The Apprentice turns 20: Biggest success stories and controversies of hit BBC show

Daily Mirror

22-04-2025

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.''
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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.
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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.'
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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.'