DOWN TO BUSINESS
Foursome romps, ‘cheating’ on fiance and legend dumped from show for fling… stars who defied The Apprentice sex ban
IT'S not just in the boardroom where stars of The Apprentice get down to business.
Over the years, exasperated producers have frequently had to keep an eye on the bedroom too, going so far as to introduce a sex ban to stop randy stars getting it on away from the prying eyes of cameras.
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Sometimes, love can truly blossom between competing contestants, with 2022 winner Harpreet Kaur this week opening up on her plans to have children with fellow star Akshay Thakrar.
The couple met on the BBC series and are now engaged, with plans to tie the knot in June.
Speaking on their podcast, The Couple's Boardroom, they opened up on their future plans and how they need to "learn how to prioritise".
Harpreet, who cut ties with Lord Sugar last year, said: "When we pop out children, our lives are going to completely change.
ON THE APPRENTICE
"Our priorities are going to change. We will still want to work hard because we love to work - but we physically won't be able to."
Here, we look at the other couples who fell for each other after meeting on the show - and the contestants who wasted no time worrying about that pesky sex ban.
Office romance
The first ever couple to come from the show was in 2009, when Phil Taylor and Kate Walsh fell in love.
Former estate agent Phillip and businesswoman Kate had clashed in the boardroom.
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Kate even got Phillip fired in a heated exchange with Lord Sugar - but the fall out clearly didn’t last for long.
After the series they announced they were together and decided to move in shortly after - but vowed never to marry.
I was on the first ever Apprentice series - Lord Sugar is never there and viewers don't see who really calls the shots
Phillip told Grazia: “I didn’t get a job, but I did get Kate. I know that she is the one.”
Although they were thought to have split, Phil confirmed in 2018 they were still together.
Four man outfit
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Things got heated in 2016 when Grainne McCoy, Paul Sullivan, ex-stripper Jessica Cunningham and Courtney Wood were all found smooching under the covers by producers.
Both couples had become close during filming in 2016 - despite being boardroom rivals.
A source told : “Both couples would suddenly disappear and there were several times they’d be found upstairs under the covers, kissing.”
The production team were said to have ordered the boys back to their own beds.
A source said: “Jessica gave Courtney a pet name, ‘C-Dubz’. She cried during the series, and he’d give her cuddles. But one time they were kissing under the covers in her room and got ticked off.
“The most nauseating incident was when Jessica picked spots off his back.”
Jessica and Courtney were even spotted sharing smooches and PDAs on holiday.
But after the show wrapped, so did their hook ups.
The insider added: “Paul and Grainne lived too far apart. Jessica adored Courtney but she has three kids and he isn’t ready to settle down.”
Commuter baby
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Harrison Jones and Michaela Wain are parents of the only Apprentice baby to date.
The couple competed on the series in 2017 and are still together.
A year after meeting on the show, Michaela posted on Instagram announcing the birth of their son Grayson George Jones.
Despite starting a family, the pair lived over 200 miles apart, with Harrison's business in Watford and Michaela's in Bolton.
Michaela, already a mum to a son from a previous relationship, told new! magazine: "I go down every other weekend when I don’t have my son and then Harrison comes up every other weekend."
Messy merger
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In 2019, contestants Lottie Lion and Lewis Ellis are thought to have got together while filming.
They reportedly got steamy when filming in Finland for the show - and were busted by other candidates.
Ex-librarian Lottie claimed she was dumped from sister show You’re Fired because of the romance.
She told the : "It upset me, they told me I had broken my contract because of what happened with Lewis during the process."
A spokesperson for The Apprentice said at the time: "Following an inquiry by the production company into the unacceptable comments made by Lottie on a private messenger service, she was informed that she would not be invited to participate on You’re Fired."
Business affairs
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During the 2017 series of The Apprentice, Jade English and James White were rumoured to be hooking up.
It was scandalous as winner James was engaged at the time, while PR manager Jade had a long-term boyfriend.
A source said: "They couldn’t resist getting to know each other that bit better during their time in the house.
"Afterwards they kept things going for a while, but relations have cooled off between them since filming ended."
Jade broke up with her boyfriend shortly after she was fired by Lord Sugar.
She said in December 2017: "I returned home to where my partner and I lived. I just knew I was different and so did my partner.
"I finally bit the bullet and made the hard decision to move out after all of our years together."
Full-on flings
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In 2014's season 10, it was revealed James Hill was dating fellow candidate solicitor Lauren Riley.
A source told The Sun: “It didn’t take [James] long to woo Lauren.
“They had a fairly full-on fling. They were always sneaking off.”
While their love didn’t last, series winner James tried his hand at dating again on Celebrity Dinner Dates.
Fancy firings
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Ex-army contestant Paul Callaghan was sacked after another competitor suggested he had a relationship with Katie Hopkins in 2007.
Sir Alan demanded: “Are you telling me they’re carrying on inside the house?” before opting to fire Paul rather than other contestants.
But Paul said: “I was totally robbed. It was so unfair.”
He added: “We were mates. We got close. There was no bonking in the attic, though, that’s for sure. Maybe we should have done it anyway, considering I ended up getting fired!”
Paul later confessed he was touchy-feely with Katie in the programme's house.
He added: “That may have happened. But there was no exchange of bodily fluids. And it happened during downtime, not during the task. We certainly weren’t too busy bonking to sell. We were completely professional. We did get quite close but it didn’t affect our performance at all.”
Illicit meetings
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Candidate Jordan Poulton appeared on the 2014 series and shortly after spilled the beans on his saucy sessions with Luisa Zissman.
But he claimed the producers were always trying to thwart their sexy escapades.
He told the Sun: "When I was with Luisa I spent a lot of time in cupboards — literally.
"It wasn’t easy to have sex in the Apprentice house as there were minders living there trying to stop us.
"Our routine was, I’d go off somewhere and she’d disappear too, and we’d muck around until someone came to find us.
“When people try to stop you having sex, the tension ramps up more.”
Hand in your notice
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Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton hooked up with fellow winner, digital marketeer Mark Wright.
Leah, who went on to run a chain of botox clinics, was champion in 2014, while Mark won the series the year before.
of their fledging romance: "It’s really sweet. They’re only in the early days of their romance but Mark has been sending Leah lots of gifts, and so far the two of them have really hit it off.
"They’re both highly motivated, successful people. That was one reason they’ve found each other so attractive. They both have offices in the business district of East London and see each other a lot."
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The pair coupled up in 2015 but the romance fizzled out the following year.
Aussie Mark said in 2016: “We are both incredibly driven people and, due to our busy schedules, the relationship just wasn’t working, so we decided to go our separate ways.”
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