Monday, 18 July 2011

The Apprentice: Inventor Tom Pellereau is surprise winner as he beats Helen Milligan in the final

Lord Alan Sugar hires his business partner

Tom Pellereau | The Apprentice 2011 | Pictures | Photos | New

Tom Pellereau invented the curved nail file

The Apprentice: Tom Pellereau wins in exciting and slightly bonkers final

Tom Pellereau was hired by Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice last night.

The kooky inventor, who lost 8 tasks out of 11, won a £250,000 investment from the Amstrad boss after impressing in the final interview with his plan for an office chair that prevents back pain.

'I've got a huge number of ideas, of which the chair was one,' says Tom, 32.

'Lord Sugar and I will take a break and look through all the products and we'll really spend some time to devise the business plan.

'I'm very much going to listen to him. I've also got a lot of other ideas that I've presented, which may well be coming through.

'So it's a question of watch this space - but there will definitely be some very exciting products coming shortly.'

Sales and marketing manager Jim Eastwood, 32, was first to be fired by Lord Sugar in last night's final, followed by 21-year-old organic skin care businesswoman Susan Ma.

Tom eventually beat executive assistant and favourite Helen Milligan, 30, who'd been on the winning team 10 times but failed to attract the mogul with her national concierge service idea.

'I am a product man in my heart,' explains Lord Sugar.

'I've made products and sold them to retailers, that's in my blood and that's what Tom is all about.

'It's just a gut feeling and I've done a lot of things in my life on gut feeling.'

Helen Louise Milligan | The Apprentice 2011 | Pictures | Photos | New