On Thursday the winner of the 20th series of The Apprentice will be decided.
It’s an all-women affair as beauty brand owner Karishma Vijay battles it out with 22-year-old Pascha Myhill, who is seeking investment for her recruitment company within private healthcare.
Vijay, who has built up a 850k following on social media, is the red hot favourite but whatever happened to the previous winners and runners-up?
The first ever winner, Tim Campbell, is now one of Lord Sugar’s advisors while the winner of series six, Stella English, famously lost her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar.
Series 13 in 2017 was the only time there have been jointed winners in James White and Sarah Lynn while the 2022 winner Harpreet Kaur ended up marrying her fellow contestant Akshay Thakrar.
Several winners have been gone to be TV presenters, including GB News’ Michelle Dewberry, who won in 2006.
Although some winners have enjoyed great success after winning the show, others have struggled.
Ironically, one of the most successful candidates on the show, Tropic Skincare founder Susie Ma, finished third in 2011.
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Series 1 (2005) Tim Campbell
Series 1 winner Tim Campbell
Winning the first series of The Apprentice in 2005 certainly changed the life of Tim Campbell, who is now an adviser to Lord Sugar, alongside Baroness Karren Brady. He beat Saira Khan, who has forged a successful career as a TV personality after finishing runner-up. Campbell was awarded an MBE in 2012 for his services to enterprise culture.
Series 2 (2006) Michelle Dewberry
Michelle Dewberry famously beat Ruth Badger in the final and describes herself as a ‘television presenter, speaker, coach, author and proud Northerner’. A political commentator she’s twice run for election in the Hull West & Hessle constituency where she grew up. Dewberry’s partner is former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. Runner-up Ruth Badger went on to host her own TV show and now runs her eponymous consultancy.
Series 3 (2007) Simon Ambrose
Cambridge University graduate Simon Ambrose beat favourite Kristina Grimes to the £100,000-a-year job with Sir Alan Sugar in 2007. Ambrose speaks six languages and worked with Lord Sugar for three years before setting up Ambrose Property Services. He subsequently worked in London bar and restaurant industry. Ambrose describes himself as a proud father and digital creator. Series 3 was arguably best known for giving us the candidate Katie Hopkins.
Series 4 (2008) Lee McQueen
Lee McQueen beat Claire Young to win the £100k-a year-job before setting up the Raw Talent Academy in 2011 after growing frustrated at the recruitment industry. He has 91k followers on Instagram and is partial to a selfie. He’s the founder and CEO of Phoenix51 and founder of Elite Retreat. Runner-up Claire Young was dubbed a ‘Rottweiler’ by Lord Sugar on the show.
Series 5 (2009) Yasmina Siadatan
Yasmina Siadatan became a business development manager at Amscreen Healthcare after beating Kate Walsh in the finale of the 2009 series. Her subsequent career has seen her work alongside James Caan and launch her own restaurant. She’s now the chief revenue officer of FinTech Dynamic Planner. Runner-up Kate Walsh also secured a job with Lord Sugar before spending 10 years at Pandora. She’s now the chief retail officer at BoConcept.
Series 6 (2010) Stella English
Who can forget Stella English winning series 6 – and her spectacular falling out with Lord Sugar? She claimed she had no real role at his IT firm, Viglen, and lost her claim for constructive dismissal. Following the ruling he tweeted: “A victory for the law against the claim culture.” Runner-up Chris Bates is now a director at William Blair.
Series 7 (2011) Tom Pellereau
Tom Pellereau and Lord Sugar
Lifelong inventor Tom Pellereau found fame as the quirky winner of the 2011 series of BBC’s The Apprentice, creating the world’s first curved nail file. He became the first winner to receive investment from Lord Sugar, who secured a 50 per cent stake in exchange for £250k. Last year he took full ownership of his beauty technology company after buying out Lord Sugar’s stake. He beat runner-up Helen Mulligan in the 2011 series and Tropic Skincare founder Susie Ma into third. Earlier this year she appeared as a Dragon on Dragons’ Den.
Series 8 (2012) Ricky Martin
Series 8 winner Ricky Martin is now a recruitment entrepreneur, NED, investor and member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In 2012, he founded Hyper Recruitment Solutions with Lord Sugar with the mission to support life sciences innovation and help change lives. Today he’s the CEO. He has spoken about the fertility journey he embarked in with his wife. The runner-up in series 8 was Nick Holzherr, who went on to found Whisk.com, which was acquired by Samsung.
Series 9 (2013) Leah Totton
Leah Totton is a medical doctor and an award-winning cosmetic doctor with more than 11 years’ experience. She founded Dr Leah Clinics with Lord Sugar after winning the 2013 series. Runner-up Luisa Zissman became a reality TV star and has 712k followers on Instagram.
Series 10 (2014) Mark Wright
Series 10 winner Mark Wright founded digital agency Climb Online and now resides in his native Australia after it was acquired by xDNA. The London firm, which had headcount of 130 people globally when it was bought, was the first business to successfully exit from the BBC show.
Rows; side hustles; influencers: Meet The Apprentice candidates
Today he’s a board member of Cartesian Property Group and an investor. He beat runner-up Bianca Miller (now Bianca Miller-Cole), who is now a personal brand strategist.
Series 11 (2015) Joseph Valente
Joseph Valente applied for the show because he thought it was his destiny to be Lord Sugar’s business partner. He’s gone from a one-man-in-a-van tradesman on the tools, all the way to become the CEO of Trade Mastermind, the number one business training provider for UK construction business. Runner-up Vana Koutsomitis went on launch the dating app DatePlay.
Series 12 (2016) Alana Spencer
Alana Spencer became a self-taught chocolatier at the age of 16 so it was no surprise when she won the 2016 series of The Apprentice when she launched Ridiculously Rich by Alana, which she’s now franchised. Runner-up Courtney Wood is the founder of Bubblegum Stuff
Series 13 (2017) James White and Sarah Lynn
For the first time in the history of The Apprentice, James White and Sarah Lynn were joint winners in 2013. James White founded Right Time Recruitment but it didn’t end well.
After winning he tweeted ‘the future looks bright’ but the firm eventually filed for liquidation. Sarah Lynn founded Sweets In The City, which creates personalised sweet gifts. Her Instagram profile describes her as an ‘entrepreneur, mummy, wifey’ although she’s very quiet on social media.
Series 14 (2018) Sian Gabbidon
Sian Gabbidon with Lord Sugar
Swimwear designer Sian Gabbidon said she was ‘over the moon’ after being chosen as the first black female winner of The Apprentice in 2018. It was Lord Sugar’s first investment in a fashion business in the show’s history. The Leeds-based entrepreneur expanded Sian Marie Fashion to become a global loungewear brand. Gabbidon eventually moved away from fashion – and Lord Sugar – and founded TT Digital in 2023. She’s also promotes herself as an after dinner speaker. Runner-up Camilla Ainsworth describes herself as a business growth consultant and public speaker. She has 41k followers on Instagram.
Series 15 (2019) Carina Lepore
Series 15 winner Carina Lepore described herself as a 5ft 1in ‘pocket rocket’ that ‘you don’t want to mess with’. According to her LinkedIn bio she’s ‘statistically the most successful candidate in the show’s history’ describing herself as an entrepreneur, working mother and business leader. She’s the managing director of Dough Artisan bakehouse. She has 35k followers on Instagram. According to Companies House, Lord Sugar ended their partnership in 2023. Runner-up Scarlett Lily Allen-Horton is the founding director of Harper Fox Partners.
Series 16 (2022) Harpreet Kaur
Harpreet Kaur and Lord Sugar
Harpreet Kaur said she was ‘lost for words’ after winning series 16 and Lord Sugar’s £250k investment into her dessert brand Oh So Yum. Lord Sugar had already ended their partnership by the time Kaur exited the business in 2024. 12 months later the business was liquidated. In more positive news she met her future husband in the show in fellow candidate Akshay Thakrar and the pair have co-founded IntroYou, described as a more thoughtful way to date. Runner-up Kathryn Louise Burn has done well for herself and is the founder of My Christmas Pyjamas. She’s also done some TV presenting and has nearly 75k followers on Instagram.
Series 17 (2023) Marnie Swindells
Marnie Swindells is the boxing barrister who won series 17 in 2023 and is the owner of Bronx Boxing, which has just celebrated its third birthday. According to her Instagram bio her mantra is ‘fortune favours the brave’. She beat salon owner Rochelle Raye Anthony to the top prize.
Series 18 (2024) Rachel Woolford
Leeds-based Rachel Woolford won series 18 of The Apprentice in 2024. She’s the owner of boutique gym North Studio. She took herself off social media in the wake of her win because of nasty comments.
Writing on LinkedIn, she said: “What should have been a very positive time in my life after winning the The Apprentice, social media became a very negative and non-beneficial place for me to be.” Woolford is now back on social media but it relatively low profile. She beat runner-up Phil Turner, owner of Turner’s Pies.
Series 19 (2025) Dean Franklin
Dean Franklin is the founder of ADL Air Conditioning and the winner of series 19 of The Apprentice. The win opened all sorts of unlikely doors, including an appearance on Celebrity Mastermind. A big family man and West Ham fan, he beat the impressive Anisa Khan, founder of Bombay Pizza, in the final.