The Apprentice candidate Lottie Lion has revealed she received death threats before last night’s series 15 premiere had even aired.
The 19-year-old hopeful is about to embark on one of the most exciting journeys of her life trying to bag Lord Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment.
Instead, she’s been left terrified by threatening messages about death online, including one which read: ‘This could happen to you.’
‘Being involved in The Apprentice is a wonderful opportunity,’ the librarian told Daily Mail.
‘At a time like this in my life, I should be able to focus entirely on the process and winning an investment from Lord Sugar.
‘However, I have recently become a target of harassment from two young teenagers in the Taunton area.
‘I appreciate that being on such a programme does project me into the limelight – however, there is no excuse for such threatening behaviour.
‘You never know if they are empty or not.’
Police are investigating the messages which were sent to Lottie in the early hours of Saturday morning, with the entrepreneur claiming she received approximately 40 terrifying texts.
‘The death threat occurred between 1am and 2am and they made threats to kill me and cause grievous bodily harm,’ Lottie continued.
‘Due to the severity of the threats, I have to take the case seriously and am very grateful to Avon and Somerset Constabulary for being so thorough with their investigation.
‘I look forward to the process and won’t allow such thoughtless people to deter my concentration. I would like to remind everyone to always be kind.’
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘We are investigating claims of harassment against a Somerset teenager.
‘The 19-year-old has been subject to threats and abuse over social media from two other women. Police enquiries into the matter are continuing.’
The Apprentice airs Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One.
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