Fans of The Apprentice can breathe a sigh of relief.

TV3 has confirmed that the show is definitely NOT being cancelled – and said that the newspaper report which ‘broke’ the news was “untrue and misleading”.

The Irish Daily Mirror ran a story today filled with quotes from a show insider who claimed that contestants on the show were so bad that the show was going to be cancelled.

However in a statement this afternoon, TV3 dismissed the report.

The station said that the newspaper report was “untrue and misleading” and that no contact had been made by the newspaper with TV3 regarding the story.

“TV3 wishes to confirm that a further series of the major hit programme The Apprentice is currently in planning for a return next year and that a tabloid newspaper report to the contrary is untrue and misleading to our audience and commercial partners,” said the statement.

The Irish version of the popular show began on TV3 in 2008 and has been a ratings winner for the channel, reaching 634,000 viewers per episode.