Rav Wilding on Morning Live as Gethin Jones misses studio for The Celebrity Apprentice
Rav Wilding appeared on Morning Live on Monday, April 19, 2026 ET, as Helen Skelton explained why Gethin Jones was absent from the studio. The change came as The Celebrity Apprentice was unveiled with 12 well-known names set to take part in the first full-length series. The series will send the cast into weekly business challenges set by Lord Sugar.
The Celebrity Apprentice line-up comes into focus
The opening of Morning Live linked directly to the new series, with Helen telling viewers that Gethin had “swapped the studio for the boardroom. ” She added that he had been announced as one of the latest candidates for The Celebrity Apprentice, making the absence part of the show’s own promotion. An image from the forthcoming series showed Gethin seated beside Lord Alan Sugar and Toni Laites.
The confirmed cast also includes Alexandra Burke, Danny Miller, Jordan Banjo, Kay Burley, Maddie Grace Jepson, Max Balegde, Gladiator Sheli McCoy, DJ Spoony, Richie Anderson, Laura Smyth and Toni Laites. Across six episodes, the celebrities will compete for a £100, 000 donation to a charity of their choice.
Rav Wilding joins the morning conversation
As the programme moved through its opening moments, Rav Wilding spoke with contributors and helped preview the morning’s coverage. He also reacted to the cast reveal, including Sheli McCoy, saying he would not want to get on the wrong side of her in the boardroom. The exchange gave viewers an early sense of how the new series is being framed: familiar faces, high-pressure tasks and a charity prize that raises the stakes.
Lord Sugar said the series would test the celebrities over six weeks of business challenges and that celebrity status would not guarantee an easy ride. Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at the, said the format has been pushed further this year and that the contestants will be tested on leadership, teamwork and commercial instinct. Paul Broadbent, Director of Programmes at Naked, said the full six-episode run will give viewers more chances to see the celebrities as they have never been seen before.
What Lord Sugar and the are saying
Lord Sugar described the series as something the production has not done before and said it would be entertaining to watch the 12 celebrities face business challenges in a new setting. He said the boardroom has moved to a London City skyscraper, creating a fresh backdrop for his final decisions. The has not yet confirmed a broadcast date for the series.
The Celebrity Apprentice is part of a wider move to expand the format into a full-length celebrity edition. Rav Wilding’s on-air role on Morning Live gave the announcement an immediate live-TV setting, while the cast reveal placed the show squarely in the spotlight ahead of transmission. For now, the key question is when The Celebrity Apprentice will reach One and iPlayer, and how the boardroom dynamic will play out once the challenges begin.
