News about Karren Brady

'On air in ten minutes...' It was a Monday lunchtime in September 1999 and we were about to go live on ITV with the very first episode (pictured) of a new daytime show, Loose Women. I looked across at Derek Hallworth, our unflappable studio director, who had visibly paled. 'We have no sound going out of the building,' he grimaced.

SPORTS AGENDA: Manchester United's drive to increase revenues has led to a rare increase in the capacity at Old Trafford.  Since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at the start of the year, the club have carried out a wide-ranging review not only identifying areas where savings can be made but also aimed at ensuring revenues are as high as possible.  As part of previous plans, entrances were widened at the scoreboard end of the ground to cater for an extended platform for fans who use wheelchairs. 

We're a nation hooked on reality TV - from the silliness of The Masked Singer to the terror of pro cooks undertaking the Skills test on MasterChef: The Professionals. However, the on-screen drama often gets a helping hand from behind-the-scenes tricks and tips, with careful pre-prep, experts on hand and steely judges who dissolve into much softer characters off camera. (Pictured from left: Race Across the World, Bake Off, The Masked Singer. Inset: Karren Brady)

Baroness Karren Brady of Knightsbridge CBE, 55, who is the vice chairman of West Ham United and advisor to Lord Sugar on BBC 's The Apprentice, visited Dr Rita Rakus at her Knightsbridge-based clinic for ENDLOFTX. The non-invasive process uses a laser-emitting wire to tighten the skin - promising collagen regeneration with a 95 per cent success rate in skin tightening, according to the clinic. (Karren is pictured before on the left and top inset. The right image and bottom inset shows Karren after the procedure.)

The gym owner, 28, won over Lord Sugar with her work ethic and business plan, sparking his decision to invest £250,000 of his own money into her firm and become a partner. Her victory in Thursday night's final, in which she beat pie shop owner Phil Turner, 37, only enhances the long-running BBC1 series' reputation for championing women in business. Indeed, the billionaire tycoon's sidekick Karren Brady says the show is a 'great platform' for female entrepreneurs to shine and has helped to break down boundaries, as well as extinguish tired old prejudices. Here MailOnline takes a look at the women Lord Sugar has taken on during his recent all-female hiring spree.

Karren Brady has revealed West Ham agreed a deal with Manchester City to sign Cole Palmer last summer before Chelsea moved in for him.  Palmer arrived at Stamford Bridge for £42.5million back in the summer after he left boyhood club City in pursuit of more first-team game time, and has found just that in west London. Since arriving as past of another expensive transfer window for the Blues, Palmer has emerged as the key man up top for Chelsea, and netted four goals as the Blues hammered Everton earlier this week. 

After The Apprentice final, Karren and Tim Campbell joined host Tom Allen on the BBC show spin off after Rachel Woolford secured the £250,000 business partnership with Lord Sugar.  However before Tom welcomed Rachel or runner up Phil Turner on to the show, he made sure to congratulate Karren on her recent family news. 

Tim Campbell stole the show during Thursday's episode of You're Fired as he stunned fans after revealing his incredible ripped physique.  The businessman, who won the first ever series of The Apprentice back in 2005, clearly frequents the gym when he is not in the boardroom, as he showed off his fantastic body.  After Rachel Woolford was announced at the winner of the BBC show having secured the £250,000 business partnership with Lord Sugar, Tim and Karren Brady joined host Tom Allen on the spin off show. 

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: The finalists, gym owner Rachel Woolford (right) and pie shop boss Phil Turner (left), were smarming up to him as though a bit of fake politeness might earn them first dibs on the family silver in the cutlery drawer. That's always an unedifying sight. As he announced the finale and encouraged the contenders to pick their teams of ex-apprentices, Great Uncle Alan looked more like Young Mr Grace on Are You Being Served? He shuffled into the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with Karren Brady and Tim Campbell on either side - pretending to be his business assistants but possibly his nurses. I'm glad I wasn't there - the temptation to call out, 'I'm free!' would have been overwhelming.

It's set to be a close competition after Phil, 37, pitched his family-run company, Turner's Pies, which has been past down through generations since the 1930s, and Rachel, 27, came in strong with an offering of her fitness boutique North Studio. The pair have been chosen by Lord Sugar and his aids baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell after undergoing a gruelling 12-week process and Thursday night's tough interview round, where their proposals were picked apart by business tycoons including Claude Littner. Father-of-two Phil, who has a disastrous record after losing eight out of 10 tasks, hopes to win over Lord Sugar with his Sussex based pie shops, after saying his 'biggest inspiration' in life are his hardworking parents. As a keen marathon runner, Rachel aims to outperform Phil during the show's final with her fitness studio, which offers her clients a range of classes from reformer Pilates to yoga.

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Charm, the magical quality of being likeable, is a superpower. When it fails, the result is as catastrophic as Superman losing his ability to fly - at 80,000ft. Tre Lowe, perhaps the most charismatic candidate ever to pitch for Lord Sugar's money on The Apprentice (BBC1), crashed out of the sky in a long, screaming nosedive, during the interview round - the one genuinely entertaining segment of this aged format. Tre wasn't Superman, just Wile E Coyote discovering there was nothing beneath him but a bottomless abyss. As his luck ran out, he almost turned to the camera with a pitiful gaze and a sign that said, 'Goodbyeeeaaarrrgghhh!' Tre never stopped reminding us that he had a Top Three hit with Body Groove, back in 2000. His smiling confidence has carried him aloft during ten weeks of blunders and in-fighting. But when he presented his business idea to Sugar's team of interrogators, it proved worthless. He dreamed of marketing 'testosterone shots', fruit smoothies crammed with vitamins and herbs to maximise a chap's macho potential.

The Apprentice 2024 has reached the long-awaited interviews stage, with the final five set to be grilled by Lord Sugar's team of experts. Flo Edwards, Dr Paul Midha, Phil Turner, Rachel Woolford and Tre Lowe will answer the series' toughest questions in a bid to made it to next week's final. It's an episode that has been the downfall of many a candidate, as they struggle to back their business plan when questioned about every last detail.

The Apprentice stars Harpreet Kaur and Akshay Thakrar have opened up on their upcoming wedding, revealing they are planning a three days of ceremonies. Winner of the 2022 series Harpreet, 32, got engaged to fellow contestant Akshay, 31, in May last year after he proposed with a display of red roses on a London rooftop. And the couple have revealed that their time on The Apprentice will be referenced at their nuptials through their guestlist.

Lord Sugar 's close aid, 74, joins the likes of Mike Soutar, Linda Plant, and Claudine Collins on the panel of terrifying interviewers, who grill the remaining contestants on their business plans. And Claude, who stepped down from being a permanent fixture on the BBC series in 2022 due to health reasons, makes up for lost time, with candidate Tre Lowe, 49, describing his interrogation as 'sending lambs to slaughter.' After 18 years as Apprentice boss, Lord Sugar, 77, takes note of the long-lasting friendship he shares with Claude, telling his confidant, 'You look just as young as when we first started.'

On Thursday, Karren Brady revealed that she had a "extraordinary" birthday due to the arrival of her newborn grandson. Sophia Peschisolido, 27, the Apprentice star's daughter, celebrated her son last week, just one week before her 55th birthday, which was on April 4. On Sunday afternoon, Karren's influencer daughter, the eldest of her two children with retired footballer Paul Peschisolido, announced the birth of her son but had yet to reveal his name.

On Thursday, Karren Brady had more to celebrate than just a birthday as she dined out with her family. The businesswoman, who died on April 4, took the opportunity to offer her baby grandson his first public outing just four days after his birth. Sophia Peschisolido, Brady's eldest of her two children with former footballer Paul Peschisolido, announced the birth on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday, the influencer, 25, announced her joyous news on Instagram as she posted a series of sweet snaps of her newborn son and fiancé Frankie Makin. Sophia's son can be seen sporting an adorable baby growl that says, 'welcome to the world.'

On Thursday's episode of The Apprentice, Noor Bouzaine was the new contender in Lord Sugar's firing line. After the company mogul put her forward as Project Manager for the challenge, the jewellery owner from Liverpool was sent packing. Contestants were given the opportunity to brand an electric vehicle and develop an advertisement campaign before pitching to a panel of industry experts.

On Thursday, viewers of BBC One were so baffled by the investments into competitors' 'good' products that some accused the show of being'scripted.' The 16 remaining business hopefuls were given the opportunity to create demos for an escape room-style video game to sell to potential buyers, who pledged £170,000 to the winning product but only £50,000 to the losing side. After a narrow escape in week two, Asif Munaf, who was dropped from the You're Fired spin-off due to "a slew of anti-Jewish" remarks, was sent packing by Lord Sugar.

After suffering injuries after a cycling crash three years ago, Apprentice Claude Littner has lost his position on the show. Before being replaced by series one champion Tim Campbell, the businessman, 74, was an advisor to Lord Sugar alongside Karren Brady. However, Claude confirmed that it was "not his call" when he returned to the boardroom, while informing his followers that he has been "fully recovered."

Karren Brady has uncovered what really goes on in the Apprentice boardroom even though the cameras are not recording. On BBC One, the hit series has returned to life, and followers are already celebrating 'one of the finest moments of all time' on the show, as Dr Asif Munaf prematurely commemorated a boardroom triumph after an untimely blunder. In truth, Dr Asif and the boys' team suffered a humiliating loss, as Lord Sugar's aide Tim Campbell revealed, with Karren scornfully following on.

The latest series of The Apprentice has off to a zany start, with this year's candidates shocking viewers by using crumble topping on fishcakes. In a first look video from Thursday's episode, it seems that things are getting a little easier for the Girls as they face yet another food-related gaffe while making miniature cheesecakes for a company function. The girls make another mistake when mixing pretzels with dye that stains their teeth black while trying out new recipes.

After one candidate made a blunder in the boardroom, the Apprentice supporters were left clucking on Thursday. Dr. Asif Munaf, 34, of Sheffield, put the wrath of Lord Sugar into his hands when he mistakenly miscalculated the funds on his first job, resulting in a premature celebration. The boys team and the girls team went to the Scottish Highlands to host an away day, determining who would walk away with the most money after their investments and, most importantly, any client refunds were processed.

Since the new season began on Thursday, the Apprentice has seen a decline in viewership by more than 1.2 million viewers relative to last year. With a new group of contenders competing to raise Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment, Oliver Medforth became the first candidate to be fired, the BBC show returned to screens. According to overnight reports, the launch attracted an average of just 3.6 million viewers, down 1.2 million from the same time last year.