'The Apprentice' Winner Is Hired, With Lord Sugar Opting For Joseph Valente's Plumbing Business

This Year's Winning Apprentice Is...

Joseph Valente is the winner of this year's 'The Apprentice', with Lord Sugar opting to put his £250,000 investment into the 25-year-old's plumbing business.

"With my money, my help I think he can go far," said Lord Sugar of his choice. "I'm also excited for Joseph because he is a glowing example of the reason I do this Apprentice process. Here's a young man who got into bother, but has turned his life around."

"Since the day I was expelled from school, I knew I was going to do something big in my life," said Joseph afterwards.

"Lord Sugar was my inspiration, and to be sitting here as his business partner is amazing."

Joseph was expelled from school when he was 14, but has successfully transformed his fortunes, running his own plumbing business which he now hopes to expand with Lord Sugar's investment.

And fans of Joseph's previous look, with pencil moustache, will be disappointed to learn it is permanently gone.

"I think it was an iconic look that helped me stand out," Joseph tells HuffPostUK. "But it did make me look like a second-hand car salesman, and it's time to grow up and look a bit more mature. The moustache is gone."

Joseph has revealed he was inspired in business by reading the autobiography of a certain businessman turned Lord

The final saw Joseph go up against the dating-gaming app concept of his final rival, Vana Koutsomitis, but Joseph proved his ability to think on his feet after taking advice from industry experts, moving away from his original plan of concentrating on renewable energies, to emphasise his reliability and personal service.

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Vana had a much harder time, as she came face to face with the costs of producing the app she needed for her gaming/dating plan. Former series favourite Richard, who was fired last week, was on hand with crucial advice - "Option 1 is you tackle it head on. Option 2 is you don't have another option."

Vana had some problems with funding which even notoriously slick Richard Woods was unable to help her fudge

Vana made a very impressive effort with her presentation, revealing the strength of combining dating apps with gaming apps. However, it was when she broached the subject of additional funding - mentioning the naughty words 'venture capitalism' - that Lord Sugar's brow furrowed, and the music changed.

Joseph preferred to concentrate on his origin story, telling the story of his rise so far from humble beginnings, and the personal nature of his plumbing enterprise.

Vana said afterwards of her experience on the show, "Lord Sugar is number one scariest, Karren is scary just because she gives you this look, and Claude will call you out for your BS."

For the last time this year, meet the 2015 Apprentice candidates and their celebrity lookalikes...

Aisha Kasim

The Apprentice 2015: Celebrity Lookalikes

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