Solomon Akhtar
| Solomon Akhtar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
18 February 1991 Kent |
| Residence | London |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Solly Akhtar |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, reality television contestant |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Television |
The Apprentice (2014) Desi Rascals (2015) |
| Website | Official website |
Solomon Akhtar also known as Solly Akhtar (born 18 February 1991) is a British technology entrepreneur and reality television personality. He first came to prominence in October 2014 after appearing in the tenth series of The Apprentice.
In July 2015 it was announced that Solomon Akhtar would join the cast of the Sky1 television series Desi Rascals from series 2 onwards.[1] Solomon appeared in each of its eight episodes, documenting his personal life, business interests and friendships. He was quickly established as one of the main characters, with the Press focusing heavily on his on-screen romance.
Early life and education
Akhtar was born on 18 February 1991 in Kent. His father was originally from Pakistan and his mother lived in Kent.[2] He attended The Skinners' School in Royal Tunbridge Wells, before studying Geography (BA) at the University of Exeter in 2010,[3] where he graduated in 2013.[4]
Career
While Akhtar was studying at Exeter, he founded SunBurnt Events, an event management company. He ran student events with Jack Wills and group yacht trip around Croatia.[5][6]
During his third year in the university, he set up a company Instabear, a service which prints Instagram photos for people. Instabear was awarded Best Graduate Start up 2014 by SETsquared Enterprise Awards and appeared on Redbrick research as one of Five Pioneering UK Student Startups 2014.[3] Akhtar still runs the company alongside working at a creative agency.[5] During his third year, he also started working on WillyKini, a project he presented in The Apprentice.[4]
He was a speaker at SPARK business conference and[7] at StartUp 2015.[8]
Television
Akthar appeared as a contestant in the tenth series of The Apprentice. He made it to the top five contestants, but was fired when he submitted an 8-page long business proposal for We Ship Start-ups, which was rejected by Claude Littner.[9]
Akhtar has made guest appearances on television shows including Pointless Celebrities, Reality Bites. He is now most well known for Sky 1's smash hit Desi Rascals, as the young businessman has managed to capture the hearts of the British public with his fun and inspiring TV personality. Following Desi Rascals, in September 2015 Solomon started appeared in Celebrity Big Brother's Bit On The Side and the Celebrity version of SkyOne's new game show Wild Things (game show).
Controversy
While Akhtar was appearing on The Apprentice, one of his friends posted on Twitter about a sex tape made by Akhtar and an ex-girl friend. The Twitter post was later deleted, however, the news about the existence of Akhtar's sex tape spread. Later, he confessed on the show that he had made a sex tape[10] and was threatened that it would be leaked,[11] which left BBC concerned it will be shared online.[12]
Akhtar also admitted to flirting with Lord Sugar's advisers Karren Brady and Claudine Collins to try to get ahead in the contest.[13]
Personal life
Akhtar lived in London.
References
- ↑ "TOWIE's Jasmin Walia and The Apprentice's Solomon Akhtar join Sky1's Desi Rascals". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ↑ "Project Peace Interview". Asian World News. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Rochester's Felipe Alviar-Baquero, founder of Tiny Town in Larkfield, and Solomon Akhtar founder of Instabear contestants on BBC's The Apprentice". Kent Online. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Meet Exeter's Apprentice Star: Solomon Akhtar". Her Campus. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- 1 2 "The Apprentice 2014: Exeter Uni graduate Solomon Akhtar makes the line-up". Exeter Express and Echo. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Former Skinners' School pupil will compete on The Apprentice with social media start-up". Courier. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ↑ "BBC Apprentice Solomon returns to Exeter Uni". Western Morning News. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ↑ "Somerset House date for Steve Bradley". Examiner. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ↑ "Solomon Akhtar, a former pupil of Skinners School in St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, reaches interview stage in BBC One's The Apprentice". Kent Online. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ↑ "New Apprentice storm as it emerges 'party boy' contestant made a sex tape with his ex leading to fears it could be leaked". Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ↑ "Nick Hewer on Apprentice contestant Solomon Akhtar's alleged sex tape: 'Handy skills for when advertising task comes up'". The Independent. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ↑ "'The Apprentice' Contestant Solomon Akhtar 'Confirm' Sex Tape". Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "The Apprentice 2014 result: Solomon Akhtar vows to try Made In Chelsea after triple firing". The Independent. Retrieved 6 March 2015.