Zara Brownless was tonight named as the winner of Lord Sugar’s Young Apprentice 2010, beating James McCullagh to a £25,000 fund, which will go towards kick-starting her business career.
Zara becomes the second ever Young Apprentice and will now continue to concentrate on her education before further developing her existing film company, following in the footsteps of 2010’s Junior Apprentice winner Arjun Rajyagor.
In this evening’s final, Zara and fellow A-Level student James went head to head in the final task where they had to devise and develop a brand new online video game and an accompanying viral advert before pitching their ideas to industry experts alongside Lord Sugar himself.
The finalists were tasked with creating their own gaming demo; coming up with a name, a playable level and exploring its expansion potential into spin-offs or merchandise as well as filming a visual advert that could go viral and drive gamers to their product.
Zara, joined by a team of former candidates including Ben, Mahamed, Harry M, Gbemi and Haya – developed ‘Piggy Panic’ a platform game which required users to help the main character Porky Pete escape from a butcher.
Meanwhile James, joined by Lewis, Harry H, Lizzie and Hannah – developed ‘Crazy Cabinet’ a game that allowed the player to assume the role of Prime-Minister in a time management challenge.
In the nail-biting final boardroom scene, Lord Sugar expressed just how blown away he was with their efforts as he reflected: “You have to keep reminding yourself that they are only 17, it is spectacular stuff.”
Lending support to Zara, Nick Hewer said: “As a completely dispassionate observer I’d just like to say I thought Zara handled it firmly, calmly and fairly. I think she did a very professional job.”
In the race to win Lord Sugar’s approval, James and Zara went head to head exchanging business blows and critiquing each other’s weaknesses but it was Zara who reigned supreme, side-stepping James’ suggestion that her articulate speech was just a way of “dressing things up.”
Delivering his final verdict, Lord Sugar said: “Zara you’re calm, articulate and you look to be in control of your emotions which is a good thing when you’re in business.”
Reflecting on her win, Zara said: “To say this is a dream come true doesn’t even come close – I’ve loved the whole Young Apprentice experience and taken so much from it, and now I’m so excited about what the future holds for my business career.”
Lord Sugar added: “It was a hugely tough decision but Zara really showed wisdom and clarity far beyond her years. I look forward to seeing her develop her film company into a hugely successful business. James was a very worthy finalist and a great salesman throughout the process. The world of business is his oyster.”
Filmmaker Zara is in the process of completing her A Levels and will invest her prize fund in the growth of her own production business.
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