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He’s back ... Arnold Schwarzenegger will try to fill Donald Trump’s shoes on “The Celebrity Apprentice.†Picture: Casey Curry/Invision/AP
HE promised he would be back.
Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger has been named as the new host of The Celebrity Apprentice in the US after Donald Trump was sacked.
NBC announced on Monday that the movie star and two-term governor is the new host of the competition show, which will return to the network for the 2016 television season.
“I’m back,†the champion bodybuilder wrote on Twitter following the announcement, in reference to his famous line from the Terminator.
“Wow. I’m blown away and honored by all your tweets,†the Republican added. “I can’t wait to bring my experience to the board room to raise millions for charity.â€
Trump congratulated the former bodybuilder on Twitter, writing: “Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He’ll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.â€
Trump made the show a success, with first regular folks and then celebrities competing in business-related tasks.
In seven seasons, NBC said The Celebrity Apprentice has helped raise more than $US15 million for charity.
There’s no word on whether Schwarzenegger will replace Trump’s “you’re fired†catchphrase with his own “you’re terminated.â€
NBC dumped Trump in June after the Republican made disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants during his presidential campaign kick-off speech.
NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said Trump would never return as host of the show, with the Miss USA pageant broadcast also cancelled.
Last week, Trump’s spokesman Michael Cohen confirmed the Republican presidential hopeful has purchased NBC’s half of the Miss Universe Organisation and settled all lawsuits against the media company.
The move, which Trump announced via Twitter on Friday morning, gives him full ownership of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants and completes a divorce begun in June.
The annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants had been a joint venture between the company and Trump.
Hit show ... Carolyn Kepcher sits with Donald Trump at open auditions for the second season for reality television show "The Apprentice" in New York in 2004. Picture: SuppliedSource:News Limited
Miss USA had aired on NBC since 2003. This year’s edition had been set for July 12, but aired instead on cable’s Reelz network.
Meanwhile, Univision cancelled its coverage of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which led to a $US500 million lawsuit brought by Trump claiming his First Amendment rights were violated as well as claiming a breach of contract.