Sir Alan and a TV spoonful of sugar as his fortune goes down

WHEN The Apprentice returns to television screens next week all the old favourites will be there including righthand woman and man Margaret Mountford and Nick Hewer, the hapless contestants and of course the boss himself - Sir Alan Sugar.

But for the first time in five series of the BBC programme, one component will be missing - the size of Sir Alan's fortune. For series four last year - as in all previous series of the hugely popular show - the size of Sir Alan's fortune was announced in the introduction at the beginning of each episode.

Sir Alan's wealth was put at "more than £800 million" as would-be apprentices battled for a £100,000 job in his mainly property empire. This time no value has been put although experts suggest the fortune may have fallen by up to £100 million, hit by falling property prices and the global recession.

Fans of the show have been discussing the subject on internet chatrooms as they await the unveiling of series five. One discussion board is headed: "Will Apprentice 5 still claim Alan Sugar is worth £800 million?" The answer appears to be no.

One fan commented: "I'd like to see SAS [Sir Alan Sugar] catching the bus rather than using a helicopter."

An Apprentice spokeswoman said: "I have watched the first part of the new show and it doesn't say how much he is worth. There is still the introduction but they don't say what he is worth. They don't do that any more."

A spokesman for Sir Alan confirmed the figure was missing but said it was merely an oversight. The spokesman said: "There is no sinister reason for removing it. In fact we didn't even notice it, so will take a look."

The BBC put a value of more than £800 million on Britain's favourite entrepreneur last year, taking its lead from the Sunday Times Rich List. This year, the list is likely to mark Sir Alan down by tens of millions.

The Estates Gazette, which published its own rich list in October, put Sir Alan's fortune at £750 million, made up of a property empire worth £400 million and the rest in cash and personal assets including homes in London, Florida and Spain. That is likely to have fallen further as the credit crunch has hit over the past six months, taking him to around the £700 million mark.

Despite the downturn, the BBC still expects The Apprentice to be a hit, although the more lavish foreign trips have been cut back. The names of the new candidates have not been revealed but the BBC has disclosed some of their biographies. One names their role model as Hugh Hefner, another comes from "a long line of aristocrats", there is a child chess prodigy, and someone who left school to play football.