Sir Alan Sugar to top the bill on reality TV

Sir Alan Sugar is to take the role made famous by Donald Trump when BBC2 moves the US reality show The Apprentice to UK television.

The former Spurs chairman will oversee 14 would-be entrepreneurs over a series of weekly assignments to test their business skills and entrepreneurship. And each week he will sack one of them.

The survivor will get a job for a year and a six-figure salary with one of Sir Alan's companies.

Sir Alan said in a statement: "I was delighted to be approached for this role. It sits perfectly with my long-held belief in the importance of promoting enterprise. What a great platform.

"My good news/bad news approach to business has earned me a reputation for being blunt, but you've got to have what it takes to make it in business."

Sir Alan first became famous with the launch of his affordable Amstrad computer, which aimed to make PCs available to the mass market. Amstrad later came adrift when it tried to make IBM-compatible machines – largely through the failure of externally sourced disk drives.

Widely panned for the introduction of the e-m@iler, a telephone with email and text messaging, Sugar has won through as the division making the device recently announced a profit.

Donald Trump attempted to trademark the expression "You're fired" during the run of the successful American series.