Name: Bilyana Apostolova
Age: 25
Job: Risk analyst
Lives: London
Interests: Dancing, baking and travelling
About her: She started her career as an entrepreneur selling snails on her grandparents’ farm in Bulgaria.
She says: ‘I got myself from a Communist block of flats in Bulgaria to the top of a skyscraper in the heart of the City of London.’
Name: Gabrielle Omar
Age: 29
Job: Architect
Lives: London
Interests: Travelling – she once visited 13 different countries in a year.
About her: Her first job was working in her parents’ fish and chip shop when she was 14.
She says: ‘When it comes to business I can be like an animal and I will roar my way to the top.’
Name: Jade Nash
Age: 29
Job: Business development manager
Lives: Bedfordshire
Interests: Going to the gym and watching drag racing
About her: She is a former 18-30 rep and worked at her parents’ caravan park while she was growing up.
She says: ‘What I want is to be able to retire when I’m 45, but I’m such a workaholic that I’ll probably carry on until I’m 80.’
Name: Maria O’Connor
Age: 20
Job: Restaurateur
Lives: Kent
Interests: Shopping and socialising
About her: She opened her own Greek restaurant when she was 19.
She says: ‘If you chuck me in the deep end I’ll swim, I won’t sink.’
Name: Jenna Whittingham
Age: 25
Job: Beauty salon owner
Lives: Lancashire
Interests: Showjumping – she competed at the Wembley 1998 Horse of the Year Show.
About her: She has never been away from home for longer than a week and cannot cook or clean.
She says: ‘My personality and character is once seen, never forgotten.’
Name: Katie Wright
Age: 26
Job: Editorial and research director
Lives: London
Interests: She is a devoted fan of Fulham Football Club.
About her: Her first job was as a pot-washer in a French restaurant when she was 13.
She says: ‘I would call myself The Blonde Assassin. I let people under-estimate me just so I can blow them out of the water.’
Name: Laura Hogg
Age: 28
Job: Bridal shop owner
Lives: Glasgow
Interests: Winter sports.
About her: She once skated with Torvill and Dean.
She says: ‘I am going to be one of Scotland’s next big exports.’
Name: Jane McEvoy
Age: 28
Job: Co-founder of food manufacturing company
Lives: Kilkenny, Ireland
Interests: Animals
About her: She played hockey and camogie – an all-female version of hurling – for her province and county respectively.
She says: ‘Anything is achievable if you have drive, determination, and a seriously good work ethic.’
