The Apprentice has produced 16 winners since its debut series back in 2005.
While the original format searched for an employee for one of Lord Sugar's many businesses, the show later developed to offer a £250,000 investment into the candidate's own.
Now on its 16th series, the show has introduced us to some extremely memorable businesses and owners looking for a cash injection.
From controversial media commentators to artisan bakery chains, winning The Apprentice certainly sets you up for a lucrative career whatever your business.
Let's take a look…
Tim Campbell – Series 1
Tim was the first ever winner of the reality TV show in 2005, even after making the risky decision to become the project manager during the first task.
He was hired by Lord Sugar and joined Amstrad, becoming Project Director in the new Health and Beauty division. In 2012 he was awarded an MBE and is now set to return to The Apprentice boardroom, replacing Claude Littner in the upcoming series.
Michelle Dewberry – Series 2
Lord Sugar’s second winner of the £100k a year job contract was Michelle Dewberry from Hull.
She reportedly only worked a short while at Lord Sugar’s Xenon company, favouring media appearances and public speaking instead.
Nowadays, you can find Michelle presenting in the afternoons on GB: News where she has a regular slot talking about politics and current affairs.
Simon Ambrose – Series 3
Simon Ambrose stayed in his £100k a year job at Lord Sugar’s estate business Amsprop for three years, before going on to set up his own company in the industry Ambrose Property Service.
He also chaired the London Contemporary Orchestra, before moving on to creating up a series of restaurants and cafes in Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.
Lee McQueen – Series 4
Despite admitting to lying on his CV during the process and showing off his reverse pterodactyl impression , Lee Mqueen won a contract at Amstrad.
The recruiter stayed at the company for a number of years before launching a public speaking career.
He has also founded a sales recruitment company called Raw Talent Academy.
Yasmina Siadatan – Series 5
Yasmina landed the coveted job at Amscreen, but became pregnant following a whirlwind office romance, which prompted her to leave the company on maternity leave, never to return.
She has since worked for James Caan at his Stand Up Loans company and also runs some restaurants in Reading.
She has also run as a Tory candidate for her local council.
Stella English – Series 6
Stella managed to beat Stuart “The Brand” Baggs to The Apprentice title, landing a job at his IT firm Viglen.
However, her employment did not go smoother and after another short stint at a different division, she resigned.
Stella did not take the departure well and then sued Alan Sugar for constructive dismissal, but she lost this case and was counter-sued. However, this too was unsuccessful.
She has since had a child with snooker star Ali Carter.
Tom Pellerea – Series 7
Despite losing a momentous eight tasks and winning a mere three, ‘Inventor Tom’ went on to be crowned winner of The Apprentice in 2011.
He became the first winner to be given a £250,000 business investment instead of a job and launched Stylideas alongside Lord Sugar.
Focusing on creating healthy and beauty products that make life easier, Stylideas’ products include curved nail files, baby nail clippers, nail polish remover and a make-up brush cleaner.
Ricky Martin – Series 8
Ricky Martin used Lord Sugar's investment to set up specialist recruitment consultancy Hyper Recruitment Solutions.
Ricky was the first Apprentice business partner to make £1 million in profits, and he employs 50 staff across three cities including fellow candidate Trishna Thakrar
Ricky returned to The Apprentice in 2014, but this time as one of the interviewers.
Leah Totton – Series 9
Beating Luisa to become the winner of series nine, the doctor launched the cosmetic clinic chain Dr Leah Clinics in 2014. The business has remained successful, with new clinics opening up in London and Essex, being named “Best Clinic London” in 2017.
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If that wasn’t enough, Dr Leah has remained loyal to her medical career and continues to work as a part-time A&E doctor.
Mark Wright – Series 10
After a coughing fit in Tesco left Mark thinking that he wasn’t going to win, Mark partnered with Lord Sugar and launched Climb Online, a digital marketing agency which made a £4 million turnover in 2017.
In 2017, the entrepreneur was named on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list and has won awards such as Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 UK business awards.
Joseph Valente – Series 11
Alan Sugar appeared to see a bit of himself in early school leaver Joseph Valente who won his investment before the two set up boiler installation company ImpraGas.
However, Joseph became the first winner to buy out his new business partner and take back full control of the firm himself.
Without Lord Sugar, ImpraGas has still achieved a turnover of £3million, according to Joseph’s LinkedIn.
Alana Spencer – Series 12
After being in the bottom three the first two weeks, Alana eventually went on to win the show with her baking company Ridiculously Rich.
With his blessing, Alana also decided to buy out Alan Sugar's shares in the company following his investment.
The business appears to be thriving and Ridiculously Rich now supports almost 50 franchisees.
Sarah Lynn and James White – Series 13
In Series 13, Lord Sugar shocked the candidates by investing £250,000 in both the finalists businesses.
The first was confectionary company owner Sarah Lynn, who now has a range of vegan sweets called Duals available in Waitrose, Holland & Barrett and certain WHSmith stores.
The second was James White, who still runs IT recruitment firm Right Time Recruitment. Since his win, James has also become an ambassador for Acorn’s Children’s Hospice.
Sian Giabaddon – Series 14
Sian Giabaddon won the investment in 2018 for her swimwear line despite some major run-ins with Claude Litner throughout the process.
Sian has since set up her business Sian Marie, and her Tropical Goddess range has been spotted on Love Island and worn by celebrities such as Michelle Keegan.
Carina Lepore- Series 15
In 2019, Carina Lepore scored the £250,000 with hopes of creating an empire of high street bakery coffee shops.
However, with the timing of the pandemic, her plans were put on hold and now her priority is to 'just keep going' and 'wait it out'.
"if it wasn't for the pandemic, we would probably have three or four shops now," she has said in a recent interview with the Mail.
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