Michelle Louise Faye Dewberry (born 9 October 1979) is a British businesswoman, politician, presenter, and media personality. Dewberry won the second series of British television programme ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...

''.

Early life

Dewberry was born and raised in a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

Humberside Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West ...

, England. Leaving school at 16 with two GCSEs, Dewberry worked at

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

KCOM KCOM (1550 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Comanche, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Robert Elliott Jr., and the license is held by Villecom LLC. History In October 1998, Arrowhead Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreemen ...

and Kwik-Save. When Dewberry was seventeen, her nineteen-year-old sister, Fiona, was killed when she fell from a building. After working her way through the ranks at

Kingston Communications KCOM Group (formerly known as Kingston Communications and latterly KC) is a UK communications and IT services provider. Its headquarters are in the city of Kingston upon Hull, and it serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telep ...

, Dewberry was head-hunted by ISP,

Tiscali Tiscali S.p.a. () is an Italian telecommunications company, based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that provides internet and telecommunications services to its domestic market. It previously had operations in other European nations through its acquisitio ...

as a

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

. After a successful period at Tiscali, and aged 24, she decided to start her own business, "transformation consultancy".

''The Apprentice''

In 2006 Dewberry won the second British series of reality TV show ''The Apprentice'', in which candidates compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for businessman

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...

After ''The Apprentice''

Dewberry started a business consultancy in 2006. In 2007 she published her autobiography, ''Anything is Possible.'' In December 2009, Dewberry joined the magazine ''Business Matters'' as a monthly columnist. She appeared on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

gameshow '' The Chase'' in 2016 alongside Olympic ski jumper

Eddie the Eagle Michael David Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie the Eagle, is an English ski-jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the ...

and musician

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...

. She got through to the final with Edwards but failed to beat

Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...

. She was awarded £1,000 which she gave to a charity for abused women. In April and October 2017, Dewberry made appearances on BBC's ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

''. She appeared on the programme again in March 2018. She was a frequent panellist on '' The Pledge'' on

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

. In 2021, it was announced that Dewberry would join

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ra ...

with a prime time show. ''Dewbs & Co'' airs at 6 pm on weeknights on the channel.

Politics

Dewberry stood as an independent pro-

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

candidate in the 2017 general election in Hull West and Hessle. She came fourth out of seven candidates, with 5.5% of the vote. She stood again in Hull West and Hessle in the 2019 general election for the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was bri ...

. She came third with 18% of the vote.

Charity work

In 2007, Dewberry ran the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

in to raise funds and awareness for the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...

. She also ran in 2009. She is also an ambassador for

Women's Aid Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, one for each of the countries of the United Kingdom. Its aim is t ...

and

The Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

Personal life

She was in a relationship with fellow ''Apprentice'' contestant Syed Ahmed during and after the show, before their relationship ended in late 2006. Dewberry has spoken about her struggles with

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

, depression and suicidal thoughts. On 22 July 2020, after experiencing PPROM at just 28 weeks pregnant, Dewberry gave birth nine weeks early to her first child, a baby boy. Dewberry's partner and father of their son is businessman and former

Crystal Palace Football Club Crystal Palace Football Club is a professional football club based in Selhurst in the Borough of Croydon, South London, England, who compete in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Although formally created as a profe ...

owner

Simon Jordan Simon Jordan (born 24 September 1967) is an English businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone industry. In 2000, he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club and remained chairman of the club until administration in early 2010. In 2002, ...

Electoral history

2017 general election

2019 general election

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewberry, Michelle 1979 births Living people 21st-century British politicians 21st-century British women politicians Independent politicians in England Reform UK parliamentary candidates People from Kingston upon Hull Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull British charity and campaign group workers British political commentators Politicians from Kingston upon Hull The Apprentice (franchise) winners The Apprentice (British TV series) candidates GB News newsreaders and journalists