"They called me Dr Barbie. They followed me to work. I proved them all wrong." - Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 30, 2026 · 1H 38M

"They called me Dr Barbie. They followed me to work. I proved them all wrong." - Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton

from Project Possible with Rich Leigh · host Rich Leigh - interviews about motivation, resilience and what's truly possible

Dr Leah Totton is a doctor, entrepreneur and winner of The Apprentice, where Lord Sugar invested £250,000 in her medical aesthetics business when she was just 24 years old.She talks about being dismissed as “Dr Barbie” by the press. She talks about journalists following her to and from work, and how reporters would approach patients and colleagues while she was working in A&E in a bid to get dirt on her.And, crazily, she told me how one tabloid even sent a journalist and her 14-year-old daughter undercover into her clinic in an attempt to catch her offering Botox to the teenager.At its worst, Lord Sugar stepped in and threatened to sue one outlet over its treatment of Leah.We also get into growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, the Omagh bombing that inspired her to become a doctor and the guilt and personal conflict she felt leaving traditional medicine for aesthetics.She talks about building Dr Leah Clinics from scratch, working seven-day weeks, and more recently selling a majority stake in the business in what she calls a “life-changing” deal, and she told me why she believes luck and timing matter as much as hard work.A rare interview with an incredibly impressive entrepreneur who is, by her own admission, extremely private.This is Dr Leah Totton.Follow Leah on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/drleahtottonFollow me on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/richleighpod====="It's like Diary of a CEO, but for people that have to do the school run."After my younger brother Jordan took his own life last year, I sold the business I’d spent a decade building and decided to go all-in on creating something meaningful.This podcast is the result.Project Possible is about success through adversity. Motivation. Resilience. Second chances, and what's truly possible.Because your past doesn't define your future. You do.Expect interviews with famous faces and unsung heroes. Entrepreneurs. Athletes. Entertainers. Academics. Amazing people, and even more incredible stories.Subscribe now, wherever you watch or listen.=====Sign up now to the free weekly newsletter at:https://projectpossible.substack.comfor behind the scenes, giveaways, ways to get involved and more.=====Email: [email protected] about Project Possible here:https://www.richleigh.co/podcast

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"They called me Dr Barbie. They followed me to work. I proved them all wrong." - Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton

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