The Apprentice star opens up about drug addiction battle as he reveals he spent £500 a week on cocaine and used his work phone to call dealer

One of the entrepreneurial hopefuls on this year's The Apprentice has opened up about struggling with a £500-a-week cocaine addiction before the show.

Estate agent Kieran McCartney has revealed that before filming the show he was using his work phone to call a drug dealer during company time.

The 27-year-old said it was the death of his father following a battle with prostate cancer which sent him 'off the rails', resulting in a bout of depression and suicidal thoughts. 

The estate agent revealed he used to message a drug dealer using his work phone and would arrange to meet them near his workplace in East London - telling his boss he was having a cigarette break. Kieran was going to the pub up to five times a week by himself, as well as spending £500-a-week on cocaine.

He has shared how he lost friendships during the height of his addiction as they were embarrassed by his actions while high and drunk. 

Kieran denied ever using drugs while filming for The Apprentice but admitted it wasn't until three months after the show that he stopped using drugs completely.

Opening up to The Sun, Kieran said: 'I could have been doing like £400 a week - £500 a week, I'm a lot better off now!'

Kieran credits his mum Paula for his recovery, adding: 'Without her, I probably wouldn’t be here.

'She said, "You've got to do it for yourself. We can tell you, you can ask for anyone's help, but you've got to want to change your life".'

Ahead of the series, Kieran said of himself: 'People often describe me as a hungry, motivated, and super positive – a person who consistently goes above and beyond for his clients and his friends. 

'I take pride in approaching every opportunity with enthusiasm, dedication, and a strong desire to grow. 

'Whether I am supporting a client, collaborating with a team, or contributing to community efforts, I bring a positive attitude and a willingness to put in the extra work. 

'My commitment to building strong relationships and delivering exceptional results reflects the values I strive to embody every day, both personally and professionally.' 

It comes after the latest fired candidate on The Apprentice has hit back at their 'undeserved' sacking and took a parting shot at both Lord Sugar and one of his show co-stars. 

Rajan Gill launched an attack towards Levi Hague, saying he instead should have been fired in his place after 'putting himself out there' more than his rival.

The latest episode saw Lord Sugar task the remaining candidates with creating a virtual reality demo of a new game, designing a brand to score investments. 

The losing team, led by Lawrence Rosenburg, opted to create an aerobics game where huge frogs chase the user - however they received only £55,000 worth of investment.

This was in stark comparison to the opposing team, which had Harry Clough and thanks to Karishma Vijay's expertise in gaming, soared to victory by securing £205,000 investment for their futuristic running game. 

Lawrence, 28, decided to bring Levi, 33, and Rajan, 30, back into the boardroom with him to face Lord Sugar's wrath - but it was Rajan who was eventually given the boot. 

Hitting back against the decision, he said: 'Ultimately, Lord Sugar makes the decision based on the task and the overall performance, and I respect that. But I don't think I deserve to be fired, to be honest. 

'One of the things that Lord Sugar said to me before he fired me was that he felt like he didn't really see much of me throughout the process.

'But if I had the chance to speak to him right now, I would remind him I was sub-PM twice throughout the process. I held, I think, three corporate negotiations throughout the process of which every negotiation outweighed and smashed the other team. 

'And I put my all into every single task and I feel like there were some individuals who didn't do that and they should be facing the repercussions themselves.'

Laying into former co-star Levi, he added: 'I feel like in terms of consistency throughout the process, I didn't really see much of it. 

'I think he was sub-PM once in the first task in Hong Kong and I feel like I put myself out there a lot more than he did...'

Nonetheless, Rajan admitted he would not have done anything differently, saying: 'No, I feel like I was my true self. I wouldn't have done anything differently.

'One of the biggest things I can take back from this experience when I'm watching it on the screen is I can watch it and say, "you know what, that is my authentic self".'

One of the points where Rajan came under fire during the challenge was when his teammates Pascha and Rothna called him out for constantly criticising their ideas but failing to offer any alternatives while they were sorting the branding. 

The investors ripped apart Team Lawrence's 'corporate' looking logo for their aerobics game, which they said was 'boring and aggressive', also claiming their lacked any structure and substance. 

Then when the ideas were presented to a panel of experts, including influencer and Tala owner Grace Beverley, they were totally baffled and burst out laughing. 

If you are affected by anything in this article contact drug helpline FRANK 0300 123 6600, Alcohol Anonymous: 0800 917 7650 / [email protected] and Samaritans on 116 123 / [email protected]