Lord Sugar wants more female candidates to put themselves forward for The Apprentice. (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Lord Alan Sugar has made a plea for more women to apply for the next series of ‘The Apprentice’ after receiving a huge number of applications from male applicants.

The business mogul and his team are worried that the glut of male applicants could make it difficult to ensure that the female sex is fairly represented on the show.

Lord Sugar and The Apprentice have come under scrutiny this year as Stella English, the last female winner of The Apprentice in 2010, walked out of her position in Lord Sugar’s company and announced she would sue for constructive dismissal.

But while male candidates have dominated the past two series of the BBC1 show, Lord Sugar is clearly keen for that to change.

Taking to social media to make his appeal, Lord Sugar tweeted: “Application still open for ‘The Apprentice’. Come on, ladies, show me what you can do, not just the blokes.”

New applicants will have to hurry though, as the deadline for applications falls this Sunday.