Some hopeful contestants on The Apprentice have taken business from the boardroom to the bedroom.
While the BBC show is all about Lord Alan Sugar’s hunt for his next big investment, every now and again, candidates strike up a romance away from the cameras. Many famous flings haven’t lasted, but some long-term couples have stood the test of time.
As the matchmaking money mogul and his loyal aids make the guest list for the first Apprentice wedding this year, the Mirror takes a look back at some of the relationships that have blossomed amongst the big bust-ups and brutal firings…
First wedding
The 2022 series winner Harpreet Kaur and fellow contestant Akshay Thakrar will marry at the end of next month. Harpreet revealed Lord Sugar and the show’s Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell have all been invited to attend.
The couple will enjoy three separate days of ceremonies, including an English-style white wedding, followed by a traditional Indian ceremony and then a “big fat reception party”. Harpreet, 32, told the Mirror: “We’re really excited and are hoping Lord Sugar, Karren and Tim can make it. The show is what allowed us to meet and it’s been a big part of our lives.”
Contestants Kathryn Burn, who is the bridesmaid, Brittany Carter, Akeem Bundu-Kamara and Nick Showering are also due to attend. The couple became an item after the show when Akshay invited Harpreet for a lunch date. Harpreet said: “It all escalated very quickly and within three months we got quite serious.”
The couple soon bought a house in her home country, Yorkshire, and Akshay got down on one knee on the rooftop of a penthouse overlooking The Shard last May. He had tricked Harpreet into thinking she was going there for a pal’s birthday party. Akshay said: “It was like a movie set, it was beautiful, and she said, ‘Yes’.”
Harpreet said: “All of his friends were in on it and helped him lie about this supposed James Bond 30th birthday party, so I fully believed him. It was magical. I couldn’t have asked for any more. He’s a true gent.” She added: “We plan to have children but I think we’ve got a couple of years before we tie ourselves down.”
OG fling
Way back in the early days, Kate Walsh and Philip Taylor became one of the original golden couples from the show in 2009. Although Kate turned on Phillip in the boardroom – getting him fired from the fifth series of the show – the pair struck up a romance once the cameras stopped rolling.
Former estate agent Philip and businesswoman turned entertainment reporter Kate quickly moved in together – gushing about each other in interviews post-show. “I didn’t get a job, but I did get Kate. I know that she is the one,” Philip told Grazia in 2010. “I’d marry her tomorrow if I could.”
Despite reports they split the same year, the pair seemed to make it last for a good few years – with Philip telling a fan on Twitter that he and Kate were still very much together in 2018.
Apprentice baby
After striking up a romance on the show in 2017, Harrison Jones and Michaela Wain welcomed the first ever ‘Apprentice baby’ into the world the following year. “It’s been a tough ride but I’m super happy to say Grayson George Jones arrives 23/10/18 weighing 7lb2 and looking like a heartbreaker. Absolutely in love,” Michaela told her fans on Instagram in October 2018.
Despite becoming parents to a newborn baby together, the entrepreneurs revealed a few months later that they weren’t actually living together yet. Michaela explained to New! magazine in 2019: “We just split time between Watford and Bolton. I go down every other weekend when I don’t have my son and then Harrison comes up every other weekend.”
Their romance still appears to be going strong though, with plenty of loved-up snaps shared on social media. In February, Michaela posted a holiday snap with the caption: “We met close to 7 years ago on a TV show of all places. I knew by day three I wanted to be with H forever. It took him a while longer to see we was made in heaven for each other. Thankfully he caught up with the story. Now here we are in Jamaica with our little family. I’d say it’s strange how life works, but we are always exactly where we’re meant to be.”
Rumoured romance
Elsewhere during the 2017 series, Jade English and James White hit the headlines thanks to their rumoured romance on the show. Scandal ensued when James – who went on to win the lucrative investment from Lord Sugar – allegedly hooked up with Jade despite being engaged and the PR manager having a boyfriend of three years.
Jade broke up with her boyfriend shortly after the show. She wrote online in December 2017: “I returned home to where my partner and I lived. I just knew I was different and so did my partner.”
“They couldn’t resist getting to know each other that bit better during their time in the house,” a source divulged at the time. “Afterwards they kept things going for a while, but relations have cooled off between them since filming ended.”
Brutal dump
Before The Apprentice even aired in 2019, it was rumoured upcoming stars Lottie Lion, 19, and digital marketing manager Lewis Ellis, 28, had enjoyed a brief fling during their time on the show. It was reported the pair – who were both single at the time – enjoyed one night of passion throughout filming and desperately tried to keep their tryst private.
After being fired by Lord Sugar, former librarian Lottie went on to claim she was dumped from spin-off show You’re Fired thanks to the fling. “It upset me, they told me I had broken my contract because of what happened with Lewis during the process,” she told the Metro. “He [Lewis] got his time on the process which was incredibly sexist. It was against our contract.”
Denying Lottie’s claims, a spokesperson for The Apprentice said at the time: “Following an inquiry by the production company into the unacceptable comments made by Lottie on a private messenger service, she was informed that she would not be invited to participate on You’re Fired.”
Steamy affair
In the same year that James and Jade had their ‘regretful’ fling, it was also rumoured that an engaged Anisa Topan and Andrew Brady broke the show’s sex ban in 2017. Speaking to Digital Spy after her stint on the BBC series, Anisa set the record straight about the speculation.
“That was just a rumour – I’m happily married,” she told the publication in November 2017. “At least people are talking about me I guess. But no! Tristan [her now husband] and I have a very strong, amazing relationship. We’ve actually been together for a very long time.”
“Lord Sugar has always hated the idea that some of the contestants might be getting together behind the scenes while filming,” a source told The Sun at the time. “This isn’t Love Island. To him, the process should be solely about business. The latest batch of contestants face stricter monitoring than any past group.”