Boundless/Jim Marks



Lord Sugar is back in the boardroom for The Apprentice, and there's a fresh crop of candidates hoping to impress the Amstrad boss and his trusted advisers Karren Brady and Claude Littner.



Whose business idol is Taylor Swift? Who's sucking up to Lord Sugar already? And - perhaps most importantly - who's got the biggest mouth on them? Read on to find out about all 18 of this year's hopefuls:

Aisha Kasim, 30

"Pressure makes diamonds. It's something I respond well to, I think it's go hard or go home."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Inventor Aisha owns a hair accessories business and says Victoria Beckham is her business inspiration. She fancies herself as a bit of a songwriter too, penning a jingle for one of her own products - a heated bun that curls your hair.



April Jackson, 26

"I'm Jamaican. We come first, we win on the track and we will win in the boardroom."

Boundless/Jim Marks



London-born April is a former beauty pageant winner, scooping the Miss Jamaica Universe title in 2008. She now owns a Jamaican boutique, but while she was living in the country, she set up an event management company and a children's charity. April draws business inspiration from Bethenny Frankel, saying she admires how the Real Housewives star built her business Skinnygirl Cocktails into a successful lifestyle brand.



Brett Butler-Smythe, 28

"I pride myself on not having any negative or bad traits about myself, they're all good, they're all positive."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Brett trained as a marine engineer with the Royal Navy and started his own property business from scratch. Plymouth-based Brett prides himself on being trustworthy, and aspires to "work hard, play hard [and] work harder".



Charleine Wain, 31

''I would describe myself as very determined, ambitious, and I always want to show that women can succeed in business.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Charleine also joined the Royal Navy straight out of school, serving there for 11 and a half years. She now runs an online clothing boutique and a hair and beauty salon in Plymouth, naming her business inspirations at Patrick Cameron and Toni & Guy. Charleine has also raised over £20,000 for charity.



Dan Callaghan, 23

''I'm just a generally all-round quite entertaining person, I think. A lot of people laugh at me.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Dan went into politics after leaving university, working for an MEP at the European Parliament in Belgium. Now based in Manchester, he's director of a fragrance company, saying that turning its fortunes around after a few tricky years is his proudest business achievement to date. Dan's inspiration is Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.



David Stevenson, 25

"Me and Lord Sugar will work together because you've got age and beauty and those two go hand in hand all the time. Sugar's got the age and I certainly am beautiful."

Boundless/Jim Marks



David owns a sports marketing company, aiming to get more bums on seats at live events. His proudest business achievement to date is managing to sell out Wembley for a football match between two women's national teams. David's business inspiration is Tesla's Elon Musk - hopefully he doesn't have aspirations to nuke Mars any time soon, though.



Elle Stevenson, 21

"I hate anything mediocre – I can't be middle. I hate being the person that comes second... I've never been the person that comes second. I'd rather be the one who fell over at the start of the race and never make it to the finish line."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Elle is this year's youngest candidate, and says her proudest achievement to date is becoming operations director of a construction company aged just 20. She teaches herself Latin, but her idol is firmly rooted in the 21st century - yes, Elle's business inspiration is the woman who took on both Apple Music and Spotify, one Taylor Swift.



Gary Poulton, 34

"I look like the nice, easy-going, laid-back Brummie but once I start doing my business, people know I'm the real deal."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Gary prides himself on success in all he does, and made his living developing new store sites as programme manager at a big supermarket chain. He says his proudest achievement to date was delivering the company's largest property development programme in 2010 and 2011.



Jenny Garbis, 23

''You will see my name in lights – Jenny Garbis, don't forget that. That's going to be a global name. That's going to be an entrepreneur everyone looks up to.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



New graduate Jenny aced her Business Studies degree, earning the highest grades in the year, and says she's only happy when she's keeping busy. Jenny identifies as a feminist and admires Emma Watson for using her fame to call for gender equality through the HeforShe campaign.



Joseph Valente, 25

"I am the definition of success. I'm a godfather of business and I'm here to make Lord Sugar a lot of money.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Joseph reckons that it's his destiny to become Lord Sugar's business partner, and describes himself as successful, passionate and driven. Based in Peterborough, Joseph runs his own plumbing company and compares running a business to having a child. His role model? Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.



Mergim Butaja, 23

''Why am I a worthy business partner for Lord Sugar? I'd be a challenge to him. Everyone he's met probably sucks up to him. I won't, I'll tell him like it is.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Born in Kosovo, Mergim came to the UK with his family aged just 7, and says his determined attitude is key to his professional success. Coventry-based Mergim works as a sales accounts manager, and names his business inspiration as Chris Dawson, boss of The Range homes and gardens chain.



Natalie Dean, 25

"If I set my mind to something, I won't quit until I have done it."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Coventry-based Natalie is a corporate account manager in telecoms, and names Liv Garfield, the boss of water company Severn Trent, as her business inspiration. When she's not working, Natalie, who describes herself as a bit of a tomboy, plays football for a local women's team and cheers on Sheffield Wednesday.



Richard Woods, 31

"I'm a Swiss army knife of bouncy skills, business skills, enthusiasm: I've got everything highly tuned and highly chiselled."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Richard's only regret in life? Not becoming a millionaire before his 30th birthday - seriously. He runs a digital marketing firm, and already boasts four profit-making companies. Richard draws his business inspiration from Virgin Group chief Richard Branson.



Ruth Whiteley, 47

"Lord Sugar might think I'm a bit gushing, he might find me overzealous, but I think he'll think I'm great.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Harrogate-based Ruth owns a sales training consultancy, but her background is in telesales. She's previously worked as a court reporter, and even hit the airwaves as a mid-morning DJ on her local radio station.



Sam Curry, 23

"I'm an interesting mix between happy-go-lucky and adventurous and then quite logical and sensible. It's a strange combination.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Sam has an unconventional background compared to previous Apprentice candidates - he works as a private tutor and enjoys acting in his spare time. His business inspiration is less surprising - he's another fan of Richard Branson, arguing that his success shows you don't need to be ruthless or cruel to run a good business.



Scott Saunders, 27

"People do say to me they've never met anyone like me.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Scott's biggest business obsession is making his first million, and he's a fan of very simple but effective branding. A senior sales account manager based in Hertfordshire, Scott's business inspirations include American motivational speaker, author and financial commentator Robert Kiyosaki, founder of Rich Dad Company.



Selina Waterman-Smith, 31

''I am strong-minded... I do like to be the leader.''

Boundless/Jim Marks



Selina describes herself as feisty, strong and kind, and comes from a performing arts background including time with a circus. Selina emigrated to Dubai, and says that setting up her events company there is her proudest business achievement.



Vana Koutsomitis, 27

"I believe this is a marathon and if you have stamina and if you do things with integrity, morals and direction, you can get where you want to go."

Boundless/Jim Marks



Social media consultant Vana says she honed her business skills at just 7 years old, selling her old toys on the streets of New York City. Since then, she's travelled the globe, settling in Barcelona. Her business inspiration is Ashton Kutcher, because of his eye for a good opportunity (the Two and a Half Men star has invested in businesses from Skype to Airbnb).



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