The Apprentice is back with a fresh batch of hopeful entrepreneurs all eager to please Lord Sugar with their business plans – but will their ideas be enough to impress the business mogul? We've seen boardroom bust-ups and professional successes throughout the show's 15-year run and we think this season is going to be no different.
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Fans will no doubt be delighted by the show's return following its postponement last year due to the pandemic – but many are keen to know where the previous winner, Carina Lepore, is now. Read on to find out more…
WATCH: The Apprentice is back for a brand new series
Where is The Apprentice star Carina Lepore now?
Carina Lepore was last season's winner of The Apprentice which aired in 2019. She was awarded the £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar, who agreed to a 50:50 business deal, for her artisan bakery called Dough Bake House.
Two years after her successful stint on the programme, Dough Bake House is still going strong. Dough Bake House opened its first shop in Herne Hill, south London but over the past two years, the company has expanded to two more chains in Beckenham and Bromley.
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Carina won the show and Alan Sugar's investment in 2019
Despite Dough Bake House booming, the pandemic hit and, similar to other chains, affected business. 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."
Carina's business continues to boom
Who is The Apprentice star Carina Lepore?
Before finding success as an entrepreneur and on The Apprentice, Carina worked in the fashion industry. In her youth, she was taught finance discipline by her parents. "They were humble when it came to money. They encouraged me to save, not splurge, and work hard. Dad was a baker and my mum was an NHS worker," she told the Mail on Sunday last year.
After leaving school at 18, Carina began working in her own fashion store in Croydon before going on to work at retailer Marks & Spencers for ten years. Carina then left retail and began working in her own bakery alongside her dad, whose own bakery had sadly burnt down. Carina then applied for the BBC show with her bakery model under her belt and the rest is history.
The Apprentice is back for a brand new series
What is there to know about this year's The Apprentice?
The new series of The Apprentice will once again see 16 contestants battle for Alan Sugar's investment. Each week, the career-driven individuals will be tasked with challenges set by Alan and his team of professionals on the board to sell, market and produce a wide range of products, campaigns and business ideas.
This year's group is made up of eight women and eight men with a wide-range of expertise spanning from retail, fashion and the food and drink industry. But who will reign champion and who will be fired?
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