The Apprentice returns this week as Lord Sugar seeks his next investment.
Starting on Thursday, January 5, the new series will see contestants take part in multiple business tasks in groups and Claude Littner is set to return for two episodes in January following an accident that meant he couldn’t be in the boardroom for the 2022 series.
The candidates for this year’s series have been revealed, let’s meet those who will be trying to impress.
Meet the 2023 candidates on The Apprentice
Avi Sharma
Sharma is a London-based city banker and he’ll be the youngest candidate in this year’s series.
He said: “Some say I’m delusional, I prefer the term optimistic. Lord Sugar’s investment will help me escape the rat race of a banking job. I’m the hardest working rat he’ll ever meet.”
Bradley Johnson
Johnson prides himself on his “drive and determination”, having started a profitable business from nothing.
He’s from north Yorkshire and is a director of a construction company.
He said: “I have a business plan that will see us turn over seven figures after year three and who knows where else that could take us.”
Dani Donovan
Donovan owns a hair salon in Hertfordshire and believes “passion” is the key to business.
She said: “My unique selling point is my personality. I bring something unique. I’m a different kind of business owner, which is a lot more relatable to people.”
Denisha Kaur Bharj
Bharj is a financial controller from Leicestershire and she said she isn’t scared of being out of her comfort zone and has always been a “strong, motivated, hard-working woman”.
She added: “I’m a woman who wants to create an empire and have it all, to be able to provide for my family and to be an inspiration to young women.”
Emma Browne
Browne is a senior account executive from County Kildare who describes herself as a “workaholic”.
She has promised her business idea will be “one of the most successful ideas to ever come out of The Apprentice”.
She added: “I am extremely competitive. I won’t let anything get in my way. If I have an opinion and I think it’s going to allow us to win the task, I will be sure to be straightforward with the other candidates.”
Gregory Ebbs
Ebbs is a local councillor based in Shropshire and owns an online antiques marketplace.
He previously worked as a professional cannon-firer and said his willingness to try different things is one of his “biggest strengths”.
He said: “I think I’ve got a really clear vision of what I want in the future and that is substantiated from having diverse experience in different fields and my willingness to try things that very few people will do.”
Joseph Phillips
Phillips is based in Worcestershire and studied zoology and became a safari guide in South Africa.
He said his dyslexia is the “driving force” for him to succeed and prove his capabilities.
He added: “It’s made me fight harder to keep up with everyone else. Then when I finally caught up, it wasn’t enough, I needed to go past them to prove to people that, yes, you can have dyslexia but you can still succeed in whatever you want to do.”
Kevin D’Arcy
D’Arcy is an accountant from Dublin who started a water sports equipment business during lockdown while working in financial services.
He hopes to be Lord sugar’s next investment to help him expand into the UK.
He said: “It’s gone from strength to strength in Ireland and is now stocked in some of the country’s biggest stores. With Lord Sugar as my business partner, I know we can ride that wave into the UK and beyond.”
Mark Moseley
Moseley is a London-based pest control company owner and a former soldier.
He believes his experience navigating hostile environments around the world has equipped him to handle the boardroom.
Moseley said: “I’m very talkative with the charm to match… I can sell to anyone.”
Marnie Swindells
Swindells is a gold medal-winning boxer and court advocate from London.
She said she has fought “tooth and nail” to be where she is today.
Speaking of Lord Sugar, she said: “I think that taking the experience I have in the boxing industry and all the experience that he has in the business industry, together we would be a winning combination.”
Megan Hornby
Owner of Sweet Shop and Café, Hornby said she has found a “gap in the market” with her business idea and believes with investment it could be “nationally recognised”.
The business woman from east Yorkshire said: “I think that no matter what situation I am thrown into, I will always give 100% truth, even if it’s hard to hear. I always believe that honesty is the most important thing in business.”
Reece Donnelly
Donnelly owns a theatre school in Glasgow and said he is the youngest chief executive of a further education college in the UK.
He is set on becoming the first Scottish candidate to win the show.
He said: “I’m here to prove that Scotland is filled with forward-thinking entrepreneurs and that we are not in fact a haggis-eating, kilt-wearing nation.”
Rochelle Anthony
Bedfordshire hair salon owner Anthony said she prides herself on being a “tenacious, fierce, and determined businesswoman.”
She added: “I deserve Lord Sugar’s investment because I know the hair industry like the back of my hand and Lord Sugar knows business. Together, we would be an absolute force to be reckoned with.”
Shannon Martin
Martin is a west Yorkshire bridal boutique owner who hopes her first business partner will be Lord Sugar.
She said: “I think it’s a really good opportunity for him; he’s never been in the bridal business before.”
Shazia Hussain
Hussain is a technology recruiter from London.
She said her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder means she can process information “faster than others” and her reaction time is “quicker”.
She added: “It’s important to see a varied representation of women, including women with neurodiversity in business… I hope that I’ll encourage more people like me not to be ashamed of their difference.”
Simba Rwambiwa
Rwambiwa, a senior sales representative from Birmingham, is a self-confessed “perfectionist” who always wants to get things right.
He added: “If people can’t buy into you, they’ll never buy anything from you.”
Sohail Chowdhary
Based in Southampton, Chowdhary is a martial arts instructor and school owner.
He said he is “proud” to have been raised in a council house but has had to “fight hard” to achieve his success.
He said: “I am calm and collected but if they do come at me? I will bite and I will sting and I will leave my mark.”
Victoria Goulbourne
Goulbourne is a former flight attendant from Merseyside.
She started her online sweet business during lockdown and it became a social media success.
She said: “I know what consumers want. I’ve travelled all over the world and am not afraid to take on a challenge.”
The Apprentice will begin on Thursday, January 5 on BBC One and iPlayer.
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