The 2025 season of The Apprentice is beginning on BBC One, introducing a fresh group of driven individuals aiming to impress Lord Sugar.
As we’re excited to get to know the new contestants, we can’t help but reflect on the past winners of the show. Originally, the prize for winning was a job working for Lord Sugar with a guaranteed six-figure salary. However, the prize has since changed to Lord Sugar investing £250,000 in the winner’s business.
Tim Campbell
Tim is one of the most successful people to come out of The Apprentice. After winning the first season of the show, he joined Lord Sugar’s Amstrad company, where he led the health and beauty division.
Tim left Lord Sugar in 2007 to start his own perfume business. He also runs a digital marketing agency called Marketing Runners Ltd.
In 2022, Tim returned to The Apprentice, this time as Lord Sugar’s trusted adviser. He follows the candidates, reporting their successes and failures back to Lord Sugar.
Michelle Dewberry
Michelle won the final of The Apprentice in its second season, beating Ruth Badger. Even though she won, she left Lord Sugar’s company after four months.
At the time, she said: “I am so grateful for the experience I have gathered from Sir Alan and others within his organisation. I am excited to take these learnings and help other companies by way of my new company, MDL.”
Michelle then moved into politics and presenting. She has run for Parliament twice, once as an independent and another time for the Brexit Party. Since 2021, she has hosted a show on GB News called Dewbs & Co.
Simon Ambrose
Simon’s actions in the TV selling task may be remembered by many, but he still won the third season of The Apprentice.
Simon worked for Lord Sugar’s property business, Amsprop, as a developer and surveyor. He left in 2010 and is now the chairman of the London Contemporary Orchestra.
What happened to past winners of The Apprentice?Lee McQueen
After winning the fourth season of The Apprentice, Lee worked with Lord Sugar at Amscreen, a company that sells advertising space on digital boards.
Lee left the company in 2010, saying: “Having gained a huge amount of experience in my role at Amscreen, I felt now was the right time to start up on my own.”
He soon started his own business, Raw Talent Academy.
Yasmina Siadatan
Yasmina worked at Amscreen after winning The Apprentice. She later began a relationship with a colleague and took a break from the company after becoming pregnant. She left the company permanently when she became pregnant with her second child.
After briefly working with Dragons’ Den star James Caan, Yasmina moved on to run the fintech business, Dynamic Planner.
Stella English
Stella did really well in the sixth season, which led her to win the top prize. However, she wasn’t happy with her tasks at Viglen and left the company, calling herself an “overpaid lackey.”
Stella then took Lord Sugar to court for constructive dismissal, but she lost the case.
She later worked at HP and CrowdBox TV.
Tom Pellereau
Tom was the first winner to receive a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar instead of a job, and they started a business together with the beauty brand STYLIDEAS.
They are still in business together. Talking about their partnership, Tom said: “I think it’s really helped me that I do products, and that was his origin.
“You know, he started with car aerials, car stereos, then consumer electronics, so he really likes products and he has a lot to offer me in terms of helping with retailer dealings and with suppliers and that sort of thing.”
What happened to past winners of The Apprentice?Ricky Martin
Ricky won Lord Sugar’s investment after the eighth series, and he started the recruitment firm, Hyper Recruitment Solution.
The former boxer is still working with Lord Sugar, and their joint businesses are worth millions.
Leah Totton
Leah has done really well since winning The Apprentice in 2013. After a few years of working to get her cosmetic surgery clinic started, she now has several clinics.
Leah still works in the NHS, and in 2024, she and her business partner, Lord Sugar, sold most of their shares in the business, but they remain shareholders.
Mark Wright
Mark’s digital marketing agency, Climb Online, grew quickly under his leadership, making a £4 million turnover in 2017, although he stepped down from the company in 2022.
Mark won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018, and he’s shared how the business is a dream come true for him on his website. He wrote: “I wake up every day and still can’t believe I am the director of Climb Online.”
He continued: “This business is a dream that became a reality for me. When I came to the UK in 2012, with nothing but a passion for business and a love of digital marketing, I didn’t know how I would start running my own business…I just knew I wanted it badly.
Lord Sugar and The Apprentice, combined with nine years’ experience in the industry, has created a recipe for a truly great business! I love helping companies smash their goals every day.”
What happened to past winners of The Apprentice?Joseph Valente
After winning The Apprentice and starting a boiler installation company, ImpraGas, with Lord Sugar, Joseph eventually bought him out and took full control of the business. The company made a £3 million turnover and employed 28 people. Joseph even made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list because of his success.
However, in 2022, Joseph sold the boiler installation business and became the CEO of Trade Mastermind, a company that offers advice and training to businesses in the construction industry. He also wrote a bestselling book called Expelled from the Classroom to Billionaire Boardroom.
Alana Spencer
Alana might be one of the most successful candidates from The Apprentice, as her cake business, Ridiculously Rich by Alana, now has annual sales of £500,000.
The baker, who has bought a five-bedroom house, told the Daily Mail that joining the show was the best financial decision she had ever made, saying: “It wasn’t just my best financial decision, it was the best one I have ever made in my life.
“It has made a huge difference in every aspect of my life. Financially, I have been able to take profits from my business and put down a hefty deposit to buy a house. I also have a different work schedule. Instead of baking and selling at markets, I’m office-based and work in the development kitchen.”
Her beautiful cakes are now sold through ambassadors across the country, and she has even bought back all of Lord Sugar’s shares, according to The Sun.
Sarah Lynn
Even though Sarah made a mistake by pitching a confectionary company with the same name as an existing business, she renamed her company to Sweets in the City, and it has become very successful. It is now sold in WHSmiths, Holland & Barrett, and Waitrose.
The business became so successful that in 2022, Sarah bought back her shares from Lord Sugar.
Talking about a range of her sweets launching in Waitrose on Instagram, Sarah said: “The initial feedback has been amazing and I can’t thank everyone who has supported me and the business on this adventure so far enough – now so many new customers get to taste and see the product for themselves, so please head to your nearest Waitrose and buy a bag…or two…or three!”
What happened to past winners of The Apprentice?James White
James didn’t have the best experience after winning The Apprentice alongside Sarah Lynn, as his new business faced “unfortunate setbacks” in the first few months.
It was also reported that James had a falling out with Lord Sugar after he started a different business with a friend.
Right Time Recruitment reportedly went into liquidation in 2024, and its homepage now leads to a broken webpage.
Sian Gabbidon
Sian won The Apprentice in 2018 and used the prize money to start her business, Sian Marie, a swimwear and fashion brand. Her Topical Goddess range became very popular, with celebrities like Michelle Keegan wearing it on Instagram.
Talking about her life after winning the show, she said: “Obviously doing the show and then the changes that we did to the business – turning it from very small scale to mass production – we’ve had quite a busy year. It’s been mad – especially with the big launch party at the end of the show.”
Like other winners, Sian parted ways with Lord Sugar. In 2022, she explained: “It was all amicably done. We’re on good terms, there was absolutely no drama. I think it was just the right time for us. Especially for me.”
Carina Lepore
After winning The Apprentice in 2019, Lord Sugar invested in Carina’s artisan bakery, Dough Bakehouse. However, the pandemic caused delays in her plans to open several small shops.
She told the Mail on Sunday: “Of course, when the pandemic hit, everything changed for everyone in hospitality. It’s tough at the moment. We’re ticking over, so that is good. But if it wasn’t for the pandemic, we would probably have three or four shops now.”
The business has been successful, and in 2023, Carina bought Lord Sugar’s shares, and they parted ways on good terms.
What happened to past winners of The Apprentice?Harpreet Kaur
After a break due to the pandemic, Harpreet Kaur became the next businesswoman to win an investment from Lord Sugar. She launched her Oh So Yum! desserts brand, which includes treats like brownies and cookie cups.
Lord Sugar stepped away from the business in August 2023.
In 2024, Harpreet also left the business and now focuses on a role as an ambassador for small businesses.
Marnie Swindells
Marnie and Lord Sugar went into business together, with her opening Bronx, a gym in south London. The business is doing well, with the latest financial records showing the brand is worth £210,000 in net assets.
Talking about her business, Marnie said: “I thought my biggest dream was just to open this gym, and now I’ve got it, all I find myself doing is looking for what’s next. I’m really hungry to move on and get the next one done.
If anything, what I thought was going to really satisfy me when I got to this point, it’s just made me more urgent to hit the next milestone. That’s what me and Lord Sugar are doing at the minute.”
Rachel Woolford
In 2024, Rachel won Lord Sugar’s investment for her boutique fitness gyms.
Talking about her relationship with Lord Sugar, she told the BBC: “We speak monthly, so we have a monthly management accounts meeting.
“We go through what’s going on in the business, where there are problems, where we can improve the problems and what things are going well. I can speak to him generally as much or as little as I like.”