[Shaun]

Lord Sugar has gone into business with last year's Apprentice candidate Susan Ma.

She aspiring businesswoman made the final five of the 2011 series of BBC One's reality show. But he has now chosen to invest in her skincare company Tropic anyway.

Sugar said of the 50/50 deal: "After filming ends, I tell all the contestants to give me a call if they need me. At the You're Hired show after The Apprentice final, I mentioned Susan as someone I'd be contacting in the future.

Well, I did contact her and then she didn't leave me alone until I invested in her! She has impressive enthusiasm and work ethic as well as a fantastic product and I am confident in her ability to make a success of this venture.

Ma commented: "Skincare has always been my passion, right from the early days of mixing and experimenting with new formulas in the kitchen with my mum and selling them in Greenwich market. My time on The Apprentice gave me an incredible opportunity to learn from Lord Sugar and I have applied this knowledge to take Tropic Skincare from my kitchen table to a credible business model.

"Having Lord Sugar's investment and guidance to help me launch my new venture has been invaluable and I hope to return his confidence and trust in me by making a real success of Tropic Skin Care."

The series was eventually won by inventor Tom Pellereau, and although his winning product was a back pain treatment system, the pair have instead gone into business promoting one of the candidiate's earlier creations, a curved nail file.

The Apprentice returns with a new series this Wednesday (March 21) at 9pm on BBC One.

posting because I know she has a lot of fans on here