The Apprentice 2026 winner Karishma Vijay has revealed she thought Lord Sugar was going to hire both her and runner-up Pascha Myhill in the final moments of the episode.
Tonight (16 April), saw Karishma and Pascha go head-to-head in one finale task in a bid to win Lord Alan Sugar’s investment. Supported by returning candidates, the finalists were tasked with launching their business to a room full of industry experts and even past winners.
After pitching to the masses, developing a trailer and logo for their brand, it all came down to one final plea in the boardroom as both candidates shared why they thought they were deserving of the £250,000 cash injection into their business.
After much deliberation, Lord Sugar decided to invest in Karishma, despite him not having a bad word to say against Pascha’s pitch, suggesting as though he could have gone in a different direction – something he’s only done once before.
In an exclusive chat with Radio Times, Karishma shared she thought at a point Lord Sugar was going to hire them both: “I think it needs to be said, I am so proud of Pascha. In my head, I also thought he was going to pick both of us. But ultimately, what a big win for both girls here.”
Lord Sugar has only ever hired two candidates in the final once before in 2017, with the business mogul stating he “genuinely couldn’t decide” between the two finalists.
But this time round, he continued with just one sole winner, something Karishma described as a “surreal” moment.
“Not to sound cliché, but for me, it was [in the] very first boardroom Lord Sugar told me to get to the point and then a couple of boardrooms [later] Lord Sugar was trying to remember my name, so I always used to think, ‘Whatever it’s okay’,” she explained.
“For him to say and point to me and say those words and say my name, and have a smile on his face and be so happy about his decision, he knows I’ll make him money. So I feel like we both, in that moment, connected and I feel like [that] even on a very personal level, completely leaving the money out of it.”
Karishma continued: “I think I have so much in common with him in terms of our background, in terms of where we started, where we are now, where we’re headed. I know he’s been in the game longer than I’ve been alive, but I see a little part of me in him.
“I feel like we’re both just so real, and we keep it very real in business. And I just feel so proud that he’s seen me in that moment. He’s seen my potential, he’s seen what I can do, he saw my personality come out as well in the final and he chose me, and I was so happy!”
While Pascha didn’t leave with Lord Sugar’s investments, she has plenty to focus on as she continues to build her business
“Coming the runner up, either way for me, I’m so, so proud of Karishma,” Pascha told Radio Times. “I think she fully deserved the win and I went on thinking I’m probably going to get fired in week 4. I really didn’t believe myself enough to think that I’d even get to the final. So getting to the final is actually such a massive win for me.
“And having that one on one with Lord Sugar, he sees me now [and] he said stay in touch, so I think for me, what I’ve always said to myself is, by 25 I’m going to open up a company. And he asked me that in the boardroom, ‘If I don’t invest in new Pascha, then are you still sticking to that?’
“And 100 per cent, I think I’m going to take my time to really learn and connect with the recruitment world and the care industry as a whole. And 00 per cent that’s that’s still something that I’m willing to do by myself or with a investment.”
The Apprentice is available to watch on catch-up on BBC iPlayer.
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