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 The Apprentice series two
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The Apprentice - series two - starts 9.00pm on Wednesday 22 February 2006 on Â鶹ԼÅÄ TWO
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Meet the girls
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Alexa Tilley
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Age: 28
Qualifications: BA in Economics
Career: Management Consultant
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: London
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Cambridge Emmanuel-educated Alexa is one of the youngest candidates at 28.
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An accomplished marathon runner, keen cyclist and captain of her local tennis club she is definitely signed up for the long haul.
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She is an enthusiastic character, a "party person" and an optimist.
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Shyness clearly isn't a family trait as Alexa's cousin is Little Britain star Matt Lucas.
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Alexa figures she has nothing to lose because, "I'm not one of those people who really cares a lot what people think of me."
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Alexa was MD of a Young Enterprise company while still doing her A Levels, and is now involved in Young Enterprise itself as a volunteer.
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She says: "I think that the Government should work hard to ensure that gifted students are encouraged to reach for the heights, whatever their financial position."
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Jo Cameron
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Age: 35
Qualifications: Masters in Human Resources Management
Career: HR Manager
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: Leamington (born Coventry)
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Jo used to stack shelves at Asda whilst at university.
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"They used to put me on the heavy aisles, such as dog food and soap powder as I was the youngest and fittest there. I took great pride in getting the washing powder lined up nicely in a row," she says.
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Fast talking and exuberant, Jo sees her greatest business strength as "my passion and energy which makes me fight for what I believe in."
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She is happy to admit that most people see her as "a bit mad", and acknowledges that her single mindedness is also her weakness - "I'm hard work, I'm high energy. Being with me all day will wear you out."
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She was recently made redundant from MG Rover where she was UK Sales and Technical Support Manager.
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She says: "I am not a victim. I hate victims."
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Karen Bremner
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Age: 34
Qualifications: Dip in Legal Practice and LLB Degree
Career: Lawyer
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: Newbigging, Scotland (born Canada)
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As a working mother she says: "There is still a huge prejudice against mothers who want to work. The Government is making all the right moves but until employers see the benefits of working mothers nothing will move on."
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She counts her ability to focus on the matter at hand as one of her strengths and takes a pragmatic view of the fact that her participation in the show will separate her from her son during filming.
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"I have to look at the long term," she says, "and he is 18 months old, he won't remember."
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Not afraid to put herself in the firing line Jo describes herself as "very forthright", and says that she entered the show with no game plan at all.
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She is also a qualified glider pilot.
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She says: "My only weakness is that I don't think I have any weaknesses."
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Michelle Dewberry
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Age: 26
Qualifications: GCSEs and professional qualifications
Career: Telecoms Consultant
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: London (born Hull)
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Michelle has always recognised the value of hard work and used to regularly combine her studies with three jobs in a day during her teenage years, including stints as a check out girl and retail assistant.
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Her savvy business skills and determination soon saw her rise head and shoulders above her peers.
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After managing several large global projects, Michelle embarked on a successful city career as a freelance consultant, at the tender age of 24.
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Michelle is confident that her ambitious and outgoing nature along with her enthusiasm and honesty will serve her well.
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"I want a successful business person to mentor me and take me to the next level. I like Sir Alan's no-nonsense approach and admire the empire that he has built up from scratch," she says.
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"I'm passionate, I'm hard working, I'm motivated, I'm focused and I'm very, very driven."
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Nargis Aga
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Age: 38
Qualifications: Honours Degree in Pharmacy
Career: PhD Student
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: London (Born Bangladesh)
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Tough talking, single mother, Nargis says that she relished the change from her normal working environment that The Apprentice offered.
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Hard-working Nargis once held down two jobs throughout her pregnancy whilst studying pharmacy.
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She is aware that she is highly opinionated and is reconciled to coming across as "a bit harsh".
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Whatever the outcome she believes that she always makes the right decisions because "I'm fair and I see things for what they are".
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Born in Bangladesh, she is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
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She has also worked as locum pharmacist for prisons and hospitals.
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She says: "I speak clearly, I bring my level up or down depending on whom I'm speaking to."
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Ruth Badger
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Age: 27
Qualifications: seven GCSEs
Career: Sales Manager
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: Wolverhampton
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Straight-talking Ruth left school at 16 and took on numerous part time jobs including football steward at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, local administrator for the Department Of Social Security and plenty of bar work.
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She presently enjoys considerable success as a senior management executive.
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She is a pragmatic over-achiever who has no time for business school rhetoric.
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She sees her candour as an asset: "I tell the truth. Unfortunately, with me, what you see is what you get."
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And her natural instinct for sales: "I can sell anything. I love selling."
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She says: "Every pound I have, I've worked for and I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
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"And there are people in the show who have never done a day's work in their life and if they cross me they'll pay the price."
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Sharon McAllister
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Age: 30
Qualifications: BA in Corporate Communication
Career: Business Lecturer
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Town: Stirling
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One of three mothers on the show.
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In her normal job Sharon says she has a reputation for "delivering the undeliverable" but "gets bored easily and needs challenges".
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Nevertheless, her Apprentice strategy is to present her self as "the boring one" – though in reality she says she's a dare-devil who likes scuba and sky diving.
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Sharon spent a year working in Tenerife as a rep with Airtours.
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Her five-year-old son is a fan of the show and says he wants to be Sir Alan's apprentice.
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She is currently Head of Department at Forth Valley College
and says: "I am more ambitious than ever and I now believe in myself more than I ever have."
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