Thomas Skinner found himself overwhelmed with emotion upon stepping back into Lord Sugar's famous boardroom for The Celebrity Apprentice festive specials, six years after his original appearance on the BBC programme.
The 34-year-old entrepreneur, who competed on the regular series in 2019, became visibly tearful as he reunited with the business mogul for the Children In Need charity episodes.
"I don't get upset really, it's just I done this show six years ago and this show changed my life," Mr Skinner explained during filming. "I'm back here."
Baroness Karren Brady noticed his glassy eyes and asked whether he was crying.
Thomas Skinner took part in this year's BBC Strictly
| BBCLord Sugar quipped that he was pleased to have Mr Skinner return, joking that he's the only candidate he might get the opportunity to fire twice.
Mr Skinner reflected on how dramatically his circumstances had transformed since that initial boardroom experience, revealing he had very little before appearing on the programme.
"Like I didn't really have anything back then, before I had kids and before I built my businesses up really properly," he told MailOnline.
The businessman, who was eliminated during the ninth week of the 2019 series while attempting to secure Lord Sugar as an investor for his pillow enterprise, credited the show with establishing his public profile.
Thomas Skinner became emotional as he returned to The Apprentice
| BBC"I sort of sat and thought, 'Wow, this experience all those years ago put me on the map really and made me successful I suppose, and opened so many doors for me'," he said.
Contributing to Children In Need through the celebrity edition felt like "a proper honour" for the former candidate.
Mr Skinner admitted he never anticipated becoming so emotional upon his return to the programme.
"No, never in a million years, no," he said. "But when I was there it just made me think back to when I was first sitting in that boardroom back in 2019."
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Thomas Skinner appeared on The Apprentice in 2019
|BBC
The recent Strictly Come Dancing contestant, who became the first celebrity eliminated from this year's series, described how the moment prompted deep reflection on his personal journey.
Since his original appearance, Mr Skinner has become a father and developed his business ventures substantially.
"It brought back such memories being in the boardroom of how it changed my life," he explained, noting that the experience had been transformative in ways he could never have predicted at the time.
Despite his unique history with the programme, Mr Skinner made clear he had no expectations of receiving preferential treatment from his fellow contestants or Lord Sugar himself.
Thomas Skinner will return to where it all began with Lord Sugar in the boardroom | BBC"No, listen, I'm a market trader. I sell things at the back of my van, you know what I mean? I'll just go to work," he said.
The businessman expressed genuine admiration for his celebrity teammates, who include presenter Angela Scanlon, JLS singer JB Gill, actress Sarah Hadland, Matt Morsia and Shazia Mirza.
"It was just great to be with these guys. I respect these guys because they're all legends. I was lucky to be there," Skinner added.
The Celebrity Apprentice airs on BBC One and iPlayer on 29 and 30 December at 9pm.