She was a colourful character in more ways than one but the dream is over for Apprentice star Ruth Whiteley.
Arch saleswoman Ruth, 47, turned heads because of her wacky dress sense.
But, unfortunately, her business style didn’t suit Lord Sugar in tonight’s boardroom showdown when he delivered the inevitable verdict: “You’re fired!”
Former Huddersfield businesswoman Ruth, who lived on Woodland Glade at Bradley for 10 years, was the oldest contestant on the show, describing herself as a “dynamic sales trainer” with 21 years in business.
But that experience counted for nothing as her team crashed and Ruth paid the ultimate the price.
“I’m really gutted,” said mum-of-one Ruth. “I might have done things differently at the end but overall I have been true to myself and I am comfortable with what I’ve seen of myself on screen. I am a Yorkshire girl and this is who I am.”
Leeds-born Ruth, who set up Monarchy Caravans and the Leeds Road Motor Company in Leeds Road, Huddersfield, with ex-professional footballer husband Andy, now runs a sales training company in Harrogate. But it was her dress sense that proved more of a talking point than her business sense.
Ruth in the Calais-based task:
A couple of outfits in particular divided opinion. One was an amazing pink tartan number while the other was a fetching animal print.
It wasn’t just her suits that raised eyebrows. In the first episode Lord Sugar’s aide Baroness Karen Brady puzzled over Ruth’s “slightly creepy” sales technique.
Ruth lost her shoe during last week's product-sourcing challenge:
Ruth said: “As a salesman when you walk onto the forecourt you have to have something about yourself. Sometimes customers don’t even let you speak so you have to have the right clothes and the right spirit.
“I have always worn bright colours and that’s normal for me. I wear all colours. Sometimes I even wear black.”
Ruth, who still owns a cottage and commercial offices in Leeds Road, lost on a sales task which should have been meat and drink. She had to sell high-value cat scratch towers and failed to shift a single one.
“I just could not find the right recipe to sell,” she said. “I couldn’t find the magic. Even Wayne Rooney doesn’t score in every game!”
She added: “It was tiring, fantastic, ludicrous, perfect – a real contradiction. There was upset, joy and times when I really felt my age.
“I had watched the show for years and seen these nincompoops and thought I could do that. I’d urge anyone to have a go.
“I’ve certainly learned things about myself I didn’t know before.”
