Marnie Swindells opened up about her childhood tragedy and how she overcame it, right before being chosen as The Apprentice winner by Lord Sugar.
After the first all female last five in the history of the BBC saw the remaining candidates all face the gruelling and dreaded interview round last week, just Marnie and rival Rochelle Anthony were left standing to battle it out for victory and Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment.
Who was to emerge as The Apprentice winner for this year proved to be a closely run thing as Marnie sprung her business plan for a series of community boxing gyms called Grit and Glory, into action, with help from some returning candidates, as Rochelle also got a helping hand in a bid to take her hair salon business By Rochelle to the next level.
Both Apprentice finalists were given a chance to pitch their ideas to an audience of experts and and, it was when she stepped up to deliver her speech that Marnie opened up about a tragedy in her past, which boxing had helped her tackle.
Addressing her audience, the 28-year-old said: "I lost my dad when I was eight-years-old; my world shattered, I was haunted by that until, when I was 17-years-old, I set foot into a boxing gym for the first time."
After witnessing both pitches and hearing the opinions of trusted aides Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, Lord Sugar chose Marnie as the Apprentice winner and person he wanted to go into business with, telling the finalists: "Two very excellent candidates. But I’ve always been known to be a gambler, I’ve always been known to try new horizons so I’m going to try a new horizon… Marnie, you are going to be my business partner.”
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