September 24, 2019 3.00 pm This story is over 57 months old

Stamford-based businesswoman entering BBC’s The Apprentice

Can she become Lord Sugar’s business partner?
American-born Marianne Rawlins, who lives in Lincolnshire, is among the candidates in the 2019 series of The Apprentice. | Photo: BBC

An American-born woman living in Lincolnshire admits she needs to “dial down her American-ness” as she prepares to battle 15 other candidates in the upcoming series of The Apprentice.

Series 15 of The Apprentice will air weekly on Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One starting on October 2. It will be followed as usual by You’re Fired on BBC Two.

Among the 2019 candidates is 36-year-old risk management consultant Marianne Rawlins, who lives in Stamford.

Marianne moved from the US to the UK in 2017 and believes conflict management is one of her strongest skills.

She said: “I’m definitely the epitome of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ because what you see is not what you get.”

The Apprentice class of 2019. Photo: BBC

Marianne will be up against seven other women and eight men from a wide variety of business backgrounds including beauty, bedding, recruitment and desserts. They will be competing to win a life-changing £250,000 investment for their business and the chance to have Lord Sugar as their business partner.

Marianne becomes the second Lincolnshire female business contestant on the show in as many years. Lincolnshire business owner Khadija Kalifa survived boardroom grilling to finish in a respectable fourth place in last year’s show. Sian Gabbidon came out on top in 2018 to win £250,000 investment in her swimwear line.

Click here to find out who else is in the running to be hired by Lord Sugar in 2019.