Inside The Apprentice star Margaret Mountford's life from BBC exit to 'cat faeces' illness and unexpected new career

The Apprentice prima Lord Sugar’s right-hand pistillate whitethorn present beryllium Baroness Karren Brady but successful the show’s aboriginal days, it utilized to beryllium nary nonsense Margaret Mountford

The Apprentice has returned for play 19 but what is determination to cognize astir archetypal prima Margaret Mountford and wherever is she now?

The iconic BBC concern amusement has been airing for astir 20 years, giving entrepreneurs the accidental to alteration their lives by scoring a £250,000 concern and mentorship from the antheral himself.

While Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campell MBE are the billionaire’s aides today, erstwhile the amusement archetypal started, helium had Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford connected either broadside of him successful the boardroom.

Now, with The Apprentice backmost connected the tiny screens, fans person grown funny regarding the beingness of Margaret Mountford and her existent whereabouts.

Pre-The Apprentice

Born successful County Down successful Ireland, Margaret was educated astatine Strathearn School successful Belfast earlier going connected to survey astatine the University of Cambridge and past worked astatine a London metropolis instrumentality steadfast arsenic a firm lawyer.

She was a spouse astatine ineligible steadfast Herbert Smith which was astir the clip she met Lord Sugar portion she was doing ineligible enactment for his institution Amstrad’s flotation connected the Stock Exchange.

After retiring successful 1999, she went connected to go a non-executive manager connected the Amstrad board.

Health

Back successful 2012, Margaret opened up to the Daily Mail astir her health, sharing that successful her 30s, she had benign lumps “cut retired of my neck”.

She explained: “They were a grounds of an unwellness I wasn’t alert I’d had called toxoplasmosis — a bacterial corruption caused by parasites recovered successful under-cooked nutrient and feline faeces.

“I couldn’t recognize however I’d picked it up arsenic I hadn’t eaten earthy nutrient and didn’t person a feline astatine the time.”

Toxoplasmosis is simply a communal corruption successful the UK which affects up to a 3rd of adults but reported cases are low, due to the fact that astir radical don’t acquisition immoderate symptoms.

The Apprentice exit

The 73-year-old starred successful the archetypal 5 seasons of The Apprentice but her spot was taken up by Baroness Karren Brady the pursuing year.

She explained that she had near truthful she could enactment connected her PhD successful papyrology, the survey of past lit astatine University College London.

Margaret did instrumentality to behaviour the interviews connected the BBC amusement joked to What’s On TV that she was fired.

"They didn't inquire maine back," Mountford explained. "I accidental I was fired!

"No, evidently they weren't going to privation maine to transportation connected doing interviews forever, and nor did I privation to bash them forever."

Post The Apprentice

Margaret has near the world of showbusiness for bully and present has a precise antithetic career.

Putting her PhD to bully use, she is present connected the Steering Committee for the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.

In summation to this, she became the chairwoman for the British non-profit organisation Egypt Exploration Society.

Margaret is inactive connected manus to assistance young concern minds though arsenic past year, she attended a careers lawsuit astatine Edinburgh University wherever she was offering students tips connected however to onshore their imagination job.

The Apprentice play 19 premieres connected Thursday, January 30, astatine 9pm connected BBC One and BBC iPlayer.