Raphael "Raef" Bjayou is a British entrepreneur and television presenter who was a contestant on series four

The Apprentice (UK Series Four)

Series Four of The Apprentice was a British reality television series, which was won by Lee McQueen. The series began on BBC One on 26 March 2008, and ran for twelve weekly episodes. Auditions and interviews are reported to have taken place during the first two weeks of July 2007 in London,...

 of The Apprentice (UK)

The Apprentice (UK)

The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as an apprentice to the British business magnate Lord Sugar in series one to six...

.

Education

Bjayou was educated at two independent school

Independent school

An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

s in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

: at Westbrook Hay School in Hemel Hempstead

Hemel Hempstead

Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....

, where he was school captain, and then Haileybury and Imperial Service College

Haileybury and Imperial Service College

Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...

 in Hertford Heath

Hertford Heath

Hertford Heath is a small village and civil parish near the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England.-Geography:It is located on a heath above the River Lea valley, on its south side...

 (near Hertford

Hertford

Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...

). He later attended the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

, where he studied History and Politics and was a committee member of the university's debating society.

Life and career

After graduating from University, Bjayou spent some time in Ethiopia engaged in work for the charity, The Addis Ababa Irrigation Project. He spent just over a year there before spending a further year in the British Virgin Islands, selling property. After returning to the UK, he immediately set to work establishing his own import and export company distributing, at first, magazines from the USA and then furniture from the Far East. This quickly led to pharmaceutical distribution in Africa, namely the western African countries of Gambia and Senegal. The principal product in this distribution portfolio is a home HIV testing kit, which Raef hopes will one day be distributed throughout the continent.

The Apprentice

Bjayou struggled in the first episode of the series, getting called back to the boardroom after misindentifying some fish, but he led his team to victory in the next task and soon became one of the favourites to win. He became popular for his distinctive dapper appearance, mannerisms, and sayings such as "The spoken word is my tool", as well as his defence of Sara Dhada when other candidates in the house ganged up on her. He also earned praise from Sir Alan Sugar as a "really nice chap", and Bjayou in turn claims to have an e-mail "rapport" with Sir Alan.

Post-Apprentice

After being dismissed in Week 9 of the show, he suggested to the press that he would like to pursue a career in the media. To this end, he has appeared in an episode of the comedy panel show, 8 out of 10 Cats

8 Out of 10 Cats

8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...

and was a reporter for the Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...

show.
He was a contestant on the second series of The Underdog Show

The Underdog Show

The Underdog Show was a six week television series presented by Julian Clary and his dog, Valerie. The series was produced by the independent production company Splash Media.-Format:...

, but was eliminated in the fifth week and has also appeared on Ready Steady Cook

Ready Steady Cook

Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...

, where he beat fellow Apprentice contestant Claire Young. Raef took part in Celebrity Come Dine With Me, where his friend Ben Duncan (who later competed in Big Brother

Big Brother (UK)

Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...

) cooked some of his food for him and the pair also took part in TV series Celebrity Coach Trip. Living TV show Party Wars will also star Raef.
In 2011 he turned his hand to acting with a small role in an episode of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 children's show M.I. High.

It is rumoured that Raef has been drafted in as a Business Development Director for luxury kitchen brand Milla.

Raef also uses the popular micro-blogging social-networking website Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

.

Personal life

Bjayou's interests include acting, lawn tennis and reading. He is a life member of the Exeter University debating society and claims to have "never lost an argument yet". Bjayou is half-Portuguese, he lives in Mayfair

Mayfair

Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and prides himself on his appearance and speech. He also owns a property development company which controls a string of properties in London and additionally he inherited a £6.5 million Mayfair flat from his uncle.

Selected Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	The Apprentice The Apprentice (UK Series Four) Series Four of The Apprentice was a British reality television series, which was won by Lee McQueen. The series began on BBC One on 26 March 2008, and ran for twelve weekly episodes. Auditions and interviews are reported to have taken place during the first two weeks of July 2007 in London,...	Candidate
2008	8 out of 10 cats 8 Out of 10 Cats 8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...	Panellist
2008	The Underdog Show The Underdog Show The Underdog Show was a six week television series presented by Julian Clary and his dog, Valerie. The series was produced by the independent production company Splash Media.-Format:...	Contestant
2008	Celebrity Come Dine With Me	Contestant
2008	What's On in London, for British Airways In-Flight Entertainment	Host
2008	The Lorraine Kelly Show	Guest
2008	The Wright Stuff The Wright Stuff The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....	Guest
2008	Richard & Judy Richard & Judy Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...	VoxPops Interviewer
2008	Tonight Tonight (TV series) Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...	Guest Presenter
2008	Britain's Best Dish Britain's Best Dish Britain's Best Dish is a British daytime cookery show on ITV hosted by Mary Nightingale. Amateur cooks from around the UK compete to cook "Britain's Best Dish" and a prize of £10,000. The judges are Ed Baines, John Burton Race and Jilly Goolden...	Guest
2008	The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot...	Guest
2008	Ready Steady Cook Ready Steady Cook Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...	Guest	Winner
2008	Daily Cooks' Challenge	Celebrity Cook
2008	It Pays to Watch! It Pays to Watch! It Pays to Watch! is a money saving show presented and written by money saving expert Martin Lewis, co-presented by Ruth Liptrot. It airs on UK terrestrial Channel Five...	Guest	Golden Pig Winner
2009	Tonight Tonight (TV series) Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...	Guest Presenter
2009	Fifth Gear Fifth Gear Fifth Gear is a motoring television magazine show from the United Kingdom. Originally shown on Channel 5, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins...	Guest
2009	Celebrity Juice	Guest
2009	Hell's Kitchen	Dinner Guest
2009	BBC Breakfast BBC Breakfast BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...	Guest
2009	Newsnight Newsnight Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....	Guest Interviewee
2009	Big Brother's Big Mouth	Guest
2009	Tonightly Tonightly Tonightly is a British comedy entertainment show presented by comedian Jason Manford. It was part of the Generation Next project on Channel 4 and was shown late evening, every weekday. The series concluded on 22 August 2008...	Guest