A Southampton martial arts school owner has been revealed as one of the contestants who will take part in the 2023 series of The Apprentice.

Sohail Chowdhary is one of the 18 candidates who will be seeking to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar.

In a message to his fellow contestants, Sohail said: “I am calm and collected but if they do come at me? I will bite and I will sting and I will leave my mark.”

Sohail added that he was "proud" to have been raised in a council house which he said meant he had to "fight hard" to earn the "comfortable life" he leads today.

Daily Echo: Sohail described himself as having a proven track recordSohail described himself as having a proven track record (Image: BBC/Fremantle Media/Ray Burmiston)

He added: "I’ve got a proven track record behind me and if the previous five years are anything to go by, the next five are going to be something special. Plus, owning a martial arts business means Lord Sugar can learn how to kick ass for free."

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When describing his unique selling point he stated: "My USP is systemisation and automation. That means, to put it simply, turning my laziness into a positive by creating smart solutions and simple shortcuts to difficult problems. I can achieve the same results as others in half the time."

Meanwhile, in describing his biggest weakness he said: "My biggest weakness would be sometimes not listening to others when on the very rare occasion I might be wrong.

"I’ll always be the person that looks out for the little guy and sometimes that means that I will put emotions before business. I will make sure that people are looked after, first and foremost, over anything else."

The Apprentice will air from Thursday, January 5 on BBC One and iPlayer.