Lord Sugar has suggested that he may continue with The Apprentice in 2027.
The billionaire entrepreneur, 77, has hosted the business competition show since 2005 and is about to oversee the 19th series.
Sugar has previously indicated multiple times his intention to make it to 20 series and then step down, but now he has appeared to open the door to remaining in the boardroom for longer.
"I honestly don't know," he said in advance of the new series. "I have to see how I feel. I mean, I'm getting older, I'm nearly 78 years old.
"So it really depends; so long as I've got my health and strength... I've always said I will carry on as long as the BBC wants me to. It's also a consideration that it's not my call, it's the BBC's call."
As for the 20th series, which will be filmed this summer for broadcast early next year, Sugar promised "a special occasion" to mark the milestone.
"We are already working on ideas for that," he continued. "It's got to be a very special occasion, hasn't it? There needs to be a lot of promotion and excitement around it, it's what it deserves.
"We've got a great team of people that think up ideas and all that stuff. And again, it's all down to the candidates, which we have not chosen yet, of course. I want a really good set of candidates for the 20th."
The new series of The Apprentice begins Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Neil Wilkes
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