There's "no time for nonsense", according the explosive trailer for the new series of The Apprentice.

The search for Lord Sugar's next business partner is about to begin, and this year the challenges promise to be bigger and better than ever.

Lord Sugar has already invested £2million of his own money in eight businesses, and in the finale of series 13 in December 2017, he took the unprecedented step of hiring both finalists, Sarah Lynn and James White.

Other winners over the past few years have been Alana Spencer, Joseph Valente, Mark Wright, Leah Totton and Ricky Martin.

Although the show has been criticised for lacking originality - it's even been called 'a three-month episode of Dragon's Den' - the ratings are still high for one of the Beeb's flagship shows.

And so billionaire business mogul and Amstrad founder Lord Sugar, who is reportedly worth £1.4 billion, is keen to get back into in the boardroom and stake £250,000 of his cold, hard cash on a brand-new venture.

Here are some of your questions answered:

When does The Apprentice 2018 start?

Wednesday, October 3.

What channel is it on and what time?

BBC One at 9pm.

Who are this year’s candidates?

Unfortunately, the list has not been revealed yet and it’s not known (yet) when that will be.

All the more interesting to see when it is revealed.

Are Karen and Claude back?

Yes. If you’re a fan of the pair, then great news! If not, we regret to inform you of this unwelcomed news.

Do we know what’s happening in the first episode?

A little – but beware that there are spoilers below.

For the first task, under the scrutiny of Lord Sugar’s lieutenants ('eyes and ears') Baroness Brady and Claude Littner, the candidates are sent abroad.

The teams jet off to this year's capital of culture, Valletta, in Mediterranean Malta, on a day-long shopping spree.

The challenge: to bag nine Maltese items for the lowest possible prices before reuniting back at the airport by 7.00pm.

One team quickly hits the road, but as fish out of water, they're clearly on the wrong scent.

Meanwhile, in the other team, fiery personality clashes over negotiations soon rock the boat.

As both teams navigate their way to the finish, one takes a gamble by returning with items missing, while the other faces mutiny by disregarding the deadline.

Back in the heated boardroom, Karen and Claude reveal who's not pulled their weight, while Lord Sugar predictably doles out some hefty fines.

Then someone on the losing team becomes the first member of the 2018 series to hear those infamous two words - "You're Fired!"

After all, money talks and nonsense walks.