Eight of the 16 winners of the UK series of The Apprentice have parted company with Lord Sugar since winning the show. The format change that saw Lord Sugar invest £250,000 in a business idea rather than offering a job has led to varying degrees of success among the winners.
Susie Ma finished third in the 2011 series but still secured investment from Lord Sugar. Her Tropic Skincare company is now one of the fastest-growing skincare brands in the UK, and she was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the retail and e-commerce category last year.
Kate Walsh, runner-up in 2009, moved into television, co-hosting Live from Studio Five and OK! TV. Saira Khan, runner-up in the first series, also went into TV, co-presenting The Martin Lewis Money Show and appearing on Loose Women, as well as participating in Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing on Ice.
Katie Hopkins, who walked away from the 2007 series citing childcare issues, became an outspoken newspaper columnist for The Sun and Daily Mail. She appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother, and had her own TV show before her LBC contract was terminated in 2017 following comments about the Manchester Arena bombing.
Among the winners still working with Lord Sugar are Tom Pellereau, who invented a curved nail file and runs AVENTom; Ricky Martin, who runs a science and technology recruitment company; Leah Totton, who has cosmetic clinics; and Mark Wright, who uses digital marketing to help small businesses grow. In 2017, joint winners Sarah Lynn and James White each received £250,000 investments, with James expanding Right Time Recruitment and Sarah developing Sweets in the City, now stocked by Harrods and Selfridges.
