Series Five of The Apprentice was a British reality television series. The series began airing on BBC One on 25 March 2009 and ran for twelve weekly hour-long episodes, as in all previous years. Auditions and interviews took place during July 2008 in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. There were fifteen participants; one more dropped out prior to the first boardroom briefing. Sir Alan Sugar, Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford made appearances, as in all previous series. Spin-off show The Apprentice: You're Fired! also returned, airing on BBC Two immediately after the main show.