The line-up for The Apprentice 2019 has been revealed, featuring athletes, bakery owners, and a librarian.
Lord Sugar will be testing 16 candidates as they all attempt to win a £250,000 investment for their business, with the first episode taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the premiere episode, candidates will be tasked with creating, setting up, and running bespoke tours around the outskirts of Cape Town – ranging from Safari tours to Vineyard excursions.
The opening episode will also run for an extended length, expanding by five minutes to a total runtime of 64 minutes for a special bumper premiere.
Other tasks ahead in the series include running a corporate away day on a steam train, designing a theme park ride, creating an advertising campaign in Finland and cruising around Oxford and Cambridge to find and buy nine items.
They’ll also get the chance to create a new electric bicycle and market an unsigned music artist.
Baroness Brady and Claude Littner will return as Lord Sugar’s advisors, while comedian and writer Tom Allen will be the new host of spin-off show The Apprentice: You’re Fired.
You can check out the full roster of candidates below.
Dean Ahmad
Age: 20
Occupation: Owner, Sports Management Agency
Lives: Essex
Dean founded his sports management company at the age of 15, and describes his emotional intelligence and confidence as ‘off the charts’.
‘I’ve definitely got the gift of the gab, I can persuade anyone to do anything.’
Scarlett Allen-Horton
Age: 32
Occupation: Owner, Recruitment Company
Lives: West Midlands
Scarlett considers herself a ‘very good problem solver’ but admits she sometimes struggles to accept help from others.
‘I am an achiever. I have been the highest performer across every workplace I have worked within.’
Jemelin Artigas
Age: 34
Occupation: Network Marketing Consultant
Lives: South East London
Coming from a humble background in Venezuela, Jemelin believes her resilience is one of her best personal qualities, and describes herself as ‘next-level stubborn’.
‘I never have problems, I only have solutions.’
Souleyman Bah
Age: 20
Occupation: Para Athlete and motivational speaker
Lives: South West London
Souleyman is a motivational speaker for schools and trains with the Great Britain Paralympic Olympic Team, specialising in sprinting. He was diagnosed with Retina Pigmentosa aged six and is inspired by late musician Ray Charles.
‘The less sight I have, the more imagination I gain, because what you see is what you see and what you don’t see is when the magic begins.’
Lewis Ellis
Age: 28
Occupation: Digital Marketing Project Manager
Lives: Lancashire
A self-proclaimed ‘maverick’, Lewis doesn’t like to follow the rules and sometimes struggles to hide his true feelings in his facial expressions.
‘I may not be the smartest guy in the room, but I’ll sure as hell work harder.’
Lubna Farhan
Age: 33
Occupation: Finance Manager
Lives: Luton
Mother-of-two Lubna believes she has the ‘whole package’ from book smarts to street smarts.
‘I came from a council estate… I have made myself into something good and I’m on the way to becoming something great.’
Riyonn Farsad
Age: 30
Occupation: Events Manager
Lives: South London
Riyonn claims he has ‘never come across anyone who doesn’t get on with me’, and has invented his own party card-based game during life as a freelance events manager.
‘I will use my poker face and tactics to always come out on top.’
Shahin Hassan
Age: 36
Occupation: Chartered Engineer
Lives: Birmingham
Shahin credits Elon Musk as one of his role models because he ‘thinks outside the box’, and prides himself on his imagination.
‘I love business more than sharks love blood… I’m ruthless in my pursuit of success.’
Pamela Laird
Age: 29
Occupation: Owner, Beauty Brad
Lives: Dublin, Ireland
Pamela believes her beauty company has been successful due to her ‘entrepreneurial gene’ and describes herself as feisty and passionate.
‘I love to be the under-estimated person in the room.’
Carina Lepore
Age: 30
Occupation: Owner, Artisan Bakery
Lives: South London
Carina claims she’s a natural leader and believes a partnership with Lord Sugar on The Apprentice was ‘written in the stars’.
‘I’m about 5 foot 1 inch tall – I’m like a pocket rocket, you don’t really want to mess with me.’
Lottie Lion
Age: 19
Occupation: Librarian
Lives: Somerset
Lottie describes herself as ‘cut-throat’ and has ‘powers of persuasion’ which are her greatest business qualities.
‘I bring “class” to everything and ensure nothing I do is half-standard or tacky.’
Ryan-Mark Parsons
Age: 19
Occupation: Luxury Womenswear Consultant
Lives: South East London
The youngest candidate of the batch, Ryan-Mark describes himself as a ’60-year-old trapped in a teenager’s body’ and is an award-winning public speaker. He cites Queen Elizabeth II as his role model for her ‘no-nonsense persona’.
‘I am the epitome of luxury.’
Iasha Masood
Age: 27
Occupation: Account Manager
Lives: Manchester
Iasha says her ‘crazy, controversial, eccentric personality’ will help her stand out in the competition, and believes her ‘natural persona’ will be enough to win the process.
‘I’m one fierce businesswoman with both sass and class.’
Kenna Ngoma
Age: 24
Occupation: Owner, Ice Cream Company
Lives: Greater Manchester
Kenna played semi-professional football for Manchester City before an injury cut his career short in 2013, and has since created an alcohol-infused ice cream company.
‘I combine a thirst to learn with entrepreneurial thinking, ready to win at all costs.’
Marianne Rawlins
Age: 36
Occupation: Owner, Risk Management Consultancy
Lives: Stamford, Lincolnshire
Originally born in the US, Marianne moved to the UK in 2017 and believes she may need to ‘dial down her American-ness’ and take a step back, as she can be too direct.
‘I’m definitely the epitome of “don’t judge a book by its cover” because what you see is not what you get.’
Thomas Skinner
Age: 28
Occupation: Owner, Pillow Company
Lives: East London
Thomas was selling on the markets aged 16 and has since set up his own pillow company. He doesn’t have a role model stating, ‘I am my own person.’
‘I don’t plan – I just do everything on impulse. When I plan, I always get it wrong.’
The Apprentice begins on Wednesday 2 October on BBC One at 9pm. The Apprentice You’re Fired will follow on BBC Two.
MORE: David Beckham launches British Fashion Council’s fashion studio apprenticeship scheme