Major update on future of The Apprentice winner whose firm went bust with £200k debt – despite £250k from Lord Sugar
THE Apprentice's youngest ever winner said she almost threw in the towel on her second week on the show - but is so thankful she didn't.
Alana Spencer, 32, took out the top spot in 2016 with her cake business Ridiculously Rich.
She partnered up with Lord Sugar and worked with him for three years before buying his shares and going out on her own.
But the 32-year-old almost didn't get to that point - or running her £1.2milliion business - as she was ready to quit The Apprentice just two weeks in, The Sun reported in April.
Alana said she was in floods of tears, questioning whether she could make it through the show.
She wasn't doing well in competitions, says she was shy and struggled with how the other competitors were "out for blood".
Plus, this meant the entrepreneur kept coming face-to-face with the bosses.
Recalling the difficulties, Alana told The Sun: “My journey on there really was like very tough at the beginning, and then by the end, I was kind of like reborn this new woman with confidence.
“And it it really felt like that when I was in there I nearly quit on week two. I really struggled.
“You don't get to talk to your family apart from like 10-minute phone call a week. And I spoke to them on the second week, and I was in floods of tears, and didn't know if I could carry on.
“But it's all broke me down and then rebuilt me.”
In another instance of candidates overcoming hardships, Alex Mills signed up for The Apprentice in 2013 aged just 22, and quickly became a fan favourite due to his immaculately plucked eyebrows.
The Welsh businessman, who started his career as a laundry boy and housekeeper on £4.20 an hour, was fired after a disastrous horror-themed ready meal challenge.
But Alex eventually went on to set up his own insurance company, Dynamo Cover, which made £30,000 in its first month in 2017.
The Barry-based company has continued to grow and, in 2021, Alex was named on the Sunday Times Rich List of young millionaires.
The Sun reported in April that we was the richest contestant to ever appear on the BBC reality show and loves to show off his fleet of luxury cars and designer watches on social media.
Another contestant, Reece Donnelly, featured in the 2023 series of The Apprentice and flew out with his fellow contestants to Dubai before going missing from the rest of the show.
Viewers and fellow competitors were told he had been forced to leave for “health reasons”.
He said: "I could not continue in The Apprentice due to being unable to complete the task in Dubai for health reasons."
However, it was later reported he had been sacked by bosses due to boozing on the flight.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Reece said: “I was distraught, like I'm not going to lie. I had no intention to go there and not win.
“When I took unwell, I was just like, s***. But now that I reflect, I kind of think the universe was looking out for me, because I don't need to split my wages and I'm very grateful for that.”
He added: “It was actually myself that asked for the medic to come in. I was looked after in a way that I thought was good, to be honest. The minute I was like, ‘guys I don't feel well’ we had doctors in. And then I was on antibiotics and sickness tablets.”
Reece, who landed his first professional acting role aged seven and has appeared on Waterloo Road, hasn’t let him hold him back though.
He is the founder of Theatre School of Scotland and Theatre College of Scotland, which had a recent turnover of £1million.
Speaking last year, he said: “I’m living my dream … but I am all about the motivation, and I firmly believe that somebody up there was just sending me a golden nugget to open that school.”