wait to see what a cock-up he's going to make of it!"

The eleventh series of the UK Apprentice kicks off next Wednesday with 18 new candidates competing for the chance to go into business with Lord Sugar.

They include two former Naval officers who served in the Gulf War, a Kosovan refugee and a former Miss Jamaica.

This year sees a change to the panel chaired by Lord Sugar following the departure of his long-term confidante, Nick Hewer.

Claude Littner, who has worked with Lord Sugar for the past 25 years, has replaced Hewer as one of his advisers alongside Karren Brady.

Littner gained a fierce reputation on the show previously, having appeared as a tough interviewer towards the end of the selection process.

He chairs a number of Lord Sugar's companies and has been part of the interview episode for 10 years.

Littner said he may still be involved at the interview stage but would "see how it works out".

He said his new role, which involves giving feedback to Lord Sugar on how the candidates perform on weekly tasks, was "a completely different role. You can't compare one with the other".

"I'm acting as an observer and trying not to show any emotion at all," he added.

Lord Sugar said The Apprentice was still a success because it didn't rely on gimmicks.

"If it's not broke, don't try to fix it. (It has) consistency with slight tweaks. With respect to The X Factor, gimmicks don't work.

"I'm the same, a bit older 11 years on. What's not the same is the candidates, they make compelling viewing."