AFTER weeks of entrepreneurs competing to win Lord Sugar’s approval, the winner of The Apprentice for 2024 has been announced.
Audiences were shocked after hearing who the business mogul selected as the lucky finalist.
Gym owner Rachel Woolford has now secured a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar himself, after going head to head with pie maker Phil Turner.
Her competitor became infamous over the course of the BBC show for failing nine challenges in a row – but still making it to the final.
Phil’s progress created a fix row and several fans even swore off watching the last episode, complaining that it was clear he was being set up to win.
In contrast Rachel stayed out of the public eye, barely even appearing on screen until the third installment of the show.
However, Rachel believes her anonymity on the series was actually the superpower that allowed her to swoop in and get awarded the grand prize.
The Leeds local shared: “To come out a winner is beyond my wildest dreams – I was just a girl from Leeds, and now I’m going into business with Lord Sugar.
“I went into The Apprentice promising myself that I would just be myself, and not turn it on in any way in front of the cameras, throw anyone else under the bus or be b**chy.
“I wanted to prove that you don’t need to be the loudest voice and screaming at the others.
“For that, people saw me as a bit of an underdog, but my main values in business, and in life, is that you don’t have to shout to get your point across.
“I wasn’t getting any airtime in the beginning because I wasn’t talking over people.
“But it worked out, as I was instead busy making little actions here and there to show up in the task and impress Lord Sugar.
“The Apprentice winner is never going to be the one causing the drama, the one trying to get all the attention in the room, Lord Sugar appreciates someone who can remain calm and not pass the blame.”
Viewers were taken aback to see Rachel announced as the winner after being convinced that Phil was going to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.
They flocked to social media to share their surprise, with one exclaiming: “SHOOK TO THE CORE RN!”
Another added: “That came as a surprise, damn.”
A third agreed: “Nah I’m shocked I thought Phil clutched the win.”