SHE donned a bikini, posed in a shop window and endured days on end with Stuart Baggs but Thamesmead’s finest Stella English has finally been crowned champion of this year’s Apprentice.

The 31-year-old banker and mum-of-two secured the top job after a final showdown with Chris Bates - owner of a voice which makes Alan Shearer sound like Brian Blessed.

In the drink-making task Chris came up with a beverage bottle which could be used as a murder weapon, while Stella gave Bourbon a modern touch.

Stella can now turn her talents to the exciting-sounding world of IT services for the education sector.

She said afterwards: “To think that little Stella from Thamesmead could be the winner of The Apprentice is unbelievable.”

After finally learning the news on the BBC One show, the mother-of-two said: "It's still a lot to take in. I'm on cloud nine and my feet haven't really touched the ground yet."

She insisted, however, that the prospect of returning home to her two sons without the job was always out of the question.

"There were times that I felt very tired and it was much harder than I ever thought it would be. But in terms of quitting, there was absolutely no way," she said.

"When I walked out that door and looked at my boys' faces as I left, I fully intended to come back with a new job. I could never think of coming out of it without winning."

She added: "My children are two and four so they're far more interested in CBeebies than The Apprentice but hopefully they will have a much more settled life. They will be living in Hertfordshire and will have a better quality of life, which is why I've done this."

She won the six-figure salary job, despite having a difficult start in life - Stella's father abandoned her when she was a baby and her mother was unable to look after her.

Her great aunt, Stella Brockman, raised her on an estate in Thamesmead, meaning she did not have to go into care.

Stella told BBC Breakfast: "I think Stella taught me some really good values, ones that I live by now.

"Those values got me through this process. She's taught me to set your sights as high as you possibly can and that the only thing that can hold you back is yourself."

She said of her upbringing: "I grew up on a council estate, like a lot of people did. I did have a difficult time."

Stella, who left school with no qualifications but rose up to become the only female manager on a trading floor of a Japanese investment bank, said she would have no problems juggling motherhood with her new job.

She said of being a working mother: "It's hard. I've managed for the last few years. I've got a very good partner who's very supportive. It's about being organised."

Stella starts her new job on January 4 and said: "Lord Sugar did say you can have the rest of the year off. That's a couple of weeks (until 2011). He's a true salesman."