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AN INVESTMENT from Lord Sugar may be the prize for winning BBC One’s The Apprentice - but that doesn’t mean that’s why the candidates are signing up for the show. 

Two former candidates have revealed they had very different reasons for filling out the application forms, and going ahead with the process.

Raj Chohan at a Flex and the City event.
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Raj revealed the real reason she signed up for the seriesCredit: FLEX AND THE CITY/PRESS BOX PR
Solomon Akhtar at a Flex and the City event.
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Solomon joked he joined the show to compete with a palCredit: FLEX AND THE CITY/PRESS BOX PR

Raj Chohan, who took part in The Apprentice in 2023, revealed that she had hopes to meet her celebrity idol by joining the line-up.

She revealed: “I was in the car with my daughter, and she asked me if I could meet any celebrity in the world, who would it be.

"I think she thought I’d say someone like Drake or Rihanna at the time, but it was Lord Sugar. 

“Then I thought, ‘Well, how do I meet Lord Sugar? His time is ticking away, his clock is ticking…’

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"That’s why I ended up applying for The Apprentice.” 

While Solomon Akhtar, who took part in 2014, admitted he took the plunge to try and one-up a friend who'd already appeared on telly.

His pal had gone through the selection process on Channel 4 series First Dates, and made it to screens.

He joked at the Flex and the City event: “One of my mates had done Channel 4’s First Dates - so it was like, I think that I can one-up him and go on The Apprentice.

"Maybe I should’ve just done First Dates…”

The Apprentice continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One

Lord Alan Sugar in a blue suit against a London cityscape.
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Lord Sugar invests £250,000 into one candidates business each yearCredit: BBC/Naked/Ray Burmiston/Rufina Breskin
Maura Rath and Raj Chohan are fired on The Apprentice
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