Karishma Vijay Wins The Apprentice 2026, Lord Alan Sugar Invests £250,000 in Kishkin

Karishma Vijay has won the 2026 edition of the UK reality show The Apprentice, securing a £250,000 investment after being chosen as the winner by Lord Alan Sugar.

“Karishma Vijay has been crowned the latest winner of The Apprentice, securing a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar for her skincare brand, winning over the boardroom with a blend of authenticity, humour and sharp business instinct”

Asian Standard

The Apprentice is described as a BBC business reality show in which contestants compete over several weeks through tough business tasks for an investment from Lord Sugar, who has been the main judge since 2005.

BBC

Vijay, an Indian-origin entrepreneur based in the UK, beat fellow finalist Pascha Myhill in an all-female final.

The last task, as described by The Times of India, saw both contestants develop a brand and advertising campaign for their business ideas before pitching directly to Lord Sugar and a panel of industry experts.

BBC reporting says the 28-year-old from Ashford, Surrey became Lord Alan Sugar’s next business partner, with the billionaire investing £250,000 into her skincare brand Kishkin.

In her first reactions to the win, Vijay told The Times of India, “I actually can’t believe my life right now. Things keep happening. I’m just having a really good week.”

She also described the moment she found out she had won, saying, “I was so blown away, so shocked – but I kept it very cool. Then, I got in my car and I was screaming. It was just insane.”

BBC says Vijay’s path to the show was shaped by a business crisis that began with a £25,000 shipment of products sinking in a typhoon that hit Hong Kong.

She told BBC that she went on The Apprentice to save her business after that loss, and she had saved up £100,000 to start her business and put everything into it.

Daily Mail

On the day she launched, BBC reports that her card was declined and she opened her banking app to see she had just £7.42, with her rent due in five days.

BBC adds that she started to make money and later placed the order for the £25,000 shipment, only to see it “sink to the bottom of the ocean”, uninsured.

Vijay framed the experience as a turning point, telling BBC, “Life gave me the bottom of the barrel for way too long. And now it's my time to come up. And I hope I don't see the bottom of the barrel again.”

She also said things were “looking up” and that she had plans to buy her own property and expand her business “very quickly.”

The Times of India similarly described her win as a milestone that meant her “life has just really turned around,” and it quoted her saying, “Having all that waiting time, it was a lot of anxiety. I’m just happy with the outcome… my life has just really turned around.”

Beyond the business win, Vijay’s personal life and public profile were central to how she described her momentum.

“Lord Sugar has crowned Karishma Vijay the winner of The Apprentice - and she has vowed to use her platform to tackle racism and toxic beauty standards”

Daily Mail

BBC reports that she got engaged two days before the final of the TV programme was broadcast, saying she was on a beach with her fiancé when he put a ring on her finger, as he took her “off the market.”

She told BBC that she built a massive following, with 500,000 followers on TikTok, and worked to turn it into a customer base.

BBC says she described her content as sharing “everything from makeup to dating and the ups and downs of life,” and she argued that this is why people believe in her brand.

She told BBC, “I've always kept it real, always kept it honest with my followers,” and added, “They know that, they've been through the ups and downs of life with me, so they see right through the crazy stuff.”

She also said that when she announced she was on The Apprentice, “The public support and love has been out of this world.”

Her father also featured prominently in her account: BBC says she praised him as the person who “invented the ropes,” and she told BBC, “My pops is the best.”

Multiple outlets described the structure of the finale and the boardroom process that led to Lord Sugar’s decision.

The Independent says the final saw Vijay, from Ashford, Surrey, and Myhill, from Reading, Berkshire, go head to head in a task to develop a brand and advertising campaign for their respective business ideas.

News Shopper

It adds that neither finalist had to face the final task alone, because “a number of previously-fired candidates returned to help them,” and that they then presented their businesses to Lord Sugar and “a room of leading industry experts.”

The Independent also notes that the final boardroom included familiar faces from the show’s past 20 years, listing Margaret Mountford, Nick Hewer, Ricky Martin and Dean Franklin.

The Times of India similarly described the last task as developing a brand and advertising campaign before pitching directly to Lord Sugar and a panel of industry experts.

Daily Record says that after two strong pitches, the decision came down to the final boardroom where Vijay and Myhill made their case directly to Lord Sugar.

In her own telling, Vijay described the moment Lord Sugar told her she had won and would be receiving his £250,000 investment, saying, “I was so blown away, so shocked – but I kept it very cool. Then, I got in my car and I was screaming. It was just insane.”

After the win, Vijay said she would use Lord Sugar’s investment to expand her beauty business Kishkin, and she repeatedly returned to the idea of building a brand that could reach young customers.

“Karishma Vijay has been crowned the winner of The Apprentice 2026”

News Shopper

BBC says she had plans to buy her own property and expand her business “very quickly,” and it also quotes her discussing how she would use the investment to grow her skincare brand Kishkin.

RTE.ie

The Times of India reports that she “reportedly decided to use the investment to grow her beauty brand, Kishkin,” with plans to scale it further, and it includes her statement, “It’s going to be a brand that really made it, with young girls queuing up to buy it.”

The Independent similarly says Vijay will use the investment to expand her beauty business Kishkin and quotes her, “It’s going to be a brand that really made it, with young girls queuing up to buy it.”

In the Daily Mail, Vijay is quoted vowing to tackle racism and toxic beauty standards, saying becoming the BBC show’s latest champion is a “huge statement” and describing it as “a light of hope to people who feel things will never change.”

The Daily Mail also quotes her saying, “There are girls that don't look like me that do well and girls that look like me that have to really fight tooth and nail for a single opportunity.”

Lord Sugar’s own framing of the partnership was also quoted by Daily Record, where he said, “I know our partnership will pave the way for a bright future.”