The Apprentice winner Marnie Swindells has hit back at critics who compared the show’s lineup to the cast of Love Island.
Marnie, who used Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment to open Bronx boxing gym last year, has more than 50,000 Instagram followers and litters her page with racy bikini snaps alongside promotion for her gym.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the 29-year-old entrepreneur explained that times have changed and old fashioned attitudes towards social media need to be changed as it has no impact on your business ability.
She said: ‘I’m so bored of hearing The Apprentice/Love Island comparison. Since when did those two things become mutually exclusive?
‘You can be hot, sexy, attractive, care about how you look and be an incredible businesswoman or man! Those two things don’t have to be separated.’
Marnie continued: ‘I think it’s a very old school, stuck in the past way of approaching business. Some of the tools and avenues to success social media and social media is all about how you look.
‘So how you look is an important tool in business. Of course that would be reflected in how people present themselves.’
She added that while social media is an important tool for getting ahead she didn’t appear on the show to simply boost her follower count.
Marnie confessed: ‘I think Lord Sugar might have thought that was when I first came out of The Apprentice. He said to me, ‘make sure you stay focused going to all these events’ so I think he probably does fear that people will get carried away and swept away with the moment.
‘In fairness to him, it’s a valid concern. I’m sure there were people even on my series that were there for fame. People have different motivations.
‘So of course Lord Sugar and the public would be cautious of that. But once The Apprentice is over and the glitz and glamour of that has subsided that’s the true assessment of what people are really about.’
Marnie went on to offer advice to the 2024 lineup for The Apprentice.
Ahead of the series 18 launch on Thursday, Marnie told future stars that the most important thing they can do on the show is retain their integrity.
She explained: ‘One of the things I’m most proud of is everything that I did in there, I did with a clear conscience. I know that I was honest and true to myself.
‘If you go in there and you and play a game and be strategic that is on your conscience forever.’
Marnie added: ‘You also have to be prepared to be alone and be independent. It’s such a tense environment at times it’s easy to get swept into the group dynamic and feel like you’re safer in numbers.
‘But standing firm and again going back to being true to what you think rather than what’s easiest and most comfortable and is the most powerful thing.’
Clearly, Lord Sugar was impressed with her character as well as her business plan as he picked her to be his latest business partner after she beat salon owner Rochelle Anthony in the BBC One show’s second consecutive all-female final.
Marnie impressed Lord Sugar during the winner-takes-all task after pitching her boxing gym idea to hundreds of industry experts at London venue the Grand Connaught Rooms.
Speaking about her life doing a ‘360’ after winning show, she mused: ‘Starting a business in its own right is a daunting task but doing it in the public eye with Lord Sugar a billionaire as your new business partner is a lot of pressure!
‘It’s been the steepest learning curve and gone from zero to a hundred but it’s been exciting.’
Marnie opened Bronx Boxing Club in Camberwell, south London in March and revealed the business is ‘flourishing’ and making a profit.
She’s using Lord Sugar’s investment to open up a second floor and make the space ‘even bigger and better’ while adding a sauna and a weights gym.
Lord Sugar will no doubt be pleased that they’re also adding a café to the gym space, given his history investing in bakeries and dessert parlours.
Marnie shared: ‘I think will really change the game for Bronx as a business and where we go.
‘We can have more members and start developing what we represent which is a community gym that goes beyond boxing.’
Season 18 of The Apprentice will hit screens next week, with 18 candidates vying for Lord Alan Sugar’s attentions and investments, alongside his advisors Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell MBE.
The 2024 intake battling for the £250,000 investment and mentorship are as varied and bloodthirsty as ever, with the candidates ranging from a UK Garage artist to two pie company owners to a pharmacist to a yoga teacher.
Speaking about this season, Lord Sugar told The Daily Mail: ‘It’s a good season because we’ve got a whole array of qualifications: doctors, pharmacists, accountants, people with food businesses, we’ve got a lot of good people.
‘I’m always looking for somebody who’s focused. I’m observing whether they get it. That’s all.’
The series kicks off in style as candidates head straight to the Scottish Highlands, tasked with a corporate hospitality challenge where the men’s and women’s teams compete to put on luxury away days for corporate clients in the hope of impressing Lord Sugar.
Those who make it through the first boardroom will face a host of equally challenging tasks over the series – from a virtual escape room through to creating children’s cereal.
There will also be a hop over the channel to Jersey for the classic discount buying task, and further afield to Budapest for a tourism challenge.
And of course, The Apprentice wouldn’t be The Apprentice without the ever-popular TV shopping channel task.
The Apprentice returns at 9pm on Thursday February 1 on BBC One and iPlayer
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
