Tim Campbell on 20 years since winning The Apprentice
Two decades on, businessman Tim Campbell reflects on his journey from contestant to becoming one of Lord Alan Sugar's advisors.Just days after winning BBC series The Apprentice, Campbell began his job at Lord Sugar's company.Unlike modern-day winners who receive a £250,000 business investment, Campbell remembers finishing filming before being "invited to a conversation with Lord Sugar where he tells you what's going to happen next and then within a week, you're in his offices."Entering Amstrad's health and beauty department on a six-figure salary was a long way from where Campbell had been just a few months before."I was a very wet-behind-the-ears young man," he remembers. "I was living in a one-bedroom flat with a two-year-old child with aspirations of doing better."
Working as a recruitment manager, his now-wife had sent him the details of how to apply to the new BBC business show - and he applied on a whim at the last minute.Going to auditions for the show, he thought he might be wrong for the series. "I saw people in double-breasted suits with suitcases who were working in the city," Campbell says. "And I was just Tim from east London in a shirt and pair of jeans. I was so blasé back then."However, he laughs when he remembers wearing glasses that he didn't really need. "I just thought wearing them made me [look] more intelligent," he chuckles.Looking back, Campbell thinks the magic of the show comes down to the focus on hard work: "It doesn't matter how many contacts that you have. All that matters is how hard you're willing to work."Campbell certainly worked hard on the show. He volunteered himself to be a project manager on the first task, securing his team the first win - and he was on the winning team for seven challenges that saw him selling flowers on the street, inventing a new toy and convincing celebrities to offer items for a charity auction.
He thinks his background was an advantage. "Coming from east London, you had to learn how to work with all types of people because that was a survival tactic," he says."Plus," he jokes, "I have a Jamaican mother, so I wasn't intimidated by Lord Sugar!"In fact, he says his mother inspired him during his time on the series, adding: "This is a woman who grew up in Jamaica, brought up three kids, didn't finish mainstream school. "It was a big thing for me, knowing all the sacrifices she'd had to make as a member of the Windrush generation, to see her son go through this national process and come out of the other side successful."And Campbell and his mum watched every episode of the show together. "My mum wanted to throw slippers at the screen when people said bad things about her son," he remembers.
Over the years, Campbell and Lord Sugar kept in contact, with his former boss attending Campbell's wedding.And then, in 2022, he received a call from Lord Sugar saying: "I need you to come and join the show." Campbell adds: "I first thought it was a wind up, but it was the real thing."As one of Lord Sugar's aides, he says the hardest part of the job is keeping quiet when a team is struggling."My personality is to want to help people," he says. "I end up biting my tongue and swallowing a lot of blood because I know I can see the cliff and they're running towards the edge. You want to desperately grab them back, but sometimes they've already gone and jumped off."Campbell can empathise with the teams in these moments. In his first job after working with Lord Sugar for two years, he tried to launch his own cosmetics company which he says "collapsed completely".This, however, gave him the inspiration for his next venture the Bright Ideas Trust, which offered support and funding for business people from underprivileged groups. He was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to entrepreneurship.And as an advisor, Campbell quickly became known for his expressive reactions to some of the exploits of the candidates."I'll need a lot of Botox to fill the frown lines from my reactions," he jokes. "My eyebrows get a workout every week!"
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Daily Record
37 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Original EastEnders cast now from huge Hollywood role to tragically early death
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Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) The original Queen Vic landlady, Anita Dobson played Angie with raw emotional depth, especially during the infamous 1986 Christmas Day episode where Den handed Angie divorce papers. Dobson left in 1988, despite producers pleading for her to stay. Angie was later killed off-screen in 2002, having died from alcohol poisoning. Anita, now 75, went on to enjoy a successful career in theatre and TV, including Doctor Who and Call the Midwife. She married Queen guitarist Brian May in 2000 and remains one of the most respected actors to come out of the show. Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) Arthur Fowler was the everyman of EastEnders: kind, flawed, and a victim of life's pressures. Treacher asked to leave the show in 1995 after being warned that the stress of filming could be fatal. Arthur was written out in a powerful storyline that ended in his death from a brain haemorrhage. 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Dr Legg (Leonard Fenton) One of Albert Square's quietest figures, Dr Legg was a comforting presence through the show's early years. Though he left full-time in 1997, he returned regularly for weddings, funerals, and major moments. His final appearance in 2019, when the character died of pancreatic cancer, gave long-time fans a moving farewell. Leonard Fenton died in 2022, aged 95. Mary Smith (Linda Davidson) Known as 'Mary the Punk,' she was one of the Square's most striking residents: a single mum with bright hair, attitude, and a complicated life. Mary's struggles with parenting and sex work pushed boundaries at the time, but her exit in 1988 came quietly. Linda Davidson left acting in the '90s to work behind the scenes at the BBC and later held executive roles at major digital companies, including the Jamie Oliver Group. Tony Carpenter (Oscar James) As one of the first Black characters on EastEnders, Tony Carpenter made TV history. 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37 minutes ago
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BBC Bargain Hunt viewers fuming as even contestant admits he's 'lost for words'
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE PICTURED: 'Smitten' Aimee Lou Wood seen passionately embracing Happy Valley star Adam Long as 'new couple' cuddle up on coffee date
Aimee Lou Wood was pictured passionately embracing Happy Valley star Adam Long as 'new couple' cuddled up on coffee date in London on Saturday. The actors, who star together in upcoming BBC series Film Club, looked smitten as they enjoyed a cuddle and a kiss outside of the cafe. Aimee, 31, looked effortlessly stylish for the romantic outing in a denim waistcoat that she paired with wide-legged jeans and red ballet pumps. Adam, 34 - who is best known for his role as convict Lewis Whippey in Happy Valley - was also dressed down on the outing, pairing a Levi's T-shirt with shorts and trainers. While the pair have not commented on their relationship status, they looked incredibly close as they cosied up to one another on their day out. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Aimee has liked all of Adam's social media posts since their Film Club casting was announced last November. She was also quick to praise the star after he completed a sponsored run in aid of Movember and men's mental health awareness. On a snap of the actor and his running buddies, Aimee penned: 'YOU DID IT!!!!!!! ✨' It's believed the pair met last year working on their upcoming BBC Three series, written by Aimee, in which they play a couple. The pair play lovers in the series, which follows Evie (Aimee) who sets up a film club with her best friend Noa (Nabhaan Rizwaan). A BBC synopsis reads: 'It's Friday night. 7pm. Film Club Week 198. Evie hasn't left the house in six months after a 'wobble', and tonight, things are different. 'Noa's got big news. A dream job is taking him across the other side of the country, which means that all of this is ending. That reality is hitting. That they're going to be forced to consider for the first time they might be more than just friends. 'Neither of them are the best when it comes to emotions but this time those emotions might be impossible to ignore... 'As if life weren't challenging enough already, Evie is going to be navigating this amongst the eccentricity of her family home - living with her fiercely loving single mum Suz (Suranne Jones), sister Izzie (Liv Hill), and handsome boyfriend/sometime man of the house Josh (Adam). 'Film Club is a witty and emotional show about love and family, about whether we should follow our hearts or heads, and being in love with a friend.' Speaking about the series, Aimee - who created the show with Ralph Davies - said in a statement: 'I'm thrilled that our beloved TV series Film Club, a project that Ralph and I have been writing for the past decade, starts shooting this week. 'We couldn't be more excited, and grateful, to the incredible team we have assembled with the BBC. 'To bring this to life with Nabhaan and Suranne, two exceptional actors I have always admired, is a real honour.' The series was filmed in Manchester last year and is set for release on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three later this year. Adam, who also starred in Day Of The Jackal and Waterloo Road, has not spoken publicly about his love life. Aimee's last known relationship was with her Sex Education co-star Connor Swindells, who she split from in 2020 after two years together. Connor, 28, who stars in SAS Rogue Heroes, is now married to the Peaky Blinders star, Amber Anderson, 32, who he wed last year. Discussing the reason behind their split, Aimee noted that relationships don't have to consist of a 'goodie' and a 'baddie', but sometimes the combination of two personalities in a dynamic can result in 'unhealthy themes'. She said in an interview with Grazia: 'We'd had some time apart and then we realised that maybe the relationship wasn't serving us both,' before stating that she and Connor still love each other and respect each other. According to Aimee the breakup was amicable and wasn't dramatic. She compared the moment she became single to a dam bursting wide open. She added: 'When I'm in a relationship I find it hard to maintain my sense of self. I'm very independent but also quite impressionable.' MailOnline has contacted Amy and Adam's representatives for comment. In recent months, the star has catapulted to global fame, owing to her role in HBO hit, The White Lotus. However, the actress' personal life caused more headlines than the series itself, with Aimee hitting out at Saturday Night Live for their 'mean and unfunny' parody of the show that mocked her teeth; as well as being embroiled in claims of a 'feud' with her on-screen lover. The SNL sketch featured comedian Sarah Sherman, 32, parodying Aimee's character Chelsea while using fake teeth to mock her, which prompted in widespread outrage. The sketch poked fun at her Manchester U.K. accent and her teeth, with Sarah exclaiming: 'Fluoride? What's that?' In response, Aimee took aim at the 'cheap' joke, writing on Instagram: 'Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?' She also shared messages of support from her followers and sister Emily, admitting she'd received 'thousands' of messages backing her up. Aimee continued: 'Last thing I'll say on the matter. I am not thin skinned. I actually love being taken the p**s out of when it's clever and in good spirits. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. 'I don't mind caricature - I understand that's what SNL is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/ Chelsea was the only one punched down On... Okay end of.' To conclude, she shared a comment from a fan that read: 'It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970's misogyny', she added: 'This sums up my view'. As well as her role in Film Club, Aimee has been kept busy filming series two of her BBC sitcom Daddy Issues. This year will also see her star in crime-thriller film Sweet Dreams, which has been pitched as 'a British Fargo'. Adam's most recent TV role was in the ITV drama Protection, which saw him reunite with Happy Valley co-star Siobhan Finneran. His most famous role to date was in the BAFTA-winning Happy Valley, in which he played a convict who aided James Norton's Tommy Lee Royce in kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy businessman, for ransom.
