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Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
The Apprentice turns 20: Biggest success stories and controversies of hit BBC show
BBC show The Apprentice has seen boss Lord Alan Sugar host all sorts of characters, but among major successes he's also seen race rows and physical fights take place in the boardroom It's the 20th anniversary of The Apprentice this year, and it's been a wild ride over the past two decades. Lord Alan Sugar has been at the helm for all 19 seasons, but his contestants haven't been anywhere near as reliable. The final episode of this year's show aired on the BBC on April 17, revealing the big winner of a £250,000 investment and partnership with Lord Sugar himself. In the nail-biting final, Dean Franklin ultimately won with his air conditioning business, beating out Anisa Khan with her dark kitchen takeaway service. As Dean begins to outline his surprising plans to make a splash with Sugar's cash and mentorship, it's a good time to look back at the biggest success stories of the past 20 years - and the most shocking controversies. OG Tim Campbell was the winner of the very first season of The Apprentice back in 2005, and has gone on to be named by the crown in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The star worked for the London Underground before joining the show, and won a year's contract for a £100,000 per year job for Lord Sugar. Tim stayed for a year beyond his initial contract, and Lord Sugar called him a 'great asset' at his company, Amstrad. Tim seemed to be a personal favourite of Lord Sugar, even replacing Claude Littner as his aide in the BBC show in 2022 after Littner got into a cycling accident - and he's still in the role today. Beyond the show, Tim has formed his own businesses and enterprises, including the charity Bright Ideas Trust. The trust made records when it was awarded $1,000,000 by the Bank of America, and saw Tim work with Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Ricky Martin In 2009 Ricky won Total Wipeout, and switched gears three years later when he joined The Apprentice and secured another number one spot. The former pro-wrestler bagged £250,000 for his recruitment business Hyper Recruitment Solutions, and it now has net assets of £2.26million, according to Pink Un. Prior to bringing in the cash, the star worked several low-paying jobs such as paper boy and being a hotel porter, and secured his first role out of university in recruitment for £15,000 per annum. Ricky, of course, shares a name with the Puerto Rican singer, and was told by his boss early in his career that it would set him back. 'I remember he told me, 'Just so you know, you're going to be called Richard Martin, not Ricky Martin because it's a stupid name and no one will take you seriously',' he told The Sun. 'I disagreed. I knew it would give me an edge and told him, 'You are completely wrong, I will get more business with that name than you ever will expect.'' Tom Pellereau Tom, 45, was an unlikely winner in 2011, after winning only three tasks and losing eight. Despite the odds he came up trumps - and was the first winner to become Lord Sugar's business partner after the BBC ditched the previous £100,000 job model. His company, Stylideas, is now worth around £1.37million, according to Pink Un, after Lord Sugar was taken by his plan for a curved nail file. Speaking to his success, he's one of just two winners who are still business partners with the big boss. They've now branched out into more beauty products, and Tom revealed that there are board meetings every two months where he takes along the "latest items" from his brands. According to the winner, Lord Sugar "loves" engaging with them and giving feedback, and "usually gets very hands-on" with the products. Lottie Lion 2019 saw The Apprentice get embroiled in a vicious race row, after Lottie Lion was accused of bullying Lubna Harhan in a WhatsApp group created by candidates after the show ended. Lottie told Lubna, who's of Pakistani heritage, to "shut up Gandhi,' and even told the mum she'd "f*** her up." After an argument kicked off based on Lottie claiming to have never met a Black person before, she soon told Lubna: 'Seriously f*** off Lubna before I f****** knock you out at our press training.' Lottie was quick to tamper down the flames, sharing in a statement: 'I appreciate the messages sent between myself and Lubna could come across as offensive but they were intended as a joke and no offence was meant by them." In contrast, Lubna spoke to the Mirror and suggested that claims of racial bullying were correct. She said: "All I can say is I wish her well, she has a lot to learn in terms of how to treat people, but she is quite young and I'm sure that within this process she has learnt a lot and will take something from it. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say that was wrong." Selina Waterman-Smith Things got physical in the business show in 2015, when events company owner Selina got into a tussle with beauty salon owner Charleine Wain. The duo's group lost their task, and Charleine told Selina in the boardroom: 'You're like an irritating wasp at a picnic.' It seems that Selina couldn't let the gripe go, and took things further when they stepped outside Lord Sugar's office. In scenes that bosses decided not to air, a friend of Charleine claimed: 'Selina left the boardroom after Charleine, pushed Charleine and then started shouting at Charleine. Charleine was completely in shock, she didn't want to retaliate and make the situation any worse, she took the dignified response and walked away." Production stepped in to separate the pair, and a spokesperson for the show stated: 'The incident, which resulted in Selina being given a verbal warning, was dealt with quickly and professionally.' Not all controversies from The Apprentice are buried in the past, after Asif rocked last year with his axing. The firing seems to have been fuelled by his very controversial behaviour on X, formerly known as Twitter. The former NHS doctor was given diversity training after making multiple controversial posts on social media including writing that Zionists are a "godless satanic cult' and references to the "trial of the zionist antichrist", before the BBC ultimately decided to cut ties. Beyond the anti-semitism row, Asif has also been labelled "vile and sexist" after he suggested that there was too much feminism in the UK and for launching University of Masculinity - Muslim Passport Bros to match men in the UK with women in Morocco. In a video posted on YouTube in September 2023 as part of his Masculine Mastery series, he said: 'A lot of brothers have got sick of feminism in the West generally. Being in the corporate world as a woman all of your life, you are going to rub shoulders with a lot of men. That is osmosis - you are going to absorb a lot of masculine ideals in terms of competitiveness, being blunt - it is a real problem in the UK.'
BBC News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Is Essex really the county of grafters?
Of the 18 contestants on the latest series of The Apprentice, four are from Essex. Former winner, and Lord Sugar's aide, Tim Campbell believes the county has a passion for "grafting". Is he right?The popularity of nail bars, tanning salons, car boot sales and markets in Essex is often used as a stick to beat the county for Tim Campbell, who won the very first series of The Apprentice, they are part of a "legacy and history" of people finding any means to make their way in life."There's an inbuilt entrepreneurial feeling that comes from a community that has had lots of market traders; people who worked in the trades and have then built up businesses, and earning nice money," he of the 18 contestants currently vying for Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment are from the county's most successful Apprentice alumni is Ricky Martin, who won the show in 2012.A year later, winner Leah Totton chose Loughton as a venue for her cosmetic clinic Sugar himself lives in the county, in Chigwell, and based his Amstrad headquarters in Brentwood. Campbell, 47, who won the show in 2005, knows the county well as his mother lives on Canvey told BBC Essex: "At the very heart of the Essex community is grafting, whether you're down Basildon market or you're out in Loughton, working for clients who want to do positive Pilates."The reality is there is always somebody here who is in a High Street environment, which really backs the story of Britain as a nation of shopkeepers." Current contestant Chisola Chitambala, from Hullbridge, agrees."When you're in Essex, there's something about grafting," she said."I don't know if you get it if you're from other parts of the country... but in Essex you definitely graft."And she said people from the county had another key attribute: "the gift of the gab"."You know how to talk, you know how to be with people and you grow up kind of being able to use that as well," she explained. So famed is the county's approach to work and making money that the term "Essex Man" even entered the Oxford English as a "brash, self-made young businessman", he was said to relish chasing entrepreneurial wealth. So is there anything in this talk of grafting? Figures suggest to the latest Office of National Statistics data from 2023, Essex has the most active businesses of any upper-tier unitary authority area in the UK, with 71, and Hertfordshire come in second and third, with 68,910 and 66,605 2023, Essex also accounted for 2.2% of England's overall GDP and 2.3% of the country's employment. Finding a bargain on the markets remains a key part of life for many in continue to sell daily in Chelmsford, with other sales frequently held in Colchester, Epping, Witham and also boasts one of the country's oldest markets, dating back to 1256 when the town was granted a Royal Skinner, a pillow salesman who gained fame on series 15 of The Apprentice, has long championed 34-year-old - known for his "Bosh!" catchphrase - has traded at North Weald Market and across the east London border in Romford, formerly part of Essex. Sonny Green is a car boot sale dealer, the owner of a removals company, and claims to have the biggest second-hand shop in the agrees Essex is a hub for entrepreneurial grafters."Especially Southend; I think we're built different around here," he of that enterprising spirit, he said, came from Essex's proximity to the City of London."That grit where you can basically make it from nothing... a bit of an underdog's tale," he said."Some of these areas are not very affluent, but you are close to money... so that can drive us to want to better ourselves and achieve." He thinks Essex is a goldmine for finding certain characters for reality TV show, including The Apprentice."I think they're after that 'cheeky chappy' character, aren't they?"The charismatic element of the 'wheeler dealer', that sort of character." Ann Scott, Essex development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, pointed to some of the entrepreneurs who had recently emerged from the James Sinclair had 15 to 20 businesses at 37 years old, including Rossi Ice Cream, she mentioned Maria Antoniou, who sprinkled crisps into chocolate bars, thus inventing "Bar of Crisps", and took it to Dragon's Den."She didn't get investment but she's still grafting away, trying to find a factory to produce this on a larger scale," Ms Scott Chiswell-Rivas also took the plunge with Essex Spirits Company."He started in his nan's bedroom during lockdown making spirits; he now runs a distillery and has just opened a new bar in Chelmsford," she said. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
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 days after winning BBC series The Apprentice, Campbell began his job at Lord Sugar's 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 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 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 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 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!"
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where are The Apprentice winners now?
"You're hired" – the words every Apprentice candidate dreams of hearing from Lord Sugar when they step into the boardroom. For these lucky 19 contestants, the dream became a reality, but did working with the business guru turn out to be everything they hoped for? Here are all the winners of The Apprentice so far and what they did next. Back in the days when candidates were mostly serious business people, Tim Campbell became the first ever contestant hired by Lord Sugar. He bagged a £100,000-a-year job at Amstrad, where he stayed working with Sugar for two years before going on to a number of other roles including a perfume business, a property investment consultancy and a digital marketing agency, and was awarded an MBE for his services to social enterprise. In 2022 he returned to The Apprentice, replacing Claude Littner as an aide to Lord Sugar. Saira Khan was the runner-up in series one who went on to forge a media career as a regular Loose Women panellist and a Dancing On Ice contestant. Michelle Dewberry is still in and out of celebrity headlines years after winning series two, although just as memorable to fans of the show was runner-up Ruth Badger. After working with Lord Sugar, Dewberry set up a business consultancy, wrote her autobiography, has stood as a pro-Brexit candidate for Hull West and Hessle, and presents a weeknight show for GB News. She was famously in a relationship with fellow Apprentice contestant Syed Ahmed after leaving the show, but in 2020 welcomed a son with former Crystal Palace FC owner Simon Jordan. Dewberry has spoken openly about her mental health struggles and is an ambassador for Women's Aid. Third winner Simon Ambrose was handed a job at Lord Sugar's property division Amsprop, where he worked on a hotel and golf course near Stansted Airport. More recently, Ambrose has branched out on his own in running several London bars and restaurants and is chairman of the London Contemporary Orchestra. Never afraid to look the fool during a task, Lee McQueen's enthusiasm paid off as he rarely lost a task and paved the way for many a cringeworthy candidate to come. He was known during his time on the show for his "That's what I'm talking about!" catchphrase, his reverse pterodactyl impression which went down particularly badly in the interview round, and lying on his CV about how long he had been at university for. McQueen has since given many an interview on his achievements despite a lack of formal qualifications and spent a productive couple of years with Lord Sugar at Amscreen before striking out on his own and setting up Raw Talent Academy. Restaurant owner Yasmina Siadatan was the fifth person to win a £100,000-a-year job with Lord Sugar, joining Lee McQueen at Amscreen. She left not long afterwards as she gave birth to her first child, but was later headhunted by Dragons' Den star James Caan and has also ventured into politics as a Conservative candidate for Henley. If there's one former winner's name who is now mentioned in hushed tones in the boardrooms and corridors of Amstrad, it's Stella English. She spent a year in the coveted job with Lord Sugar but then tried to bring a constructive dismissal case against him which was dismissed in court. English had complained about a lack of opportunities to progress in the role, claiming she was a "glorified PA" and "overpaid lackey", but Lord Sugar tried to counter-sue her for his legal costs - a move which was also dismissed. He accused English of trying to get an out-of-court settlement and said: "I'm afraid she underestimated me and her reputation is now in tatters." At one point during proceedings she said she was having to look at applying for benefits to cover her mortgages on three properties and said "I'm now an unemployed single mother, it's a living nightmare". In 2017, she welcomed a child with snooker player Ali Carter, although the pair have since split. By series 7, Lord Sugar had decided to change things up a bit by looking for a business partner rather than an employee. The first person to win the new prize was Tom Pellereau, an inventor who was a little different from the usual Apprentice candidate. With Sugar's backing, he launched beauty products company Stylideas which included the Tangle Teezer brush, the world's first curved nail file, and make-up sponge and brush cleaners. No, not that Ricky Martin... Lord Sugar's next business partner was a former professional wrestler who managed to defeat the competition with his idea for a recruitment consultancy. The science and tech recruitment firm has gone from strength to strength, proving a wise investment for the business mogul. Series 9 was known as the glam season of the show, and it certainly reflected that in its winner as doctor Leah Totton launched her skincare clinic franchise. Her runner-up Luisa Zissman became known as a reality TV star, while Totton's Dr Leah Clinic business, which combines her medical expertise with beauty treatments, has expanded in the south of England. The Derry-born entrepreneur is also an advocate for improving standards in the beauty industry. Again, not that Mark Wright... This digital marketing sales manager was hired by Lord Sugar to develop his SEO business Climb Online. When the Australian won the contest, he said: "I've worked so hard and to be sat here is life-changing and the best thing to ever happen to me." In 2022, he sold his Climb Online for a reported £10 million. Joseph Valente found that winning The Apprentice didn't necessarily mean his business was made for life – but he showed true champion spirit by bouncing back. The series 11 winner set up the UK's largest boiler installation firm, but although he was eventually forced to sell, he has since gone on to set up the successful Trade Mastermind which promotes small businesses and tradespeople. Welsh baker Alana Spencer bagged Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment for her luxury chocolate and cupcake business Ridiculously Rich by Alana. Unfortunately, she suffered a blow when her Cardiff cake shop got a one-star hygiene rating and in 2017 had to recall home delivery products that didn't correctly list allergens, but vowed to get things back up to scratch. She later launched her Ambassador & Cakepreneur schemes, helping those who were wishing to start a cake business. For the first and only time in the show's history, both finalists were crowned winners in 2017. Lord Sugar found it impossible to choose between two candidates with business plans similar to some we'd seen before – James White's recruitment agency, and Sarah Lynn's online personalised sweets delivery company Sweets in the City. Lord Sugar went in a completely unexpected direction for his series 14 business partner, opting to invest in Sian Gabbidon's swimwear company. Gabbidon had huge success being stocked at ASOS, but truly showed her champion credentials by pivoting into loungewear during the pandemic and raking in the sales through George @ Asda as well as globally. Another baker emerged triumphant: Carina Lepore, whose South London bakery had its roots in her family and after investment she was able to open another branch locally. Lepore is the most successful candidate in the show's history, with nine out of 10 task wins and three as project manager. The Apprentice took a break during the Covid pandemic, so there was a long wait for fans to see another boardroom full of candidates vying for a position as Lord Sugar's business partner. Dessert business entrepreneur Harpreet Kaur won the £250,000 investment in Oh So Yum, which covers dessert parlours and online ordering for cakes and sweet treats. She was part of the first-ever all-female final four and impressed both the aides and the other candidates with her strong performance throughout the series. 2023's edition of The Apprentice saw another batch of hopefuls enter Lord Sugar's boardroom, each vying for his support and £250K investment. After 12 gruelling weeks, it was 28-year-old boxing gym owner Marnie Swindells who came out on top, beating beauty salon and hair academy owner Rochelle Anthony in a tense series finale. She has worked with numerous brands and featured in a wide range of adverts including campaigns for Adidas and Sports Direct. Series 18 of The Apprentice had a variety of different business owners hoping to make Lord Sugar their new business partner but it was boutique gym owner Rachel Woolford who managed to emerge victorious. In the show's dramatic finale, Woolford managed to beat high-end pie business owner Phil Turner after convincing Lord Sugar that her plans to launch a chain of female-focused health and training spaces with a personalised touch would reward his initial investment. "It was an amazing moment and it was 100% one of the highlights, if not the highlight of my career," said Woolford after her win. "I'm just getting started on our amazing partnership together." The Apprentice Series 19 premieres 9pm on Thursday 30 January on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
