Baby for Apprentice stars

The winner of The Apprentice TV show is pregnant by fellow contestant Syed Ahmed.

Michelle Dewberry, who won a job with Sir Alan Sugar on the programme, has been in an on-off relationship with her reality show rival. She is now thought to be three months pregnant.

Miss Dewberry, 26, known for her ice-cool temperament during the BBC2 series, had a fling with the 31-year-old Bangladesh-born businessman during filming last year.

But they had split up by the time the programme was broadcast in the spring. She is believed to have fallen pregnant after a reunion.

A source close to Miss Dewberry said: "She is stunned. This was definitely not in her plan for the future. She has worked so hard to get this job.

"To say it's come as a surprise would be an understatement. But Michelle has told her family and friends in Hull and Syed said he will stand by her come what may."

Last month, when Miss Dewberry was on a business trip in Leeds, she was rushed to hospital with stomach pains days after starting work with Amstrad boss Sir Alan, 59, whose catchphrase on the show is "You're fired!"

She said she had been taken to St James's Hospital with a painful tooth abscess and was told by doctors to take a few days off.

Miss Dewberry landed the £100,000 a year job despite having left school with two GCSEs. She beat rival Ruth Badger to head Sir Alan's new firm Xenon Green, which disposes of unwanted computer gear.

The former checkout girl once said she could have ended up with a life of single parenthood and the dole. She suffered bulimia in her younger years and had a turbulent upbringing.

The turning point came 10 years ago, when her sister Fiona, 19, fell to her death from the eighth floor of a tower block. She once said: "You realise life is precious and, no matter how much you plan it, something can happen beyond your control."

She came to London and was running her own telecoms consultancy when she won the programme. Her spokesman has refused to comment on her pregnancy.

Mr Ahmed is said to be on a work trip and unavailable for comment.

He was recently caught drink-driving for the fourth time but escaped jail after saying he was depressed after finding out his mother had got cancer.