Thomas Skinner was a candidate on Series 15 of The Apprentice (UK). He was fired in Week Nine “with regret” for having the worst track record in the show's history, being responsible for the team's loss of the indie band N-A-I-V-E-S during the task and constantly bulldozing his ideas onto his team.
Skinner went on to reappear in the UK Franchise in 2025, participating in the Celebrity Christmas Special.
Thomas showed entrepreneurial spirit from an early age. He started with a paper round at age 12 and was selling on the markets by age 16.
Since then he has set up his own pillow company, attributing his business success to his “sharp”, “street wise” character and notes that being “a chancer” has worked in his favour more often than not.
Confident in himself, he says he doesn’t have a role model, stating, “I am my own person”.
Background[]
Skinner was born in Romford on 6 February 1991. He received a full sports scholarship to Brentwood School, Essex. He worked as a market trader from the age of 16 after the completion of his GCSEs.
In 2011, Skinner was sentenced in court after being charged with handling £40,000 of stolen goods.
In 2019, Skinner became a candidate on the fifteenth series of The Apprentice, and at the time of his appearance, he was the owner of The Fluffy Pillow Company, selling beds, mattresses and a memory foam pillow of his design. He applied for the show after being persuaded by his girlfriend. Skinner was fired by Lord Sugarin week nine.
Post-Apprentice[]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, after the owner of the company's pillow manufacturer died of COVID-19, Skinner set up Bosh Beds, specialising in mattresses. Skinner supports West Ham United FC and became manager for the West Ham TST team in 2023, which was held in North Carolina, United States.
In 2020, Skinner appeared on the fifteenth series of Celebrity MasterChef.
Skinner has become known for the videos he posts on social media, particularly those showing his large and unusual breakfasts, such as Christmas dinner and lasagne, usually eaten at Dino's Cafe on New Spitalfields Market and always ending with his catchphrase "bosh".
On 12 January 2023, Skinner was invited to appear and sing his trademark "bosh" in the accompanying music video titled "BOSH", in collaboration with the Essex ska band, Death of Guitar Pop.
From 22 to 28 May 2023, Skinner became the voice of Elizabeth line platform announcements between Heathrow and Shenfield, to mark the start of direct services between the stations.
He married his partner Sinéad Chambers in May 2022. Their son was born in October 2020, and their twin daughters were born in June 2023.
Game History[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Men’s | Unison | Empower | ||||||
| Team result | Loss | Loss | Loss | Loss | Win | Loss | Loss | Loss | Loss |
| PM | Lewis | Kenna | Riyonn | Thomas | Marianne | Scarlett | Marianne | Ryan-Mark | Lewis |
| Result | Safe | Safe | Safe | Boardroom | Safe | Safe | Safe | Boardroom | FIRED |
| You're Fired verdict | |||||||||