Stamford’s Marianne bids to become The Apprentice

Marianne Rawlins is one of the latest batch of recruits hoping to avoid hearing the dreaded words ‘You’re Fired’ on the hit BBC 1 show.

The 36-year-old is originally from the USA, but moved across the Atlantic in 2017, and is the owner of a risk management consultancy.

According to her profile, she said she ‘admits that she doesn’t have a filter and may need to “dial down her American-ness” and take a step back, as she says she can be too direct.’

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.”

To win the prize, Marianne will have to impress tycoon Lord Sugar, and his assistants Baroness Brady and Claude Littner.

There are 15 other contestants, including 20-year-old para-athlete and motivational speaker Souleyman Bah, who after diagnosed with Retina Pigmentosa at age six, says that he’s inspired by late musician Ray Charles because “he made blindness cool and achieved immense success despite his disability,’ and 30-year-old bakery owner Carina Lepore, who says dhe believes it’s “written in the stars” that she’ll be Lord Sugar’s next Apprentice.

Marianne is the latest contestant from Peterborough and the surrounding area to attempt to win the show.

Plumber Joseph Valente won series 11 of the contest in 2015, with Lord Sugar investing £250,000 in his business, Impra Gas.

Last year Khadija Khalifa made the final five of the show, but missed out on the big prize when she was told her eco-cleaning business plan was ‘too optimistic.’

In 2014 market trader and Peterborough City Council marketing officer Nurun Ahmed launched her bid to become The Apprentice, but was ‘fired’ by Lord Sugar in the third week.

The new series of The Apprentice starts at 9pm on BBC1 on Wednesday, October 2.