The Apprentice viewers were left very confused as it was revealed that Dean Franklin was the official winner of the BBC show after a huge twist and a second winner
The Apprentice has ended the season with two winners after a secret second business partner was revealed.
Millions tuned in as Lord Sugar declared Dean Franklin “hired” tonight, edging out Anisa Khan in the final showdown. This victory secures Dean a whopping £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar, along with priceless business advice.
However, Dean’s company, ADL Air Conditioning, is co-owned by him and his close mate Alex Scott. Alex kept the business afloat while Dean competed in the BBC series, and now he’ll reap the rewards of Lord Sugar’s investment. This means both Dean and Alex are on track to become millionaires in the coming years.
A jubilant Dean, 35, from Essex, joked: “Alex has won The Apprentice! He is over the moon with it. You know, it’s a massive opportunity for him. He’s reaping the benefits from it, and he ain’t even been on the show. So it was a win-win for Alex.”
On a more serious note, he added: “I started this company with him, and I’m going to finish it with him, we’re going to do this all together. And I think you need someone who you can trust in business, and Alex is that person.
“I think he’s always supported me. He’s always pushed me to do more things. And he had to then run the business whilst I was away on The Apprentice, which he obviously struggled with, because it was a lot. He wasn’t only dealing with his phone. He’s dealing with my phone because I left him it and he’s dealing with a lot. And it was a summer as well, so that didn’t help!”
The partnership was briefly touched upon during the semi-finals, where it was explained that Lord Sugar would acquire the stake in their company held by Dean and Alex’s wives, while both men would retain their stakes and director roles.
The outcome may have surprised some viewers, given Dean’s series of blunders during the semi-final interview stage. He claimed that everyone needs air conditioning “now more than ever, especially with the increase in climate control” instead of climate change, and later referred to it as the climate zone.
Furthermore, business expert Mike Soutar presented a photo Dean had posted on social media, featuring a sex object attached to an air conditioning unit. A visibly embarrassed Dean explained that they had been working in a sex shop and thought it would be “quite funny”.
However, Soutar was unimpressed, stating that it didn’t portray him as a “trusted organisation”.
Despite these mistakes, Lord Sugar remained undeterred, and Dean’s company already generates substantial profits from its Essex base. They now hope to scale up their operations to earn millions.
Lord Sugar, who was torn between Dean’s firm and Anisa’s pizza venture, concluded the episode by stating: “This is the way I see it. Dean, through the process you’ve been quite good. There’ve been a few rocky moments where you remained in it by the skin of your teeth, but do I have the confidence in the residential market?
“As opposed to food where everyone’s got to eat, and a £10, £12 pizza is affordable to most people. That’s where I am at the moment. Given it deep consideration. I’m going to say that, Dean you’re going to be my business partner.”
Since The Apprentice was filmed last year, Dean and Alex have already expanded their team and secured an office, a development viewers saw Dean request in the finale. And business is thriving to the point they are nearing outgrowing their current space.
Dean shared: “There is a lot to do, and our roles are going to change, because we both used to be on the tools, we’re both now off the tools. We’ve got engineers out doing the fitting, and we’re out doing the quotes and running the operation really.
“I’ve currently got a hub and an office so but believe it or not, I think we have, we’ve outgrown this already, and we’re going to be looking at somewhere else very soon.
“I don’t think we’ll be millionaires soon, but we will hopefully be turning over some big figures and earning a good, a good profit. Yeah, that’s the goal.”
He further stated: “Now it comes to a point where the business is sort of bursting at the seams, as I said in the show, I do need a bit of help and guidance on how I can take it to the next level and what I can do, and Lord Sugar is the perfect man for that.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
