The contestants hoping to impress Sir Alan Sugar in the forthcoming series of The Apprentice have been revealed for the first time.
Among them is Essex man Daniel Lassman, 27, who works as the director of a pub quiz company and runs and plans events for a number of companies and individuals. He is hoping to start off his quest to scoop the £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar in style.
Describing himself as "motivated, determined and always playing to win," he is confident that he can be the best and Daniel will be competing against 19 other business-minded people with backgrounds in law, social care, marketing and management over 12 weeks to gain the coveted prize.
"I will out-sell them, I will out-class them and I will perform the best just by being me," he said.
Other candidates include a 25-year-old London-based personal brand business owner, a fashion interior designer and a fitness entrepreneur.
But it won't be easy for any of them – this year, the series is entering its tenth year and Lord Sugar has a surprise up his sleeve: "On this special occasion I'm going to start things off a little bit differently. What I've decided to do is to kick off with 20 candidates, 10 boys and 10 girls. That's the good news," he will say to candidates on their first day in the boardroom.
"Here's possibly not such good news. The process will still last 12 weeks. That means that on certain occasions I may decide to dispose of more than one candidate at a time. Be prepared."
Offering advice to the new crop of hopefuls, we can reveal that he will say: "This deal is all about getting a £250,000 injection into a company that both of us will own on a 50/50 basis. I won't be working, you will be working. I will be advising and mentoring."
The 2014 contestants
Chiles Cartwright, 35, a company director from Shropshire
Daniel Lassman, 27, the director of a pub quiz company from Essex
Felipe Alviar-Baquero, 33, a lawyer from Kent
James Hill, 26, a multiple business owner from Chesterfield
Mark Wright, 24, a sales manager in digital marketing from London
Robert Goodwin, 25, a marketing manager from East Sussex
Sanjay Sood-Smith, 27, a senior manager in banking from London
Scott McCulloch, 24, a clinical development strategist from East Kilbride, Scotland
Solomon Akhtar, 22, a technology entrepreneur from London
Steven Ugoalah, 25, a social worker from London
Bianca Miller, 25, owner of a personal branding company from London
Ella Jade Bitton, 23, a Business Management graduate from Hertfordshire
Jemma Bird, 26, an operations manager from the West Midlands
Katie Bulmer-Cooke, 27, a fitness entrepreneur from Sunderland
Lauren Riley, 28, a solicitor from London
Lindsay Booth, 29, the owner of a swimming academy, from Leicester
Nurun Ahmed, 36, a marketing officer and fashion retailer from Peterborough
Pamela Uddin, 23, an assistant brand manager from Dublin
Roisin Hogan, 32, an accountant from Dublin
Sarah Dales, 32, a former PA and hypnotherapist from London
The series will kick off Tuesday and Wednesday (October 14 and 15) with a double bill, before being shown once a week on Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One.
