Crossword Genius

Sometime in the morning I spotted returning candidates (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

examinees

'candidates' is the definition.

'sometime in the morning i spotted returning' is the wordplay.
'sometime' becomes 'ex'.
'in the morning' becomes 'am'.
'spotted' becomes 'seen' (I've seen this before**).
'returning' is a reversal indicator.
'seen' backwards is 'nees'.
'ex'+'am'+'i'+'nees'='EXAMINEES'

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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