ROCHELLE Anthony nearly won The Apprentice last year – and after getting so close to the number one spot, the businesswoman thinks she’s cracked the code for winning the show.
The contestant made it to the finale of season 17 in a bid to convince Lord Sugar to invest in her hair salon.
It was a close call, but in the end, he decided to partner up with Marnie Swindells to open a boxing gym in London instead.
Despite coming in second place, Rochelle’s business boomed after the show, as clients started to travel up to four hours to get their hair done by her at The Dollshouse.
What’s more, the Bedfordshire local now believes she knows the secret to success on The Apprentice, and accurately predicted that Rachel Woolford would win this year’s competition.
In an exclusive interview, she shared how she figured that out – and gave some advice to future contestants.
Rochelle told the Sun: “I was always very in for Rachel from the off. I actually thought she was a very consistent person.
“Like the way that she handled herself, she always carried herself with like dignity and poise.
“And she always had an offering. That’s something that I know that Lord Sugar would have loved about her.
“She always had something good to say. Sometimes when people go on the process, they just want to say something for the sake of it.
“But with Rachel, whenever she opened her mouth, it was with intention. It always had a lot of clarity behind it.
“Every offering she made actually helped the task or the team. She spoke when she needed to. And I think that’s a very good asset to have, especially a business.
“So she was my little dark horse from the beginning. I called it.”
Although Rochelle had her money on the gym owner, she also understands why the controversial Phil Turner became runner up.
Several viewers hit out saying the show was fixed when the piemaker wasn’t axed despite failing every single challenge.
However, Rochelle noticed he had a crucial quality that Lord Sugar looks for in a business partner.
She pointed out his technique for sailing past his mistakes, sharing: “So, you know, Phil was a little bit older than some of the candidates there. He had an existing business that was established. It was doing very well.
“I think every time he went in the boardroom, he didn’t throw other people under the bus massively. He always backed himself.
“And I think that’s probably part of the reason why he did get through to the final. It’s because his business was so put to the forefront of his argument as to why he should stay.
“He was like, ‘Listen, I may not be great at the task, but guess what? I’m good at what I do with my actual business day to day.’
However, Rochelle does agree that there was a bias towards Phil.
“There were so many other candidates that I felt didn’t get a fair chance,” she added.
“Like the first time they were ever brought back into the boardroom, they were sent home over him. So it just made it very clear that there was something that Lord Sugar liked about him.”
As for herself, the businesswoman thinks she made it to the final two out of 18 candidates because of her integrity.
“One thing that I always made sure I did was just stay true to myself,” she admitted.
“I think that Lord Sugar was a very good judge of character. I think that he’s not just looking for how well you do on the task.
“He’s looking for like how well you handle yourself in that process.
“I’ve had a business for so long and that I wasn’t just there for like clout or fame, which I think a few people were. I think he sees that really early on.
“Always have accountability because integrity is everything. I know it sounds like crazy that I didn’t actually see other people as my competition, I just focused on what I was doing.
“I really struggled to like throw other people under the bus. I always just look at myself and reflect on myself. I want to be a better person than the person that I was yesterday.
“Lord Sugar is going to have to become your business partner. If you have clearly made a mistake and you’ve not owned up to it and instead turned around and said it wasn’t me, it was someone else.
“He’s thinking, I can’t bring that into my team. I can’t bring that into my life.”
One year on from participating on the BBC One show, Rochelle feels even more focused on her business than ever.
She joked that it was hard to slow down after getting used to being issued new daily tasks for months on The Apprentice.
Besides running The Dollshouse in Milton Keynes, the mum-of-two has also started a podcast with her best friend.
The pair use 2 Peas One Podcast to discuss what it’s like being a businesswoman and mother at the same time.
THE Apprentice has been a fan favourite ever since it burst onto the box in 2005.
Here we take a look at five of the biggest moments over the years on the hit BBC One show.
Tim Campbell – Former London Underground transport manager Tim Campbell won the first series of the reality show in 2005. He is now one of Lord Sugar’s aides on the show.
Sarah Lynn and James White – For the first and only time in the show’s history, both finalists were crowned winners in 2017.
Amy Anzel – Season 16’s fired candidate Amy Anzel was BANNED from the final celebration show, after a tit-for-tat exchange over Lord Sugar’s mocking tweets.
Michelle Dewberry – Telecoms consultant Michelle Dewberry won the second series of the show in 2006. However, after winning a six-figure job with Lord Sugar she lasted just four months before she sensationally quit.
Selena Waterman-Smith – We’re used to tensions running high in the boardroom, but in 2015 a disagreement between two candidates spilled over – for the first time – into a physical bust-up. Events manager Selina Waterman-Smith was given a verbal warning by show bosses for her role in an off-camera scrap with Charleine Wain.
