Lord Sugar is not planning to walk away from The Apprentice after nearly 10 years as boardroom boss of the hit BBC reality show.

The peer said: "As long as the BBC wants to screen The Apprentice, I will do it for them".

He was responding to a Radio Times interview with Nick Hewer, his right-hand man on the show, who speculated that Lord Sugar might be thinking of calling it quits.

Lord Sugar said on Twitter: "Media reports of me quitting the apprentice are rubbish. Nick Hewer misquoted."

In the interview, Mr Hewer revealed that it would not be a surprise if "at some point after ten years he said: ‘Actually lads, I think I’ve done my bit’”. The show is currently in its ninth series.

He said that Lord Sugar, who is chairman of the Amshold group of companies, might leave to dedicate more time to his commercial ventures.

Lord Sugar was "all over this show for 12 months of the year, every task, every aspect of the scheduling, marketing and press – everything.

“He’s very devoted: possibly to the detriment of his other business interests.”

Asked who he thought might take over The Apprentice hot seat, Mr Hewer said: “The BBC would have a really tough decision whether or not to rest this programme.

“Because it’s his show, and he’s made such an impression, you would need to be a suicide merchant to take it on after Sugar”.

The final of the current Apprentice series will be broadcast next Wednesday.