There has never been a better time for Lord Alan Sugar and Piers Morgan to hurl vicious digs at each other.
The debut of The Apprentice 2023 was no exception, with the tycoon mocking the TalkTV host in the opening moments of the BBC programme.
Lord Sugar welcomed the 18 new applicants into the boardroom at the start of the show, meeting each of the aspiring entrepreneurs for the first time.
They all applied to participate in the process, hoping to earn the 75-year-£250,000 old’s investment as well as his important advice after 50 years in company.
As Lord Sugar reviewed the pile of CVs in front of him, he singled out several contestants and highlighted their resumes.
‘These CVs normally contain more fantasy than Lord of the Rings,’ he quipped, as everyone in the room laughed overly enthusiastically.
Lord Sugar then turned to Mark Moseley, who works as the owner of a pest control company.
‘Mark, you’re in the pest control business,’ the business magnate said. ‘Got any tips of how I can deal with Piers Morgan?’
Yet again, more raucous laughter sounded out in the boardroom.
For years, Piers and Lord Sugar have had an ongoing feud, which appeared cool down in November 2021, when the former wrote in his column that he ‘began to miss the old goat’ and the holidays they’d go on together with their families.
‘I’ve even missed Sugar as a human being,’ Piers stated,’ he added.
However, this peace appeared to be short-lived, as Lord Sugar made a scathing dig at Piers over the New Year Honours list in January 2022.
Piers, who was then a presenter on Good Morning Britain, had tweeted: ‘Very disappointed not to have made the honours list this year. After all I’ve done for this Govt, it’s baffling they haven’t rewarded me with at least a knighthood for services to holding miserably mediocre ministers to account. “Sir Piers” will have to wait.’
Lord Sugar then issued a strongly-worded reply, which read: ‘Knight’s are a very elite circle of people. The problem is your head is so far up in the clouds the queen would not be able to tap you with the sword, She maybe tempted to ram it where the sun does not shine [sic].’
He concluded his message with an X-rated anagram of Piers’ name.
The Apprentice launches tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.