The Apprentice 2019: Meet the candidates

The new series of The Apprentice will see sixteen aspiring entrepreneurs doing battle to win investment in their business and face Lord Sugar in the boardroom.

Here are the candidates hoping to secure the £250,000 bounty.

– Dean Ahmad

The owner of a sports managements agency, the 20-year-old from Essex believes he is the “definition of an entrepreneur” after setting up his business when he was 15.

He claims his confidence and emotional intelligence are “off the charts” and does not think he has many traits that would let him down in business.

He says: “I’ve definitely got the gift of the gab, I can persuade anyone to do anything.”

– Scarlett Allen-Horton

The 32-year-old owner of a recruitment company from the West Midlands believes her upbeat personality is a strong asset in business, claiming “people will often buy into me as a person”.

She considers herself a “very good problem solver” but admits struggling to accept help from others.

Scarlett plans to apply the same tactic she uses in all aspects of her life – “working the hardest and the smartest to be the best”.

She says: “I am an achiever. I have been the highest performer across every workplace I have worked within.”

– Jemelin Artigas

A network marketing consultant from south-east London, the 34-year-old considers resilience to be one of her best personal qualities, having come from a humble background in Venezuela.

She describes herself as competitive and fearless in business, and “1,000% committed” to winning every task.

However, she also warns she can also be “next-level stubborn” and likes things done her way. She says: “I never have problems, I only have solutions.”

– Souleyman Bah

The visually impaired para-athlete and motivational speaker, 20, trains with the Great Britain Paralympic team, specialising in sprinting.

He was diagnosed with retina pigmentosa at the age of six, and says he is inspired by late musician Ray Charles because “he made blindness cool and achieved immense success despite his disability”.

He plans to be brutally honest and bold and to fight for his place by trying to keep Lord Sugar’s attention on him, saying: “The less sight I have, the more imagination I gain, because what you see is what you see and what you don’t see is when the magic begins.”

– Lewis Ellis

A digital marketing project manager, 28, from Lancashire, the self-proclaimed “maverick” is confident his competitiveness and determination will see him through the process.

He admits he struggles to hide his feelings in his facial expressions, and says his confidence is often mistaken for arrogance, but claims: “I don’t think I’m better than anyone else.”