Sitting in the library bar at one of London’s most distinguished hotels discussing ancient scrolls with Margaret Mountford feels a little like being caught up in a Dan Brown novel.
It is several months since Mountford bid a fond farewell to fellow Apprentice stars Lord Sugar and Nick Hewer to resume her studies in papyrology and she is clearly relishing the experience.
‘My life is not as exciting as a Dan Brown novel and a little more realistic laughs Mountford, who is prettier and less school-marmish than her TV persona: ‘I am working on a PhD in papyrology at University College London, studying documents found in Egypt and written in ancient Greek.
‘In papyrology, you often start off with this document, with holes in it, torn around the edges, written in a messy handwriting and difficult to read – It’s a puzzle that appeals to the legal analytical side of my brain.
‘People 2000 years ago weren’t that different to us, she adds: Ancient documents reveal them making lists for shopping, purchasing lotions and potions to cure illness, managing their estates, looking for a lost donkey, buying tickets to the circus – they were even drawing up complicated documents on law and tax.’
If anyone is going to crack an ancient code it’s Mountford. Her razor sharp mind and quick witted responses are qualities that have helped shape her career, first as a highly-flying partner in a top London law firm and later as one of the stars in The Apprentice.
Famous for her withering put downs and eye rolling – few will forget Mountford’s imperious response to Hewer’s comment: ‘But he’s clever isn’t he? Didn’t he go to Edinburgh?’
‘I think Edinburgh isn’t what it used to be’ was her icy retort.
‘Anyone who thinks I play to the camera should check with my secretary, laughs Mountford: ‘I have always rolled my eyes and been horrible, the camera hasn’t brought out anything new – that’s just me I’m afraid to say.’
A clergyman’s daughter from Holywood, Northern Ireland, Mountford read law at Girton College, Cambridge.
Her friendship with Lord Sugar began in the Eighties when she worked on Amstrad’s flotation. She left law firm Herbert Smith having achieved partner in 1999 for a degree in Ancient World studies at University College London, followed by a master’s in classics. She had to be cajoled out of academe by Lord Sugar to take part in the show.
‘When we made the first series of The Apprentice for BBC Two in 2004/5, we had no idea how popular it would be or how long it would run, says Mountford: ‘I thought it would just be a one-off but I ended up being on the show for five years.
Mountford believes the show has dispelled many management myths about how the sexes behave: that women work better in teams or that time-wasteful posturing is a predominantly male flaw. ‘Very often the men actually choose their team name and get on with things a lot quicker than the women, who spend a lot of the time shooting their mouths off.’
‘Working on the Apprentice was extremely tiring, adds Mountford: ’During the three months of filming I was getting up at 6am in the morning and filming for 12 hours daily. There was also a lot of hanging about, which drove me to distraction, because I hate hanging about.
‘It got to the point when the film crew started wheeling out a special chair for me, she chuckles: ’This director’s chair would be pushed out and I would feel such an idiot. The chair became such an essential part of filming, that one day they wheeled it out when I was in the boardroom – and I had to point out that there were actually plenty of other chairs for me to sit on.’
Mountford reveals that her two favourite contestants on the show were Saira Khan, who now writes a regular column for Financial Mail Women’s Forum and runs Miamoo, a natural skincare range and Tim Campbell, winner of the first series of The Apprentice, who heads up London-based charity Bright Ideas Trust, which helps young budding entrepreneurs.
‘Saira Khan has amazing energy and charisma and Tim Campbell has this incredible talent for getting people to like him and do what he needs them to do.’
‘As for Nick…. well he has a new girlfriend now, chuckles Mountford referring to Birmingham City managing director Karren Brady, who replaces her for the sixth series of The Apprentice.
The interplay between Mountford and Nick Hewer is legendary. Hewer refers to their relationship as ‘fruit and nut’, describing Mountford as ‘flirty’ and revealing on This Morning that he was plucking up the courage ‘to make his move’.
Mountford and Hewer have more than 10,000 fans on Facebook (click here). Their double act has proven so popular they were recently forced to reassure fans that Mountford would not be closing down her on-line presence to make way for Karren Brady.
But while Mountford has enjoyed being part of Britain’s best loved TV show, she admits to not being entirely happy with her new celebrity status, she says: ‘I still haven’t come to terms with being recognised. Fame is very odd. I catch people looking at me all the time – sometimes it’ a furtive look, other times it’s nudging and pointing. It’s frustrating because some people think they sort of own you, and they’ve got a right to talk to you in a way they actually don’t have. There seems to be a blurred extension between what they see on television and what’s happening in their own lives.
Mountford is now putting her fame to good use by highlighting the charities she supports. She is a trustee of heart charity CORDA, which raises money for research into the prevention of heart disease, one of the UK’s leading killers of women over the age of 25.
Mountford believes that the legal community can make a huge difference in helping charities to raise money, she says: ‘As a retired lawyer I recognise that will writing professionals could play an important role in changing the status quo. If more people were simply asked the question when drawing up a will I’m sure it would make a huge difference to the long-term future of so many of our charities.
‘Through my own work with CORDA, I have seen how vital legacy income is to charities. We should be very proud of these people who have chosen to leave a gift to the charities they’ve supported.’
Mountford also supports The Bright Ideas Trust, the brainchild of Apprentice winner Tim Campbell, the charity helps young people who are not in employment, education or training to start their own businesses and to learn commercial skills that will stay with them for life.
It was ten years ago, at the peak of her career, that Mountford decided it was time for a change, she says: ‘I ruled out becoming a lawyer in-house and plumped instead for university: first for a full-time degree in ancient world studies at University College London, then a part-time MA in classics and now a PhD in papyrology.’
These days, she is a non-executive director of Essenden (bowling alleys) and also chairs the governors of St Marylebone’s School for Girls, a church comprehensive.
‘I’m thoroughly enjoying studying papyrology again, says Mountford: ‘I have not made very much progress over the last few years and I am keen to complete my degree before I need a Zimmer frame to get up on the platform to collect it.
Mountford puts her success down to a combination of good luck and hard work, she says: ‘I have put in long hours and worked hard all my life, but I have never really struggled.
‘I would say I have been lucky and fate has treated me kindly. I started off studying languages at Cambridge and switched to law, if I hadn’t done that I would never have met Lord Sugar and I would not have been on the Apprenctice.
‘People are often afraid of change. They think if they fail – then it is a black mark against them, but ‘they’ didn’t fail – ‘it’ failed.
‘Having the courage to change one’s life from time to time is a good thing. It is so much better to give something a go and say I tried rather than to look back on your life with regret.’
For more details on Margaret Mountford’s charities or to make a donation, visit:
www.CORDA.co.uk
E-mail: corda.enquiries@corda.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1252 383238
Fax: +44 (0)1252 383544
Postal address is:
CORDA
Farnborough Aerospace Centre
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 6YU
UK
www.brightideastrust.com
Bright Ideas Trust
PO Box 64163
London
WC1A 9AP
TIM CAMPBELL
Chief Executive Officer
After winning BBC’s The Apprentice, Tim spent two years working for Amstrad plc under the mentorship of the company’s Chairman and CEO, Sir Alan Sugar, where he set up a Health and Beauty division within the company. Tim is a Child Ambassador for London and was appointed by the government to focus on the particular problems of the capital’s young people under the Government’s Every Child Matters agenda.
He is closely involved with the Jack Petchey Foundation, the ACLT and is an active supporter of the NSPCC (he ran the London Marathon for them in 2006), Learn Direct and Connexions. He is also the face of the British Library‘s campaign to promote their business support services. Tim is now leveraging his experience and public profile to promote and lead Bright Ideas Trust.
Tags: Inspirational stories, Margaret Mountford, Nick Hewer, successful women, The Apprentice, Tim Campbell
This post has been commented 2 times
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March 3rd, 2010 at 2:52 pmBreaking the Mould 2010 an amazing success. Full report on Sunday… « FMWF says:
[...] the live final of the MoneySense Apprentice Challenge, judged by stars of BBC’s Apprentice, Margaret Mountford, Saira Khan and Tim [...]
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March 18th, 2010 at 12:45 pmMoneySense Apprentice Challenge finalists share their experience « FMWF says:
[...] the RBS M0neySense Apprentice Challenge and had been sent to this swanky hotel to face the fearsome Margaret Mountford. In front of 350 people, our video would be watched after a filming and editing process which had [...]