ARNOLD Schwarzenegger is "honoured" to become the new host of 'Celebrity Apprentice'.

The 'Terminator' star has been named as the frontman of the 2016-2017 series of the NBC show, following in the footsteps of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

He tweeted: "Wow. I'm blown away and honored by all your tweets. I can't wait to bring my experience to the board room & raise millions for charity. (sic)"

The 69-year-old entrepreneur also took to Twitter to express his excitement for his successor.

He wrote: "Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season's Celebrity Apprentice. He'll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.

"To all my fans, sorry I couldn't do The Apprentice any longer - but equal time (presidential run) prohibits me from doing so. Love! (sic)"

The news of the 68-year-old actor's new appointment was confirmed by NBC, with executive producer Mark Burnett promising Arnold would bring the franchise to "new heights".

He said: "After leaving the show to run for political office, Donald made it clear that he wanted 'The Celebrity Apprentice' to be able to continue to raise millions of dollars annually for worthy causes, and now NBC and I have found an amazing new leader to do just that.

"Gov. Schwarzenegger will use his vast and highly successful business, political and media experience to drive this hit franchise to new heights."