Derry-born Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton
Leah (30) said she vividly remembers the day of the atrocity in 1998 in which 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died.
“I was in a shop with my mum and aunt just outside Omagh on that day,” she told the Daily Mail.
“We knew there had been a bombing nearby and it was a bad one as they made an announcement asking for medical personnel to attend the local hospital to assist.
“That moment, when I was just 10 years old, was truly the first time I knew I wanted to become a doctor.”
Following the successful launch of her skin clinics and winning The Apprentice TV show in 2013, Leah decided to return to work in accident & emergency as she wanted to “give back”.
Explaining that her background gave her the motivation to want more, Leah said: ‘My mother works as an administrator and my father as a taxi driver, and they worked hard to make ends meet.
‘Growing up we couldn’t afford luxuries which made me truly appreciate the value of money, but also motivated me to work as hard as I could to be financially comfortable and to make sure my family were financially comfortable.’
She continued: ‘I was fortunate enough to be naturally very academic, I was highlighted as a ‘gifted child’ at a young age.
‘Our schooling system in Northern Ireland is based on academic ability as opposed to fee paying, and this was great for me as I attended a really good school for free, and they pushed me academically.
‘I worked hard and obtained straight As and A* at GCSE and A level, winning academic prizes in my country at both levels.’
Leah went on to become the first family member to attend university, and continued to work part time in retail before graduating top of her year in her medical degree and qualifying as a doctor, working in a busy London A&E.
She said: ‘We opened our first Dr Leah Clinic on my 26th Birthday on the 22nd January 2014 in Liverpool Street and it was a huge success.
‘Two years later later we opened our second Dr Leah Clinic in Loughton, Essex, and we open our third clinic in Baker street and our fourth clinic in Canary Wharf in 2019.’
And Leah, who credited ‘straight-talking and encouraging’ Alan Sugar for his ongoing support, continues to go from strength to strength.
Derry-born Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton
Additionally she has become an award winning cosmetic doctor and the youngest ever female doctor to sit on the medical board of a pharma company, and plans to expand her London City and Essex clinics to include two more in Baker Street and Canary Wharf in 2019, forecast to double the value of her business.
‘I don’t have much of social life’, she admitted. ‘But it’s worth it for the sake of my business and helping out the NHS’.
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