The twelfth series of British reality television series The Apprentice (UK) was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, from 6 October to 18 December 2016;[1] due to live coverage of the UK EU membership referendum in late Spring of that year, alongside live coverage of Euro 2016 and the 2016 Rio Olympics during Summer, the BBC postponed the series' broadcast until the middle of Autumn to avoid clashing with these major events.

Work on filming the series took place from late Spring to early Summer, once assessments had determined which eighteen applicants would form the final line-up.

Both the filming and broadcast schedule for this series had to take into account three major events receiving live TV coverage during 2016 – the UK government had announced in 2015 that they would be holding a major referendum pertaining to the future of the country's EU membership, which the major broadcasters would be covering, while the BBC's Summer schedule had been prepared to oversee live coverage of both Euro 2016 and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

It is also the first time in the show's history that a candidate quit the programme while a task was currently underway, while the result of the Interviews stage drew notable criticism over gender discrimination in the aftermath of the episode that some members of the programme, particularly Karren Brady, disputed.

Of those who took part, Alana Spencer would become the eventual winner, going on to use her prize to start up a nationwide bakery business she would name Ridiculously Rich.