NBC announces plans for celebrity edition of 'The Apprentice'

Reality TV World - Mansfield, MA, USA - Two months after announcing that it still wasn't sure whether it was going to renew the increasingly poorly-rated series, NBC has formally announced that Donald Trump's The Apprentice will return for a seventh edition.  However rather than featuring another group of previously unknown money-hungry Type-A personalities, The Apprentice's next edition will feature celebrities vying to be crowned Trump's "Best Business Brain."

"It's always good to be in business with [The Apprentice producer] Mark Burnett and Donald Trump," said newly-named NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio (and former reality television producer) Ben Silverman. "I am so excited to offer viewers what promises to be the most explosive version of The Apprentice that anyone has seen."

Similar to previous installments of The Apprentice, the celebrity contestants competing on the show's seventh edition will be divided into two teams and asked to complete various tasks to impress The Donald.  However instead of competing for a job at one of Trump's many business ventures, the celebrity contestants will be raising funds for various charities throughout the competition.

However celebrity status or not, the contestants won't be able to escape the boardroom, as they'll still be sitting in on sessions to advise Trump on which of the stars from the opposing team should be fired each week.  Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. will also reprise their roles as boardroom advisors to their father during several episodes of The Apprentice's next edition, which NBC plans to air as 2007-2008 midseason programming.

"The success of The Apprentice has been a great experience for me," said Trump. "I believe that celebrity Apprentice will bring our wonderful show to new heights."

According to Daily Variety, the idea of doing a celebrity The Apprentice edition originated with Silverman, who was impressed with "how well" a celebrity version of the show did in Britain. Although casting has just started, Silverman -- who has already begun attempting to convince The Office cast members to participate -- told Variety there has been "strong" early interest in the concept.