'Apprentice' Helen Milligan gets promotion at bakery chain Greggs

The Apprentice runner-up Helen Milligan has been given a promotion following her success on the show.

The 30-year-old, who lost out to inventor Tom Pellereau in the final of the BBC business programme, has been promised a "very senior" role at bakery chain Greggs.

Milligan was previously employed as a CEO's assistant at the company but managed to impress bosses by winning all but one of the 11 weekly Apprentice tasks, more than any other candidate has managed in the show's seven-year history.

"She will be back with us and will be taking up a very senior position," Greggs' finance director Richard Hutton confirmed to The Mirror.

Crediting The Apprentice for her career advancement, Milligan said: "Coming second was not the end for me, just the start."

Lord Sugar commented after the Apprentice final on Sunday that Milligan's employer would be "a bit of a mug" not to offer her a more significant position.

His aide Nick Hewer tipped Milligan to win The Apprentice prior to the show's conclusion.

Watch Lord Sugar name Tom Pellereau as his new business partner in The Apprentice final below: