It’s all over for Apprentice Amy as Lord Sugar points his firing finger
Amy Anzel became the six person to be axed from the boardroom, on Thursday evening's show.
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
Amy Anzel, 48, prides herself on being as hard as nails when she needs to be and presents herself as a tough boss. Over the past few weeks we certainly saw a steely determination from the redheaded beauty who runs her own beauty brand, Hollywood Browzer. Now that dream has come to an end she shares the experience with Jewish News.
Tell us about your family
I grew up in Yonkers, New York. My mother is from Brooklyn and my father, who passed away in 2019, was from the Bronx. His Polish parents spoke Yiddish at home so he liked to use a few words here and there. I moved to the UK with my husband Oliver in 2009 and we live in West London with our five-year-old son Jacob. Oliver is Scottish and I’m Jewish so we always joke that we had a ‘Skewish’ wedding. It was hard being away from my family for so many weeks, but I was at least able to speak to them every week.
How did you feel about being the oldest ever Apprentice candidate?
I went in feeling older and wiser and I hoped that this would help me out. The younger candidates tended to jump head first into things – I took more calculated risks.
You run your own business so how did you find it working in a team all the time?
I treated every task like it was my own business – it was like a real business to me. As much as you work in teams, ultimately you are desperate to save yourself. Very early on I put myself forward as team leader but that wasn’t shown, which annoyed me!
Did you ever feel totally out of your comfort zone?
Designing the branding for a non-alcoholic beer was a completely foreign concept to me but you are there to show that you can contribute to each task equally. The brief was for something clean and sophisticated and I was really happy with my design but unfortunately it was not too well received! We still won the task though, so it wasn’t all bad.
Which was your favourite task?
I’ve worked on a cruise ship in the past so I loved that challenge. I really enjoyed directing the commercial and when we won the task there was a real sense of achievement. The toothbrush task was fun too.
What do you feel that you brought to the boardroom table?
I’ve had lots of roles over the years – from a bar tender, waitress and flight attendant to appearing on tv, producing shows and now running my own business so I had a wealth of experience to bring to the table.
Did you get hair, makeup and wardrobe assistance?
Nope -we did it all ourselves. Sharing a bedroom and bathroom with 24-year olds was an eye-opener. They were busy swapping clothes and makeup as they tend to do at that age. We had to have our wardrobe items approved before we moved into the house. We were told no patterns, no black and no white as none of this works well on camera. There was a little professional touching up before going to the boardroom but that was all.
Who did the cooking?
We all did! There were some good cooks in the house and most were into healthy eating. I tended to be the Jewish mother but I didn’t go as far as making chicken soup! I kind of took Navid under my wing – at 24 he was the youngest and still lives at home with his parents. He’s a lovely young guy with an old soul.
Was it a gruelling schedule?
We were often up at 4am. The days were long with a huge amount of filming and sometimes we didn’t get back until really late. We were pretty sleep deprived and we had to be very organised. I got into the habit of laying out my clothes put the night before
What did you do when there was no filming?
Non-filming time was a bit like lockdown! The house we stayed in, which is in north London, has amazing facilities, so we hung out in the screening room or the sauna, or did workouts in the garden.
How were the Covid restrictions?
They were very vigilant about Covid. We were tested all the time and made to keep our distance from others all the time. It was remarkable that with over 100 people involved nobody tested positive during all the weeks it took to make the show.
How did you get on with Lord Sugar?
We all found him intimidating. He’s tough and gruff but I’m a New Yorker – I can take it. He’s also a really nice man and obviously a fantastic businessman. Not only did I want the investment for my business, I also really wanted to work with him. Ultimately though it’s like dating – the relationship has to make sense and if they don’t want to be with you, cant force it.
What did you make of Karren Brady?
I love Karren – she is a woman of few words but she would drop pearls of wisdom all the time. I could relate to her as a working mum. I looked up to her and I often found myself thinking what would she do in this situation?
Did you interact at all with Tim?
I was sad that Claude wasn’t on the show this year but I think Tim was great and the younger guys really connected with him.
How do you feel about having been fired?
I feel it was unfair and unjustified. In the 10 years I’ve watched The Apprentice someone has always been Project Manager in Week 7 or Week 8. I feel that Lord Sugar came up with a reason to fire me just to get me out of the competition as he just didn’t see me as his business partner.
What will you take away from the experience?
I have a new-found appreciation of what goes into the show. This was a once-in- a lifetime experience and I made lifelong friends.
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