Brighouse community rooting for local candidate on BBC TV show The Apprentice

Harpreet Kaur is one of the contestants battling to win the coveted £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar.

Her parents, Jas and Pete, have run Waring Green Stores, on Garden Road, since moving to the area in 2002 and they, along with many of their customers, are rooting for the young businesswoman.

Harpreet said watching and assisting her mum and dad in the shop is what helped instill her strong work ethic.

“It showed me that if you work hard, you will reap the rewards and if you want to achieve anything in life, you need to put the hard graft in,” she said.

The 30-year-old went to Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School and Huddersfield New College before starting to study for a degree at Leeds University.

Because she was keen to get her career started, she began working or Barclays at 19, and finished her degree via The Open University.

She worked her way up to become manager of a branch of HSBC before teaming up with her sister, Gurvinder, to open dessert parlour Barni’s in Huddersfield.

The enterprise has been a huge success, opening a second outlet in The White Rose Centre in Leeds and expanding to offer a home delivery service.

Harpreet signed up for The Apprentice, she said, to challenge herself and strive to win the backing of billionaire Lord Sugar in making the business a leading brand across the UK.

The show started at the beginning of January with 16 candidates. but there are now only 11 left.

Her mum, Jas, said there has been huge support for Harpreet from people in Brighouse.

“Every single customer who comes in asks about her. There’s not a single person who doesn’t mention her,” she said.

“We’ve watched The Apprentice from the start and Harpreet always said she wanted to be on it.

“She’s got such drive and passion. We’re so proud of her. She’s a boss lady.”

The latest episode of The Apprentice is on BBC1 tomorrow night at 9pm. Previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.