'The Apprentice' 2022 winner chosen after gruelling final challenge

Lord Sugar has named The Apprentice 2022 winner and his newest business partner as Harpreet Kaur.

The 30-year-old from West Yorkshire fought off tough competition from fellow finalist Kathryn Louise Burn to win the £250,000 investment in her desserts and cakes business Oh So Yum.

In a final task, Lord Sugar asked Kaur and Burn to present their business plans with the help of some previously-fired contestants, coming up with a digital advertising board, a TV advert and a presentation to industry professionals.

Read more: All the Apprentice winners so far

At the last boardroom, Lord Sugar said: "It is a very, very difficult situation for me…Harpreet I’m not sure whether this business is scalable or whether you are trying to do too much and that’s what I’m worried about at the moment.

"Kathryn, I’m concerned on the longevity of it, and the popularity of it, it’s very hard, this is difficult for me…

"A lot of the companies that I invest in are a start from scratch situation, basically what Kathryn is proposing, so ladies, I think that I’ve decided now… Harpreet, you’re going to be my business partner."

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A thrilled Kaur said: "I cannot believe Lord Sugar has chosen me to be his business partner! I have dreamed of this moment, and it just completely proves that if you work hard and you believe in yourself, dreams do come true."

Burn, 29, had put up an impressive pitch for her business Pyjamily - matching pyjamas for the entire family, including dogs - but fell down on her insistence that a jungle print was still on trend, despite fashion experts at the pitch telling her otherwise.

Aide Karren Brady told Lord Sugar: "She thinks she’s an expert when she’s really just beginning to build her business – when you questioned the jungle trend, she wasn’t having it – the whole point of being your business partner is to take on board your advice."

Both finalists had faced questions about whether the markets they were looking to get into were already saturated, but ultimately, Lord Sugar decided that Kaur's plan was the better bet.

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As the aides advised his final decision, Tim Campbell said of Kaur: "She’s been a really good candidate. Lots of the other people in the process really respect her, they followed her and she’s delivered several times."

But Brady warned: "The question you have to ask yourself is, is it scalable? What is unique that turns her from her two stores to the 100 stores that she has the ambition to be?"

Some of the original group of 16 candidates had returned to form teams for Kaur and Burn in their final task, but squabbles between them threatened to derail the proposals at one point.

Ex-actor Amy Anzel fell out with Harry Mahmood over the directorial skills she felt he was lacking in during their TV ad shoot, while Nick Showering and Navid Sole turned in some bizarre digital boards showing themselves eating Kaur's cakes.

Kaur succeeds the last Apprentice winner Carina Lepore, who also won with a baking business, Dough Artisan Bakehouse in 2019.

The BBC One series has been off-air since Lepore's win because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Watch: Fired Apprentice candidates return to 'help' finalists