The Apprentice (British TV series) series 12
| The Apprentice | |
|---|---|
| Series 12 | |
Promo group shot of Alan Sugar standing before the candidates for series 12 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 6 October – 18 December 2016 |
| Series chronology | |
The twelfth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 6 October to 18 December 2016; due to live coverage of the UK EU membership referendum in late spring of that year, alongside live coverage of Euro 2016 and the 2016 Rio Olympics during summer, the BBC postponed the series' broadcast until the middle of autumn to avoid clashing with these events.
It is the first series to date to have episodes aired on Thursdays, before Series 16, rather than on Wednesdays as is traditionally arranged for the programme's broadcast schedule, and the only one to feature a candidate quitting the programme while a task is in progress. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, the series was preceded by the mini online episode "Meet the Candidates" on 27 September, with two specials aired alongside the series – "The Final Five" on 13 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 16 December.
Eighteen candidates took part in the twelfth series, with Alana Spencer becoming the overall winner. Excluding the specials, the series averaged around 7.12 million viewers during its broadcast.