Biography of Aberdeenshire lass Sharon McAllister who appeared on BBC2 programme The Apprentice with Alan Sugar, ran Scottish Baby Gifts, invented the Child Tartan and her new Scottish Internet Television TV Channel:

Sharon McAllister was born in Banchory, Scotland in 1975 and attended Banchory Primary School. She now lives in Clackmannanshire with her son Reece.

Sharon graduated from Robert Gordon University where she studied Corporate Communications.

Scottish Baby Gifts

In 2001 Sharon McAllister set up a company called Scottish Baby Gifts which included Scottish baby clothes and christening presents. Her products proved popular in the US and here in Scotland where Sharon won a major contract from Jenners in Edinburgh.

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Child Tartan

Sharon McAllister also introduced a new scheme of colours into the world of tartans when she created the Child Tartan exclusively for children. This bonnie tartan has six cheerful colours ranging from pink and yellow to royal blue and purple. Each colour represents an important person or quality to fulfil a child's life. Read what these are at www.sharonmcallister.com
Sharon famously gave gifts of Child Tartan and Scottish Baby Gifts to Madonna and Guy Ritchie at their wedding in December 2000 at Skibo Castle in Scotland.

Sharon McAllister became a business lecturer at Forth Valley College in Falkirk as head of enterprise after her business folded because her stock was impounded in the United States because of a combination of the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak and the events surrounding the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre.

Her interests include Sky Diving.

Read more about Sharon McAllister, including her diary, and see some photographs of our favourite Apprentice see her website at www.sharonmcallister.com

BBC2 Programme The Apprentice 2006

In 2006 Sharon appeared as a contestant in the BBC2 programme The Apprentice which started on Wednesday 22nd February at 9pm. It featured Alan Sugar, a self made Millionaire, who puts contestants through a 12 week job interview and assessment testing. In each episode Alan Sugar and his team dismiss a contestant with the catchphrase "You're Fired".
The winner will have the opportunity to work alongside Alan Sugar and learn as his apprentice. This is said to be worth £100,000, though the implementation of the learnt business knowledge is worth far more to contestants.

Sharon made it through to week eight before hearing the fatal words in the boardroom "You're Fired!"

Tasks which Sharon McAllister performed included:

Selling Clothes At Top Shop, London
Selling Used Cars In A Car Supermarket
Selling Fast Food In London
Creating And Marketing A Calendar For Great Ormond Street Hospital
Selling Fruit And Vegetables At A Market
Selling New Products To Businesses

My favourite moment - Has to be when Sharon told Syed exactly what she thought of him - good for you lass!

After being fired from The Apprentice in 2006 Sharon McAllister worked as a celebrity speaker throughout Scotland and the UK and gives business advice at events.

Scottish Internet Television

In January 2007 Sharon McAllister launched Scottish Internet Television using her redundancy money from leaving her teaching job. She set up the TV company with Jacqueline Smith from Tillicoultry who was a former producer on Newsnight Scotland. There are six channels on Scottish Internet TV and the programmes are entirely about Scotland and Scottish people. For example there has been an interview with SNP leader Alex Salmond where presenter Sharon McAllister cheekily asked him what he wears under his kilt. There is financial advice from leading Scottish companies like The Royal Bank of Scotland and a top scoop of broadcasting the new single of 2006 X Factor contestant Kerry McGregor.

Other presenters on Scottish Internet Television include Martin Halstead who was nicknamed Baby Branson after starting his own airline Alpha One Airways which flew from the Isle of Man to Edinburgh at the age of 18 years. Martin Halstead sold the airline for a huge profit and set up another. He test drives the car and presents the motor programmes.

Channels at Scottish Internet Television include health, fashion, music, business, motoring and even contributions from viewers. Each programme is about ten minutes long.

Presenter Sharon McAllister hopes to interview her former Maths teacher from Lornshill Academy, Alloa - who is now First Minister Jack McConnell.

Scottish Internet Television Website: TBA

Karen Bremner

Another contestant in the 2006 series with an Aberdeen connection was Canadian Karen Bremner who graduated at Aberdeen University and then went to work as a lawyer. She now lives in Angus and her sporting interests include gliding. She is a qualified glider pilot. Sadly Karen was fired by Sir Alan Sugar in week three.

KarenB

Appearing on The Apprentice taught Karen Bremner that she really should be her own boss and in 2007 Karen Bremner opened a clothing boutique shop called KarenB at Brook Street in Broughty Ferry near Dundee. A great choice of business venture for someone who owns over 150 pairs of shoes and was noted for her smart dress sense as a contestant on The Apprentice.

2005 The Apprentice Winner

Tim Campbell won the first series of The Apprentice. He went on to work for Amstrad's health and beauty division. In April 2007 he left Amstrad to work at The Bright Ideas Trust a charity which aims to give millions of pounds to budding entrepreneurs.

2006 The Apprentice Winner

Michelle Dewberry won the second series of BBC2 The Apprentice. She beat off stiff competition from Ruth Badger. Michelle Dewberry will work with Sir Alan Sugar in setting up a new division of his computer company Viglen which is an environmental unit called Xenon Green for the disposal of computers, monitors and other PC equipment for companies.

Photos: TBA

Related Website: The Apprentice

More famous Aberdonians.

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