"I cannot believe Lord Sugar has chosen me"
Yorkshire businesswoman Harpreet Kaur has won the 16th series of The Apprentice.
After 12 weeks of tasks, the 30-year-old walks away with Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment after coming out on top over Kathryn Burn.
Harpreet’s dessert parlour business went up against Kathryn’s online pyjama store for all the family.
The finale saw the two remaining contestants launch their business ideas, presenting them in front of industry experts.
Prior to the final, Harpreet and Kathryn described how they became close friends during the process.
Kathryn said: “My closest friend in the whole process, and from really early on, was Harpreet, which is really weird now, that we were roommates (on the show).
“And as the process was going on, we were becoming closer and closer.
“So it’s so weird now that we’re in competition but we’re actually such, such good friends as well.”
The episode began with Harpreet and Kathryn preparing to launch their business ideas. This involved creating a digital billboard, company logo, advert and a new product.
Given the tough task, contestants from the 2022 series returned to help the finalists. This included Akshay Thakrar and Nick Showering, who both became fan favourites for their antics together.
Harpreet came up with the name ‘Oh So Yum!’. During the creation of a logo, Harpreet displayed nerves that had been rarely seen during her time on The Apprentice.
Harpreet created a cookie ‘shot glass’ filled with a variety of toppings while Kathryn created a jungle print design for her pyjamas.
Meanwhile, Akshay, Nick and Brittany Carter created a rhyming advert that impressed Harpreet.
After presenting their business ideas in front of industry experts, both finalists returned to the boardroom.
Both ideas gave Lord Sugar a tough decision to make but ultimately, he chose Harpreet Kaur as the winner, pointing out that she already has an established business.
Harpreet was understandably happy to receive the investment, saying:
“I cannot believe Lord Sugar has chosen me to be his business partner!
“I have dreamed of this moment, and it just completely proves that if you work hard and you believe in yourself, dreams do come true.”
Although the show was filmed last summer, the two finalists were not told who won until just ahead of the final show.
The BBC filmed two endings which saw them both win, leaving them in the dark.
Harpreet said:
“Everything on The Apprentice is filmed as you see it – there’s no acting.”
“But at the end, you do have to film two alternates. It’s just been amazing to finally have that closure of okay, so I did win.”
Kathryn said it was “weird” having two endings saying: “For me, even to be in the final I was happy, so whatever way it was going to go, I was really pleased.”
Following her win, Harpreet Kaur will now scale up her confectionery business by providing nationwide shipping to dessert lovers.
Loading ...