I didn't bring home the win but Lord Alan Sugar can you please still invest says The Apprentice's Jonny Heaver

Liverpool tutor and business owner Jonny Heaver has had his dreams of bagging Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment and mentorship shattered after being fired from The Apprentice.

Week six of the BBC series saw the candidates jet off to two breathtaking regions of Türkiye, where they staged corporate away-day experiences for two clients expecting the best. Sadly, Jonny Heaver’s team failed to impress and the Liverpool-based tutoring business owner was fired by Lord Sugar.

Speaking to LiverpoolWorld, Jonny said: “I didn't bring home the win for Liverpool. I'm very gutted. But, you know, I feel like I have left my head held high. I managed to make it to Austria and Turkey, so I’m happy with that.”

The 23-year-old said he’s feeling “quite good” despite being fired, though he wishes he had made it to the final five to “get that proper business scrutiny on my business plan”.

Originally from Kent, Jonny is the proud owner of Achiever Tutoring and has a team of 30 people who teach a variety of subjects - from core subjects to languages and computer science. The tutors are based all over the country - with high numbers of students in Liverpool, Birmingham and Kent.

His business plan focuses on growth, but Jonny believes “keeping Achiever local” is incredibly important and aims to appoint people as managers who can oversee different areas and provide personalised services. “We're breaking the stigma, right, that tutoring's like an old lady or man who comes around smelling of coffee to your kitchen table. It's cool to be clever, and that's what Achieve is all about.”

Keen to “prove that it is possible to succeed in business while also being compassionate”, Jonny said the only thing he would have differently is be a little bit more argumentative regarding his team’s choice not to provide wine during the away-day task.

“I was an advocate for having a couple of bottles of wine. And then I had another member of my team who said, no. We don't want that. We just want unlimited water,” he said, adding: “I actually wish that I really stood my ground more and did go down the alcohol route because that ultimately was one of the many reasons why we didn't do as well in this task.”

Asked if he believes he was the right choice to be fired, Jonny said: “I think the main failure of what we didn't do well was the fact our tour was quite boring. We were trying with every fibre of our being to inject as much personality into this tour as possible, but there is not much I could have done. And, honestly, looking back, even now, I'm not sure how could I have made that more exciting.

“It’s tricky because when on task, I thought we were all pulling our weight and all doing really well. There were problems with our task, and someone had to go. But, do I think I was the right person to go? I don't know. But I know someone had to go, and I don't really believe it was any of our fault.

“I think we all did something a little bit wrong, but a lot right as well. I do feel Fred has a lot to answer for.”

While Jonny thinks he could have stood his ground a bit more in Turkey, he noted that he is proud that he was more persistent during week five’s Easter egg challenge. Ultimately though, he is pleased with how he acted throughout the entire show and wouldn’t change his time on the Apprentice.

“It I want parents to watch this show and think, actually, I would trust Johnny to teach my kids. And if that is going a little bit earlier to still hold that reputation, that's definitely something I want to preserve and prioritise,” he said.

“I’m so proud of getting onto the show in the first place. I think that's something I will never let go of because, you know, I think about 80,000 people apply. So the fact I was chosen to be on it in the first place is such a big achievement.”

Asked if the experience was what he expected, Jonny said: “I think it is more wild than ever before. It's turned quite comedic as well, but I think it's kind of nice having a bit of balance between humour and professionalism.

“I think in the early days of The Apprentice, Lord Sugar was super scary and it was cutthroat. So it's actually nice now we've kind of injected it with a bit of enthusiasm and a bit of personality.”

Highlights for the business owner include speaking German during week one’s challenge in the Alps and forming close friendships with his fellow contestants, as well as “waving the flag” for people with facial differences.

Jonny was born with a “giant melanocytic naevus” covering half his face and head, which was removed when he was a baby due to the risk of it being cancerous. The surgery caused scarring, pain and other difficulties and the Apprentice star has had several surgeries since.

Explaining his facial difference on TikTok last week, Jonny said he was not planning to respond to questions asking ‘what happened’, noting: “I do not want a sob story. I do not want people to like me, and support me because of what I have been through.”

While Jonny is proud he shared his story on social media, he told LiverpoolWorld: “I'm really pleased I didn't talk about it on the show because what I also want to be an advocate for is actually people shouldn't have to explain themselves.

“In an interview for a job or The Apprentice, whatever it is, you shouldn't have to speak about your looks and I think that's really important. I actually did want to do the TikTok because there was a lot of speculation. Being honest, I naively thought doing the TikTok would kind of put it to bed.

“It actually just kind of blew it up but in a good way because it killed the speculation and brought a lot of positive kind of attraction to it. The people who’ve got behind me because of that video is completely wild. I just did not expect it to go that way. So I'm actually very, very grateful.”

Jonny noted that his friends from The Apprentice, Malika and Amber-Rose encouraged him to share the video and mentioned that Amber-Rose has become his “new bestie”. “If I had to pick a winner I’d go with Amber-Rose but honestly they’re all great. I’m rooting for everyone, it's anyone's game really at this point.” he said.

Asked what he would say to Lord Sugar if he had the chance, Jonny said: “Please, can you still invest? It doesn't have to be 250k. Even if it's 50k, we're still looking for investment. That's what I'd actually say to Lord Sugar because, you know, the business I've got is going through a really exciting time of growth, and we are still seeking that investment.

“I feel like some people go on the show not really wanting the investment and wanting the exposure, but I genuinely am desperate for that growth, that investment. That's why I did it. So still very much seeking investment.”

Giving advice to future The Apprentice hopefuls, Jonny said: “Even if it's a one in a 100,000 chance, you still need to go for it because there's a chance of you winning.

“Make sure you submit that application because you won't have a chance if you don't do it. If you're lucky enough to get an audition, honestly, be yourself and be kind to everyone you meet because I don't think people realise, like, they're not just assessing you in the two minutes. Just always be yourself and stay true to yourself.”