Sugar's Apprentices taste the millionaire lifestyle

Not only have they run the gauntlet of Sir Alan Sugar's rage as they vie for the chance of a job in his business empire but they have already enjoyed a taste of the high life in these comfortable digs.

This is the £12million Notting Hill townhouse that is home to 16 hopefuls in the new series of The Apprentice, beginning on BBC1 tonight. The seven-bedroom property is close to Kensington Gardens and described by estate agents as one of the best streets in the area.

Gallery: See profiles of the 16 hopefuls here

Famous neighbours include Tatler editor Geordie Greig, comic Harry Enfield and Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

The BBC is spending around £6,000 a week renting the property as well as replacing its antique Italian furnishings with a more modern decor.

The property was sold for just under £5 million four years ago to a Japanese company that uses it for long-term lettings.

Previous tenants have included an ambassador and a Russian family.

This is the first time it has been used for a TV show but, as a spokeswoman for estate agent Knight Frank puts it: "It was sitting empty and the BBC offered a deal and at the end of day it's the colour of the money."

When not dashing about London on endless business tasks to prove their mettle to Sir Alan, the apprentices - who this year include a former bankrupt, a martial arts champion and three single mothers - can enjoy relaxing in the property's huge parquetfloored drawing room.

Or they can retreat to one of its five marble bathrooms, its penthouse-sized converted attic or the conservatory.

Failing that, there's a study, a gym and a secluded dining room.

The BBC has a history of billeting its would-be entrepreneurs in expensive properties.

Last year, they had a house in The Bishop's Avenue in Hampstead, locally known as Millionaires' Row.

The candidates will spend 12 weeks in the house as they attempt to impress Sir Alan, the multi-millionaire founder of Amstrad, with their business acumen. Each week one will be ignominiously fired, until the winner is offered a job.

Competitors this year include Naomi Lay, a 26-year-old advertising sales manager from Vauxhall who has run the London Marathon and describes herself as "motivated, fun, determined, compassionate and energetic".

She will have to outdo 29-year-old Upminster housewife Natalie Wood, who was a teenage swimming champion before giving up the sport to attend the London College Of Fashion. She later gained an MBA from the Open University.

Two apprentices have already struck up a close - romantic - bond. But ex-soldier Paul Callaghan, 27, from Southampton, and former Sandhurst rookie turned marketing consultant Katie Hopkins, 31, find their affair threatens their chances.

"It becomes an issue during a task," one insider said. "Millions of viewers will see them fighting. And Alan isn't happy at all."

The Apprentice starts at 9pm on BBC1