The Apprentice star explains ‘facial difference’ that gives him even more determination

The latest fired Apprentice candidate, Jonny Heaver has previously opened up about his experience with a facial difference (Picture: BBC/Naked/Ray Burmiston) Newly-fired The Apprentice star Jonny Heaver previously shared how his facial difference has made him ‘more resilient’. The 19th season of the hit BBC reality series helmed by Lord Alan Sugar is underway. In weekly challenges, 18 brand new candidates attempt to prove their business savvy, with one eventually securing a £250,000 investment. This week, the group was flown to Turkey (Türkiye) – Bodrum and Cappadocia – to put on top-tier corporate away days to the usual disastrous and chaotic consequences. In the boardroom, it was eventually candidate Jonny Heaver who got fired, revealing he was ‘absolutely gutted’. ‘Lord Sugar, Tim, Baroness Brady are my absolute heroes and I would’ve loved them to see me as project manager, but I have had a fantastic experience. I leave with my head held high,’ he added in the episode. Get personalised updates on The Apprentice Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The reality contestant is steadily cultivating a social media following and has almost 7k followers on TikTok, where he recounted the medical journey he has undergone due to the facial birthmark he was born with. @jonnyheaver4 Replying to @Mada514 Guys I just want to say a massive thank you for all the incredible messages and the support! It means the world! I’m loving it all and can’t thank you all enough. Bring on week 5 ???????????????????????? #theapprentice #theapprenticeuk #theapprentice2025 #wunderbar #facialdifference #teamjonny @Changing Faces UK ♬ original sound – Jonny Heaver In a video from late last month, he explained that he didn’t want it to be a ‘sob story’. He continued: ‘Basically when I was born with a giant melanocytic naevus covering half my face and head, so all over.’ Due to the risk of it ‘being cancerous’ his parents ‘made the difficult decision’ to have part of the mark removed through surgery. After undergoing ‘on-and-off surgeries’ throughout his life, including skin grafts and tissue expansion, he has suffered pain with ingrown eyelashes, his eye being exposed when it shouldn’t and drooping. It affected his time on the show as well, adding: ‘Sometimes it can be bloodshot, sometimes you can see that on the series because it does get very dry. Jonny is the most recent candidate to be fired after a Turkey corporate away day gone wrong (Picture: BBC) ‘And early mornings and late nights, which there’s a lot of on the show, can also play up to it. So can wind, so can sun, so can pollen.’ Elsewhere, he said his social skills were so strong because he had had to ‘work a little harder to win people over’. He ended on a hopeful note, sharing that his experiences have made him ‘stronger and more resilient’. ‘And I think that does give me grit and that does give me determination,’ he said, adding that he wanted to ‘buck the trend’ of ‘naturally more attractive’ people appearing on reality TV shows. Fans praised him in the comments with co-star Mia Collins saying: ‘I think a lot of people could take note on how to be as eloquent and articulate as you are – you’re so love our Jonny.’ Another star, Frederick Afrifa, added: ‘Vulnerability is a strength bro. Proud of you.’ He even hit back at a comment Lord Augar made about him getting a 2:1 at university (Picture: BBC/Naked/Ray Burmiston/Rufina B) Jonny hasn’t held back from airing his opinions about the show on social media, and recently hit back at Lord Sugar over an interaction on the show about de-seeding tomatoes where he claimed Jonny had a 2:1 from his degree. Posting the clip on Instagram, he wrote: ‘Lord Sugar, mate, I got a first not a 2:1. Unfortunately, they didn’t have modules in deseeding tomatoes, though.’ The week before Jonny was fired, candidate Dr Jana Denzel dramatically left the boardroom after quitting the show, saying other people wanted the opportunity more. Now, an insider close to Jana has revealed there is reportedly more to the story and that Jana felt as though he had been ‘set up to fail’. Candidate Jana Denzel voluntarily left the boardroom earlier on in the season (Picture: Ray Burmiston/Naked/BBC/PA Wire) ‘Jana felt that he was being tripped up in tasks designed to make him look bad,’ the source alleged. ‘He understands reality TV has to be about entertainment, but was unhappy about how unfair and staged it felt. ‘He raised concerns to the production staff, expecting some support, but felt that he was shrugged off and instead warned about being disruptive to the integrity of the show.’ He also felt as though he had been labelled ‘troublesome and misbehaving’. The Apprenti