AN entrepreneur is continuing to take Asia by storm by appearing in an Apprentice-style television show for the world’s top business prospects.

Saul Stollery is a contestant on The Day I Ran China - a popular programme similar to the BBC favourite fronted by Britain’s most belligerent boss Lord Alan Sugar.

The 27-year-old moved halfway across the world from his hometown of Colchester following his A Levels nine years ago.

After graduating from university he became an online influencer in China and from that invested in a skin care business which he now runs.

Now Saul is competing against contestants from across the globe in the show which is available to watch for UK viewers on the Discovery Asia Pacific Channel or the Mango TV App.

Proud mum Nahida de Leon, who still lives in Colchester, said it was a shock when Saul first decided to head over to the Far East.

“He went there when he was 18 and has done great things,” she said.

“Since he was young, he always wanted the best for himself.

“When he got his A Level results he actually did a lot better than he anticipated and wanted to go to the best university he could.

“He went through adjustment with UCAS and chose a scholarship at Nottingham University which had a sister campus in China.

“He was interested in going over there and I just backed him and said: ‘Go for it.’

“They had not done the link up before - it was a pilot - and my biggest worry was him looking after himself and not speaking the language.

“But he learned it and got real credit for being fluent in Mandarin.”

Halstead Gazette:

Contestants - the entrants in The Day I Ran China

After completing his Masters at Tsinghua Univeristy in Beijing, Saul set about on his influencing career and earned money to promote products with his ever growing online presence.

He then got involved in a skin care business and now has six shops.

Saul had an audition for The Apprentice on these shores but came up just short in the casting process, but later revealed to his family he had made it onto the show’s Asian equivalent.

Nahida admitted that her son would have been a challenge for the teachers at The Gilberd School and Colchester Sixth Form, where he took his A Levels.

“He would have been a memorable student,” she said.

“Having him in the class would either have been a nightmare or a pleasure - nowhere in between.

“He is somebody who just doesn’t fit the mould and hopefully he can be an inspiration to others who are like that.

“Those people break down the barriers and the boundaries.”