Yahoo News 'I kept my grief a secret after losing my dad a week before The Apprentice'
The Apprentice's Foluso Falade has revealed she was secretly grieving her father on the show, but walked away the proud to nurture her own young apprentices.
The Apprentice's Foluso Falade has revealed she was secretly grieving for her father while competing in the BBC show. He died just a week before she started filming, and admits she was holding back tears on camera.
The project manager from Manchester was sent home by Lord Sugar in the quarter final in a double firing with Steve Darken after their team's vegan cheese brand proved to be a flop. But Falade is determined to rule her own boardroom with her inspirational social enterprise, nurturing entrepreneurial spirit in children and teens.
Lord Sugar fired me over my Big Softie branding for vegan cheese, but I stand by it. I think Big Softie is a brilliant name for soft cheese. And the packaging was the best I could do in the time. One mind trying to come up with a brand, a logo, a box and a video — it was exhausting.
Maybe I was a bit too much of a softie. I went in with the angle of 'I'm happy to let everyone shine. I just want to shine brighter.' The Apprentice isn't my environment. You need to drag everyone down by their hair, and I think I came in a little bit more 'Let's all win guys.' So if I could do anything differently I wish I came in gloves off from the beginning. I would love to have spoken up more in the sense of actually defending myself. But if I'm too nice to win, I'll take that.
Choosing who I would like to see win it now, I'm torn between being a Northerner and being Nigerian, so I'm going to pick both. I would love to see Rachel or Tre win. Tre is so confident but not necessarily in an arrogant way. He's just so self-assured so I really look up to someone like Tre. He's so settled in who he is.
I understand from a viewers perspective why people would be confused Phil is still in the competition after so many losses. We actually had a conversation in the house where I said, 'I don't get you Phil!' We just agreed we're different people with different approaches to business. In the house we're screaming and singing The Greatest Showman together, but in that boardroom he was public enemy number one as far as I'm concerned! I'll stay in touch with pretty much everyone. We just bonded.
Watching it back now I can see I was genuinely holding back tears most of the time. It was very tough for me. My dad actually passed away just under two weeks before the process started. I found out I had got on the show, I was packing my bags and then he passed away on my mum's birthday. So it was a terrible time and I was ready to walk away. But my family wanted, and I know my dad would have wanted me to do it. So I stuck to it.
I wouldn't say I was putting my grief on hold. I was grieving through it. I didn't tell Lord Sugar, I didn't tell Tim [Campbell] or Karren [Brady]. I didn't even tell the other candidates, I just kept it to myself. Some days I only had 30 per cent to give, and the other candidates may have had a hundred, and I just had to push myself. Eventually I did open up to the other candidates. I was grieving, I was struggling being away from my family at that time, and I stuck to it. Which is why I walk away from the entire experience so proud of myself.
Another big thing I have to be proud of is my business, Brandin'it. As far as I understand, it's the first social enterprise to ever get on the show in 18 years, which again is a huge achievement. The business teaches teenagers and young people how to design their own products and brand it and then we give them a marketplace to sell it online.
They can literally make their own pocket money by selling their own designs. I really want to push the entrepreneurship regardless of the wealth gap, because even Lord Sugar started on a market stall. So we call ourselves the modern day lemonade stand.
Lord Sugar has always said that The Junior Apprentice has been favourite. Well, I'll be making my own boardroom mark my words. We'll be doing our own Apprentice with some amazing young people.
Foluso Falade told her story to Albertina Lloyd.
The Apprentice continues with the semi-final, interviews week, on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 11th April.
Read more: The Apprentice
Watch: Lord Sugar has started work on a TV drama inspired by his own life story
