Belfast man in Sugar hiring line

Ben Clarke is described as a rebellious stockbroker

He has been described as a rebellious stockbroker and admires Hugh Heffner as a business figure.

But one Belfast man will be making his pitch in the court of the Amstrad king rather than the Playboy mansion as the new series of the Apprentice arrives.

Ben Clarke, a trainee stockbroker and former Gavin Henson lookalike, is the first prospective Alan Sugar apprentice to come from Northern Ireland.

In his biography on the show website, the 22-year-old graduate admitted to being cocky, but said he took business "very seriously".

He described himself as a young professional with a "raw hunger" to make as much money as possible and is quoted as saying: "To me making money is better than sex."

Ben is not the only Northern Ireland voice to be heard on the show, with long-time Sir Alan advisor Margaret Mountford hailing from Holywood, County Down.

She has said her Northern Ireland background helped her career.

"I think coming from Northern Ireland gives you a lot of common sense and a basic level-headedness that stands you in very good stead," she said.

"A lot of what's required is a common sense approach, much of business depends on that actually."

Profit

Whether the Belfast man lad will be able to coax any feelings of kinship from the successful lawyer remains to be seen.

There are 15 contenders for the position of Sir Alan's apprentice after one candidate dropped out before the cameras started rolling.

Sir Alan said that made his job easier and the candidates are thrown in at the deep end in the first episode.

Split into boy and girl teams they are given a bucket and sponge and told to make as much money as possible by starting a cleaning company.

With just eight hours to turn a profit, both teams have to roll up their tailored sleeves and get stuck in.

In an interview with the BBC Sir Alan said the new series has some familiar themes - errors from the candidates.

"You would have thought that with this being the fifth series, that they would come in well armed with knowing what not to do," Sir Alan said.

"But I can comfortably tell you that they still don't know what to do in some cases. It never fails to amaze me, but we wouldn't have a programme if they didn't make mistakes."

The fifth series of The Apprentice begins on BBC One on 25 March at 2100 GMT.