We spoke to him on the phone today, and let’s just say: he’s very pleased.
heat: Congratulations by the way!
Mark: Thank you thank you very much. It’s been quite overwhelming that I’ve won but now it’s just a whirlwind. We found out last week [who won] - it didn’t feel real, so watching it back on the TV last night made it very real and I got overwhelmed again.
**Did you ever get worried that you wouldn’t win it? **
Mark: No, not really. As funny as that sounds, and I’m not being arrogant but I felt really confident. If I got through week one and I could show how good my sales skills were, then I’d go a long way. I knew I’d make the final five, and then my business plan was reasonable, my figures were in order and to be honest I was more confident going into the final than I was in the final boardroom. When we were there at the end I actually thought that Bianca was going into that last board room, it felt like he was going to go for her.
When’s your first day in the office with Lord Sugar? Do you get a Christmas break?
Mark: 5th of Jan. All my family have just come over from Australia, so I’m just having a couple, of days off with them.
Is Lord Sugar terrifying in real life?
Mark: Absolutely frightening. You have no idea. There’s no calling him Alan - he’s very professional and he’s very motivated and he’s very direct and it sort of took a bit of getting used to. I really like it now, he tells you what you need to hear he doesn’t beat around the bush but we get things done really quickly.
**Have you met the ‘other’ Mark Wright, who didn’t have a very good weekend as he crashed out of Strictly … **
Mark: No, I’ve never met him. I once met Lauren Goodger. I once ran into her in a bar I was drinking in, a bar at a work function, and she came up and said ‘is your name Mark Wright? That’s my ex-boyfriends name’. I didn’t know there was another Mark Wright or who she was really.
Is there anyone you will be staying in touch with from the process?
Mark: Yeah absolutely Philippe, a hundred percent, he’s literally like the nicest guy I have ever met. Bianca, certainly, we’ve become so close throughout the final and how much time we have spent together and Sanjay he was amazing in the final he was a life saver absolute life saver.
Not Daniel, then?
Mark: No. It’s not to say that we don’t get on I think he was such a fun guy to have around in the process and I really enjoyed our rivalry and the guy came third and it pushed me to get better and better. We shook hands at the wrap party last night and you know we are friends but you know…
And finally, your girlfriend just came over from Australia – does this mean she’ll be moving here too?
Mark: Yeah, she came over about a month ago. She’s actually an ex girlfriend from when I was really young - when I was 19 - and she’s back on the scene now and we’ve just started talking and texting again and now she’s moved over here. I think she didn’t believe me when I said it’s a pretty big show. She thought that I was just talking it up. And then she comes over and is like ‘actually this is a pretty big deal’. And now I’ve won it!