Marnie Swindells have hit back at accusations that she 'ruined' the final of The Apprentice, with an Instagram post that was said to have 'given away' the result weeks in advance.
After two months of TV gold as the latest batch of candidates battled it out for Lord Sugar's investment, the new series of the long-running BBC show came to an end on Thursday night, as the doors to the business mogul's board room opened for a final time. Having seen off the rest of the final five in the dreaded interviews round in March 16's penultimate episode, Marnie and rival Rochelle Anthony made a last ditch bid for victory in front of millions of viewers.
The hour long Apprentice final saw Marnie and Rochelle make their business pitches, after help from fired candidates to brings their ideas to life. The two entrepreneurs bid to follow in the footsteps of past Apprentice winners, including Tim Campbell who once again oversaw the final alongside Karren Brady, having stepped in for Claude Littner for the second series in a row.
Lord Sugar joined industry experts in the audiences to see both Marnie and Rochelle deliver their pitches and, in the end, it was boxing gym owner Marnie that he gave his £250,000 investment to, telling her he was "a gambler" whose known for "trying new horizon."
The majority of Apprentice viewers agreed with the result but, a few claim to have already known the outcome, due to Instagram posts made by Marnie about the opening of her Bronx gym earlier this month. The 28-year-old made a series of uploads to her Insta grid as she declared the London gym 'open for business.'
The posts were commented on by several of The Apprentice class of 2023, including runner up Rochelle. And, as Lord Sugar took to Twitter to post about the final, one follower responded: "I can't be the only one the knew she had won from last week ? She posted on her Instagram that her new gym was open and she referenced several times in the process she needs @Lord_Sugar investment to open it."
They ended their frustrated reply: "So yeah, she gave away the result last week," but, hitting back at that accusation, Marnie directly responded: "Nope! I opened that gym entirely separate from Lord Sugar"
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of her Apprentice win, Marnie commented: "What an incredible opportunity and moment for a girl like me to get to a place like this and have become Lord Sugar’s business partner. It feels strange to even say that, but I’m not going to stop saying it because I am so happy.”
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