The Apprentice winner lost job, husband and had only £90 after Lord Sugar clash
28.01.2022 - 15:01
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
When people apply for The Apprentice, candidates think they are one step closer to their life-changing business investment and dream of working with Lord Sugar.
However, it doesn't always go as smoothly as that - something former Apprentice winner Stella English knows first-hand after hitting rock bottom following her win in 2010 and making her wish she never went on the BBC show.
After winning the series, Stella's success turned sour when she quit her £100k salary with Lord Sugar - as she claimed she was used as an "overpaid lackey" and unsuccessfully tried to sue her former boss.
What happened next for Stella was an astonishing fall from grace as she went from the boardroom to the job centre, her marriage collapsed and she had just £90 in the bank.
"I wish I had never gone on The Apprentice. I’m broke and on my knees. I just don’t know how I’m going to carry on," she told The Mirror in September 2013.
Stella was drawn to Lord Sugar after seeing an advert for The Apprentice before quitting her £85k a year role as a manager on the trading floor of Japanese Bank Daiwa for the BBC show.
Before going on The Apprentice, Stella was used to living a life of luxury driving Porsches and Bentley, had chauffeurs, £300 designer shoes, three houses and wouldn't blink spending £600 on a meal out.
As reported in The Mirror, her boss advised her against it and even offered her £100,000 not to take part in the series, but Stella felt like it was "winning the lottery".
Stella lost money quickly during filming for the show, and waiting for the show to air, but was crowned the winner and secured a £100,000 job with Lord Sugar.
However, after winning she moaned that her role with Lord Alan Sugar's computer company Viglen was nothing like