2010 'Apprentice' pushed back to summer

The sixth series of Alan Sugar's The Apprentice has been rescheduled to take place in the summer.

Lord Sugar's show will clash with Channel 4 reality series Big Brother, which traditionally airs in late May or early June, according to The Guardian.

The moves comes after the BBC was criticised for political impartiality by allowing Sugar to continue with the show following his appointment to the House of Lords as an enterprise tsar.

The BBC ruled that Sugar could remain on the reality series, but said that it would reconsider the scheduling if it clashed with the run-up to a general election. The business reality show normally kicks off in March and runs for three months.

Spinoff show Junior Apprentice will also be pushed back.

"The Apprentice and Junior Apprentice have been moved back to the summer in order to avoid having a break in the run of either show should a general election be called," confirmed a BBC spokesperson.

Former restaurateur Yasmina Siadatan triumphed on last year's series, claiming a £100,000-a-year job working for Sugar as her prize.