The Apprentice is back for its 18th series, once again fronted by business tycoon Lord (aka Alan) Sugar alongside trusted advisors Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell MBE.
Seven contestants from the North of England line up among this year’s 18 hopefuls, who will battle it out for the opportunity of a lifetime with Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment and mentorship.
Series 18 will kick off with the candidates heading straight to the Scottish Highlands for the series launch on February 1. There they will be tasked with a corporate hospitality challenge where we’ll see the men’s and women’s teams compete to put on high-end away days for corporate clients in the hope of impressing Lord Sugar.
While we wait for that to happen next week, then, here’s our indispensable guide to this year’s Northern runners and riders:
Foluso Falade, a project manager at Manchester digital giant ANS who, in her own words on LinkedIn, is “Empowering Change as a Visionary Gen Z Female Entrepreneur.”
Announcing her Apprentice slot on the site she added: “Soo this happened…Thrilled to share the exciting news! That I am a Candidate on BBC’s The Apprentice Series 18.
“By the very definition of an Apprentice, this is my time to shine.. I’ll be showcasing my passion and dedication towards creating positive change through my social enterprise for young minds. Whilst also competing for an incredible £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar!
“I’ll be on your screens every Thursday from 9pm on BBC One fighting for that win!! Lets Get It.
“Please excuse while I scream with excitement!!”
Joining Falade will be Dr Asif Munaf, a wellness brand owner from Sheffield who is becoming something of a business reality TV specialist following his unsuccessful appearance on Dragons’ Den six years ago. Munaf noted in a YouTube clip discussing his appearance after that show that the Dragons “didn’t like the idea” or “saw it as too much of a risk.”
He doesn’t appear too disheartened, however. Announcing his latest venture onto the small screen he told his LinkedIn followers “rejection is just redirection.” Munaf modestly describes himself on his CV as “Beauty, brains, body and business.”
Next up from Liverpool, Noor Bouziane describes herself as the “ambitious owner of a premium jewellery company,” and told the BBC that she believes “Lord Sugar would be missing out on plenty of cash if he were not to invest in her accessory business.”
She’s been running her own business since the age of 20, and as an aside told the BBC’s researchers that she’s a great cook, which could come in handy on the first hospitality challenge.
Oliver Medforth from Yorkshire, meanwhile, is a self-described “selling machine” (talk about setting yourself up for a fall).
He appears to be first out of the blocks among the current crop of contestants to update his occupation on LinkedIn to “BBC Apprentice 2024 Candidate,” and is also the founder of Malton mixer maker Yorkshire Tonics.
Lancashire pie entrepreneur Paul Bowen gets the early vote from at least one member of Prolific North’s editorial team – he’s supplied Manchester City FC with pies for the last five years, and although his show biog doesn’t specify whether this includes the club’s semi-legendary chicken balti pie, the fact that the Bowen’s Pie Company website lists them for sale strongly implies it does. Bet against a pie that solid at your peril.
Bonus marks are also awarded for Bowen’s literary-pun offer to make Sugar “Lord of the Pies.”
Bowen is one of a pair of pie makers on this year’s roster of contestants, but the other one is from Bognor Regis so we don’t need to concern ourselves with him here.
Speaking of pairs, the second doctor on our list is also the first of a pair of contestants from Leeds. Dr Paul Midha “used every resource he had” to start the VICI dental practice and “is set on Lord Sugar’s investment and all that he can teach him about the world of business.”
Boutique fitness studio owner Rachel Woolford is Leeds’ second entrant. She told the show’s production team that opening her business in the middle of covid was her biggest business achievement to date, while not asking for help was her biggest failure. The business spirit is apparently strong with this one – she went missing as a seven-year-old, only for her frantically worried mum to find her “by the roadside selling my toys shaking a biscuit tin full of coins and shouting ‘toys for sale, everything must go today.’”
Watch The Apprentice on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Thursday, February 1 at 9pm.
