The Apprentice candidates have been whittled down to the final five, and it’s an all-female lineup for the second year in a row.
When Simba Rwambiwa was sacked, Dani Donovan, Marnie Swindells, Megan Hornby, Rochelle Anthony, and Victoria Goulbourne are in the running to become Lord Alan Sugar’s new business partner.
And now they’re ready for the dreaded interview round, where two will compete to put their business plans into action and win The Apprentice 2023.
‘It seems rather weird, I never anticipated to go this far when joining the process,’ hair shop owner Dani said of making it to the final. That was a huge surprise, but considering how many times I’ve been on the winning team in assignments, I know I fully deserve to be in the final five.’
The 25-year-old continued: ‘I’ve thrown myself into every task and have given everything one-hundred and ten percent, and that I’m proud of.’
Marnie, 28, said: ‘I think the women this year had a bad start, but from task one onwards we really took charge then there was no stopping us.
‘All of the women were just a force to be reckoned with and we’ve all wanted to demonstrate what we’re capable of by putting ourselves out there and demonstrating our skills, we were all on a mission to get to the final.’
‘I find it hard to believe that I made it this far, I’m not completely sure how it occurred,’ she said of her spot in the final. ‘I went into the process with no plan other than to give it my all.’
‘I think I earned my spot in the final five because I gave every task one hundred percent, but that’s not to say that I’m not shocked that I got here! I’m just really proud of myself, it’s a highlight moment making it to the final five, as I get to showcase my business.’
Yorkshire sweet shop and cafe owner Megan continued: ‘If you look at the final five, every single one of us threw ourselves into every single task.
‘We all put one-hundred and ten percent into every single task that we took part in, even if it was outside of our comfort zones. We tried to offer as much as we could every week and that’s the difference you can see, we gave it everything we could.’
‘I never thought I would get this far, I was happy to just get through week one, let alone get through to the final five. It’s the dream and what we all set out for, so to actually achieve it is a real honour and I’m very proud of myself,’ she said.
Gushing over ‘girl power’, Rochelle, 35, added: ‘I’m completely over the moon! Ecstatic and really proud to have got this far in the competition.’
‘It feels surreal, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be lucky enough to get a spot in the process, never mind make it through every single task and every single week’ said sweetshop owner Victoria, 28.
‘When in actual fact, every single week I thought “Oh my God, I could get fired at any point,” so to actually make it to the final five is amazing.’
Harpreet Kaur, Lord Sugar’s business partner in the previous series, had an all-female semi-final for the first time, with Brittany Carter, Kathryn Louise Burn, and Stephanie Affleck joining Harpreet.
Simba revealed following his termination that he would have been ‘torn apart’ in the tough interview process.
Lord Sugar announced his decision at the time by saying: ‘Simba, if you don’t say anything worth listening to, then are you somebody who could qualify to be my business partner?… They say every dog has its day and sadly, Simba, it’s not your day. It is with regret, you’re fired!’
Recollecting the moment, Simba said: ‘At the time I was absolutely gutted, because you’re so close to being in the final five and you don’t make it. But when I reflect on the whole process of my journey as well, I’m so happy to have got as far as I did. I was the last man standing as well, so that’s another massive win.’
He continued: ‘It’s bittersweet. Had I got through to the final five, I would have been ripped apart and my business would have been ripped apart. So do I want that? I don’t know.
‘But also, I’ve now been fired. My business plan hasn’t been ripped apart. I still remain zen in some way.’
The Apprentice airs Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One.
Source My Celebrity Life.
