Mortgage broker competes to be The Apprentice

A mortgage broker from Cheshire is among the contenders for the title of Sir Alan Sugar’s Apprentice.

Christian Farrell, 28, a former Commando in the Royal Marines, is the first mortgage broker to feature in the reality TV series. He will be joined by 15 other aspiring whizz-kids including overseas property developer Jamie Lester, also 28.

Farrell expressed great confidence in his own abilities, saying when interviewed about his hopes for the programme: "Everything I've ever done I've succeeded in, I wouldn't do it if I wasn't good."

Lester owned two properties by the age of 23 and launched his own business at 24, turning over £1m in two and a half years.

This will be the sixth series of The Apprentice. The show has been dominated by business development managers and marketing executives, although it has featured a number of estate agents, property developers and financial advisers.

However, this is the first time a mortgage broker has competed for the £100,000 a year job as Sugar's Apprentice.