“And I think that's what it came down to in the end.”
Anisa Khan revealed the real reason Dean Franklin won The Apprentice.
The final saw Anisa and Dean go head-to-head to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.
The pair were tasked with developing a new brand, filming an advert, and pitching to Lord Sugar and a panel of industry leaders.
Back in the boardroom, it was a very difficult choice.
Ultimately, Lord Sugar selected Dean and his air conditioning company, leaving Anisa and her Indian-themed pizza business just short of the prize.
Revealing why she thinks Lord Sugar picked Dean, Anisa told Daily Mail:
“I think with Dean, it came down to… the finals is all about his business as well, right?
“I think it wasn’t Anisa versus Dean in the final, it was very much like my pizza business versus his AC business, and his business does make more money than my one does.
“So I think from a business perspective, it makes sense, we’re all sure that Sugar wants to invest in the one that makes more money.
“And I think that’s what it came down to in the end.”
Despite missing out, Anisa Khan said she felt calm in the final boardroom, knowing she had done all she could.
She said: “I know the final boardroom was the most important, but it’s also the one I was the most calm in it, because I think by that point, I was just speaking about my business, and I knew, in terms of the final task being about my business.
“I knew that I had done everything I could have in a way, like I presented well, I said my arguments, I described the business.”
Despite the disappointing result, Anisa has no regrets about the experience.
“So I left with no regrets, and that final boardroom, although, of course, the snatch on the line…
“I’ve been in a boardroom so much, I got used to it. I felt like I knew Lord Sugar, Baroness Brady and Tim, I feel like I knew them well at that point.
“So the worst boardroom for me was the first one, because it was new, I was so anxious that first one, because I didn’t know what was gonna happen, and I was PM of a losing team.”
Anisa Khan also defended her reasons for appearing on the BBC show, refuting suggestions that contestants are only after fame.
She explained: “I can’t speak for everyone’s intentions of going on to the show, but I know from my one it was very much to win the investment. That is the main reason I went on the show.
“However, I think it’s also like, it’s obvious, if you’re going on TV, you’re in front of millions of viewers.”
“You do want some sort of thing, whether that’s for yourself or for your business.
“So I reached my goal by having my pizza brand on national TV, pretty much.
“I guess you could argue, yeah, I went in for fame, but for the business, as opposed to my personal fame. And I’m sure others went in there for their own personal fame as well.
“But there’s a mixture. It’s a business show, but at the end the day, it’s also a TV show.”
Since the show aired, Anisa’s Bombay Pizza has experienced a surge in demand and although she didn’t win The Apprentice, she revealed she is still in touch with Lord Sugar.
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