The co-owner of ADL Air Conditioning has made the final of season 19, alongside Anisa Khan after last night’s (Thursday, April 10) interview-focussed episode.
“The dream was to make it into the final five but now I’ve gone one step further, why can’t I go the whole way?” Dean said.
In a previous interview with the Recorder, Dean said that the community had shown him “loads of support” and last night and this morning had been no exception.
“My phone has not stopped – it’s giving me a headache.
“The phone calls, messages, Instagram is all going absolutely bonkers.”
Dean made it into the final alongside Anisa Khan (Image: Dean Franklin) Getting into the final was never going to be an easy ride and last night’s episode showed exactly that.
Each of the candidates were put under the spotlight with their business plans scrutinised by Claude Littner, Linda Plant, Claudine Collins and Mike Soutar.
Dean said: “I was so confident because this was the chance for me to speak about what I know and maybe I was a bit too confident because as soon as I sat down with Mike, I crumbled.”
Mike dug out an explicit picture from Dean’s social media pages and did not let him get away with slipping up on his words either – referring to climate change as climate control.
“I’ve never felt pressure like it – I knew as soon as I said climate control that I’d messed up,” said Dean.
“As soon as those words came out of my mouth I knew I was under pressure and I was just trying to laugh it off but I knew whatever else was going to come out of my mouth would be absolute rubbish.
“When he whipped out that photo, the embarrassment on my face said it all.
“I found it funny – I think everyone did but it just wasn’t the right place.”
Dean said that it was great to watch it back last night with his wife Chloe and children Ted and Bonnie who apparently “can’t stop talking about it”.
“They’re really enjoying it at the moment and they can’t wait to go back to school and talk to their friends about it.”
Despite the tough treatment from Mike, Dean claimed that he was still “confident” going into the boardroom with Lord Sugar because of his business.
“This isn’t an idea like some of the other candidates had – it’s an established business that’s been running for years and has built a really good reputation.”
Since his previous conversation with this paper, Dean’s fortune had flipped as he found himself on the losing team for multiple weeks in a row.
He said: “I started off badly on the first episode and then it picked up and I went on a winning streak and won around six on the spin and then it came to an end with a few episodes going not my way.
“What I can say is that every single episode I put my all into it and I couldn’t have done anymore and I think that shone through and Lord Sugar noticed it.
“At the end of the day, Lord Sugar is looking for someone to fit with him who’s got a good business and has their head on their shoulders – and I think he saw that in me.”
“If you think you’ve got what it takes, then sign up – simple as that.
“Don’t underestimate the process – it is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life but it’s also one of the best.
“I was the only tradesperson on the show this year and that speaks for itself – just because you’re a tradesperson, doesn’t mean you can’t do corporate things.
“People think a businessman is about wearing a suit and being corporate but the average tradesperson doesn’t do that – they are still business people.
“Tradespeople should be proud – they are the backbone of Britain and we should all be proud of what we do.”
Next week’s final will see Dean and Anisa both launch their businesses with the help of the returning other candidates.
Dean said: “You’ve seen me crumble in front of one person – what am I going to be like in front of 200 industry experts?
“It’s going to be hard – I had never spoken in front of an audience like that before.
“We’ll all just have to tune in and see how it goes.”
The final will be aired next Thursday (April 17) on BBC One.
