The Apprentice winner is set to be crowned on Thursday night after another tense series has seen the contestants battle it out for Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment.
This year, it is Marnie Swindells and Rochelle Raye Anthony who have made it to the final two, after Lord Sugar whittled down his all-female Final Five last week.
Since 2005, The Apprentice has been one of Britain’s most beloved reality shows, with big personalities gloating irreverently about their skills in business.
Until season six, the candidates would compete for a job at billionaire’s firm but in recent years the prize was changed to a £250,000 investment into their business.
As the countdown until the 2023 winner is crowned continues, Victoria Goulbourne has opened up about what being on The Apprentice is really like.
Secrets: As the countdown until the 2023 winner is crowned continues, Victoria Goulbourne has opened up about what being on The Apprentice is really like
Fired: The owner of online sweet shop The Sweet Life UK narrowly missed out in a place in the 2023 final after making it to the final five before being voted out in a triple elimination
The owner of online shop The Sweet Life UK narrowly missed out in a place in the 2023 final after making it to the final five before being voted out in a triple elimination.
Now, she has spilled secrets about the show, including how editing is ‘manipulated’ by producers, what it’s like living with ‘big’ personalities and what Claude Littner is really like.
HOW PRODUCERS INFLUENCE THE ACTION
Victoria opened up about how she felt that the producers influenced the drama between contestants on the show during an appearance on Lessons We’re Learning.
Speaking to podcast host Emilio Arciniega, Victoria said she sometimes felt ‘backed into a corner’ where she had to fight for her own position on the show.
She explained: ‘The producers are there to produce a TV show… I do think they do produce quite a lot of it.
‘They sometimes will tell you ‘so and so said this, what do you think about that?’ and in actual fact, it’s like I don’t even think they said that.’
‘They back you into this corner where you’re constantly fighting for your own position and I think that’s when it comes across that we’re all like ‘I’m the best person here!’, we’re kind of backed into saying that,’ she added.
Producing: Victoria opened up about how she felt that the producers influenced the drama between contestants on the show during an appearance on Lessons We’re Learning
HOW EDITING IS ‘MANIPULATED’
Elsewhere on the podcast, Victoria also explained that contestants don’t get to see the final edit before it is broadcast on the BBC, as the show is prerecorded.
She admitted she even found herself ‘screaming at the TV’ when she watched moments where she claimed it made her look like she was saying something different to what happened in reality.
When asked if editing is ‘manipulated’ by entrepreneur Emilio, Victoria said it is ‘massively’ influenced as the producers are trying to tell a story with the show.
She admitted that she was surprised to see her ‘moody’ facial expressions throughout the show, claiming this wasn’t the case in reality.
The sweet shop owner explained: ‘The thing that got to me the most is like my facial expressions throughout that whole series.
‘They’ve literally got me looking like so moody all the time. They’ve got me as if I’m snarling people when they’re speaking and I’m like ‘I wasn’t like that!’.’
Editing: Victoria also explained that contestants don’t get to see the final edit before it is broadcast on the BBC, as the show is prerecorded
Victoria recalled one incident in the second task when she said they had all agreed that Megan Hornby was going to be the project manager.
She claimed she had been very vocal about how they should all support Megan, but said in reality, she couldn’t hear her positive comments in the episode but was instead seen looking unimpressed.
She said: ‘I remember being really positive about it and they’ve actually edited it so I’m the only person who doesn’t speak, you can hear everyone else in the background saying ‘yup that’s great’.
‘They must have muted my voice, and they’ve got a shot of me and I’m just like [looking moody]. And I was like, but that didn’t happen, that shot will have been from a different part.’
WHAT CLAUDE IS REALLY LIKE
Victoria went on to share what stern Claude is like in real life, revealing that he is ‘so nice’ off-camera, despite his scary on-screen demeanour.
She said that Lord Sugar is ‘exactly like’ how he appears on TV, whereas she said that Claude would be laughing and joking with the contestants off screen.
She continued: ‘The person that shocked me the most was like Claude [Littner] because he comes across in the interviews as so stern… he’s actually so scary.
‘But off-camera, he’s so so nice, he’s so lovely. There were times when he’d be cracking up at things we’re saying off-camera, I just thought he was such a nice person.’
‘He’s so lovely!’: Victoria went on to share what stern Claude is like in real life, revealing that he is ‘so nice’ off-camera, despite his scary on-screen demeanour
LIVING WITH ‘BIG’ PERSONALITIES
The Apprentice is well-known for its loud and boisterous personalities, with the contestants always confidently fighting their way to the much-anticipated grand final.
And Victoria spilled what it is like living in one house with many ‘strong’ personalities, admitting that it can be difficult because you are never going to get on with everyone.
She admitted that the dynamic can be strange between the stars because you have to work together to get through to the next task, while you are also in direct competition with one another.
She said on the podcast: ‘It is hard because there is a lot of people that you normally wouldn’t spend that much time with on the outside. You’re not going to get on with all 18 people that you get put into that house with, you’re not going to like to work with all of these people.’
Victoria admitted that within the first five minutes of meeting her co-stars, she didn’t think she was going to be ‘cut out’ to compete against the strong personalities, but managed to find her feet on the show.
House share: Victoria spilled what it is like living in one house with many ‘strong’ personalities, admitting that it can be difficult because you are never going to get on with everyone
Competing: Victoria admitted that within the first five minutes of meeting her co-stars, she didn’t think she was going to be ‘cut out’ to compete against the strong personalities
CLOTHING BUDGETS AND INCOME
Victoria also opened up about the clothing budget for the show in a Q&A session on her Instagram Stories earlier this week.
When asked by a fan if The Apprentice provides the clothes they wear on the show, Victoria revealed that she was given a £500 budget.
However, she admitted that this sum only covered her boardroom outfits and said she ended up spending more on her businesswear.
The entrepreneur, who used to work for Emirates as a flight attendant, also shared that she got paid a small amount for her stint on the show.
But she explained that with her bills still coming in, she was lucky to also have the income of her business to fall back on to keep her finances going.
Reflecting on the time away from home, Victoria urged other people to think about the amount of time it takes to film the show before applying as she spoke about the challenges.
Wardrobe: Victoria also opened up about the clothing budget for the show in a Q&A session on her Instagram Stories earlier this week, sharing she was given a £500 budget
HOW CONTESTANTS MADE UP AFTER BOARDROOM CLASHES
After making the final five last week, Victoria also revealed how the contestants had a motto to stop them all bringing arguments back into the house.
She shared that they would always hug and make up after any clashes in the boardroom, saying they had to leave arguments after leaving filming.
Victoria told the BBC: ‘We always said that whatever happens in the boardroom, stays in the boardroom. It really did.
‘I don’t remember a time where anybody came back from a disagreement in the boardroom and brought it back to the house. Immediately, you would go and hug that person and it would just be left.’
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.
THE APPRENTICE 2023: MEET THE CANDIDATES
AVI SHARMA
Occupation: City banker
Location: London
Key info: Youngest candidate and believes that Lord Sugar’s investment will get him out of the “rat race” of city banking
He says: ‘Some say I’m delusional, I prefer the term optimistic.’
DANI DONOVAN
Occupation: Hair salon owner
Location: Hertfordshire
Key info: Believes she deserves to win the programme because her business fills a ‘huge gap’ in the market, saying: ‘It baffles me that no one has done it yet!’
She says: ‘I think I’m a different kind of business owner, someone who is a lot more relatable to people.’
EMMA BROWNE
Occupation: Senior account executive
Location: County Kildare
Key info: Laser focused on making her unique business idea a resounding success
She says: ‘I am disgustingly competitive. I will go to any lengths to win this investment.’
JOSEPH PHILLIPS
Occupation: Safari Guide
Location: Worcestershire
Key info: The “James Bond of the business world” with a degree in Zoology
He says: ‘If Lord Sugar wants to invest in a business to help save the ocean, one lip balm at a time, then I’m his guy.’
MARK MOSELEY
Occupation: Pest control company owner
Location: London
Key info: A former soldier who says he can ‘sell to anyone’ with the gift of the gab
He says: ‘If Lord Sugar doesn’t pick me, then he’s missing a trick.’
MEGAN HORNBY
Occupation: Sweet shop and café owner
Location: East Yorkshire
Key info: She says her business fills a gap in the market and has the potential to be nationally recognised.
She says: ‘I think that no matter what situation I am thrown into, I will always give one hundred percent truth, even if it’s hard to hear.’
ROCHELLE ANTHONY
Occupation: Hair salon and academy owner
Location: Bedfordshire
Key info: Describes herself as ‘tenacious, fierce and determined’ and says together with Lord Sugar they would be ‘an absolute force to be reckoned with.’
She says: ‘I’m always being compared to the Kim Kardashian of the business world because I’m doing business with a hint of glam.’
SHAZIA HUSSAIN
Occupation: Technology recruiter
Location: London
Key info: Wants to champion a varied representation of diverse women in the world of business
She says: ‘I don’t need any friends in business. I am here to win this.’
SOHAIL CHOWHARY
Occupation: Martial arts school owner
Location: Southampton
Key info: Raised in a council house and worked hard to create business and warns other candidates to be ‘wary’
He says: ‘I am calm and collected, but if they do come at me? I will bite and I will sting, and I will leave my mark.’
BRADLEY JOHNSON
Occupation: Director of construction company
Location: North Yorkshire
Key info: Self-made business that turns over half-a-million after being made redundant just four years ago
He says: ‘I have a business plan that will see us turn over seven figures after year three and who knows where else that could take us.’
DENISHA KAUR BHARJ
Occupation: Financial controller
Location: Leicestershire
Key info: Says she wants the investment opportunity because she wants to ‘be mentored by the best to be the best’
She says: ‘There’s only one Denisha Kaur.’
GREGORY EBBS
Occupation: Owner of an online antiques marketplace
Location: Shropshire
Key info: Previously worked as a professional cannon-firer in Malta
He says: ‘I would say, a willingness to try different things and not being afraid to be slightly different is one of my biggest strengths.’
KEVIN D’ARCY
Occupation: Accountant
Location: Dublin
Key info: Started his water sports equipment business during lockdown, whilst working in his job in the financial services
He says: ‘With Lord Sugar as my business partner, I know we can ride that wave into the UK and beyond…’
MARNIE SWINDELLS
Occupation: Court advocate
Location: London
Key info: A gold medal-winning boxer and imaginative businesswoman
She says: ‘I deserve Lord Sugar’s investment because I have given my blood, sweat and tears to my business.’
REECE DONNELLY
Occupation: Theatre school owner
Location: Glasgow
Key info: Is determined to become the first Scottish candidate to secure Lord Sugar’s investment and claims to be the youngest CEO of a further education college in the UK
He says: ‘I’m here to prove that Scotland is filled with forward-thinking entrepreneurs and that we are not in fact a haggis-eating, kilt-wearing nation.’
SHANNON MARTIN
Occupation: Bridal boutique owner
Location: West Yorkshire
Key info: Is hoping to be the first business partner to bring Lord Sugar into the lucrative bridal industry.
She says: ‘Lord Sugar needs to be my next business partner, so I can make him millions.’
SIMBA RWAMBIWA
Occupation: Senior sales representative
Location: Birmingham
Key info: Is a self-confessed ‘perfectionist’ who says his business will improve the quality of people’s lives
He says: ‘If people can’t buy into you, they’ll never buy anything from you.’
VICTORIA GOULBOURNE
Occupation: Owner of online sweet business
Location: Merseyside
Key info: Former flight attendant who started business in lockdown which grew into social media success
She says: ‘I’ve travelled all over the world and am not afraid to take on a challenge.’
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