THE "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE" RETURNS TO NBC WITH MORE DRAMA AND STARS THAN EVER, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12

18 Celebrities Will Compete to Win Money for Charity and the Title of Celebrity Apprentice

NEW YORK, NY - Wednesday, January 4 - Donald Trump, executive producer and star of "Celebrity Apprentice," announced today the newest and largest-ever lineup of famous faces appearing on the fifth installment of the series, premiering Sunday, February 12 at 9pm EST/PST on NBC.

The men are: late-night legend Arsenio Hall, pop star Clay Aiken, radio host Adam Carolla, the "Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno, magician/comedian Penn Jillette, rock star Dee Snider, actor George Takei, IndyCar legend Michael Andretti, and star of "American Chopper," Paul Teutul, Sr.

The women are: supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, pop star Debbie Gibson, actress and multi-Grammy winner Tia Carrere, author and reality star Victoria Gotti, comedienne Lisa Lampanelli, former Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, singer and actress Aubrey O'Day, actress and model Patricia Velásquez, and star of "Real Housewives of New Jersey," Teresa Giudice.

"This season of 'Celebrity Apprentice' will be the most exciting yet. The show will be great, with a record number of contestants and 15 episodes. We are thrilled to bring 18 new and talented celebrities who will help me make 'The Celebrity Apprentice' one of the hottest shows on television this spring. This will be season 12 -- Amazing!" said Mr. Trump.

All 18 business-savvy celebrity contestants will compete with the goal of raising money and awareness for their charity of choice. The last person standing will be chosen as the Celebrity Apprentice and have the honor of delivering a $250,000 bonus check to their designated charity, following in the footsteps of previous winners Piers Morgan, Joan Rivers, Bret Michaels and John Rich.

The celebrities will be subject to long hours, grueling deadlines, intellectual challenges, personality clashes, and intense scrutiny under the careful watch of Donald Trump and his advisors, Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump. Last season, "Celebrity Apprentice" raised a record amount for the contestants' charities, donating over $3.1 million to charity.

"We've never seen such a smart and funny group as this year's lineup of celebrities," said executive producer Mark Burnett. "'Celebrity Apprentice' is better than ever, and it's all for a great purpose - raising millions for charity."

"Celebrity Apprentice" airs Sundays at 9:00p.m. ET/PT on NBC

To watch interviews with some of the cast, visit NBCUniversal Direct here http://www.nbcudirect.com/celebrityapprentice010312/

Please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/the-apprentice/

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"The Celebrity Apprentice" is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Page Feldman, and Nancy Gunn are executive producers. Sadoux Kim, Johnny Petillo, and George Sealey are co-executive producers.