Kent’s candidate on this year’s series of The Apprentice has opened up about the cause of his facial scars.

Jonny Heaver, who grew up in Deal and is vying to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner in the hit BBC show, has taken to TikTok to share his story.

In the six-minute video post, the business owner said: “It is something that makes me different, and we are all different in our different ways. Hopefully you have built your idea of me, beyond what I look like by this point.

“I do not want a sob story. I do not want people to like me, and support me because of what I have been through.”

He continues to say that viewers had gone on to ask the 23-year-old whether he had been in an accident or the scarring was due to a burn.

But he revealed it is the result of surgery to remove a large birthmark.

Jonny, who is now based in Liverpool and runs tutoring company, Achiever Tutoring, explained he was born with a “giant melanocytic naevus” covering half his face and head.

He said there was a slight risk that it could be cancerous so his parents took the difficult decision to remove it, hence the scarring.

The surgery was obtrusive and affected his eye, causing it to droop down and has caused him a lot of discomfort among other things like ingrown eyelashes.

He has had skin grafts and tissue expansion, to make his eye a better shape, however, he still deals with pain, including blood shot eyes and can be affected by the wind, sun and pollen.

Jonny added: “I have been through a lot of surgery in my life, but I think it has made me stronger and made me more resilient. Since I was a baby, I have had on and off surgery all my life.

“I cope with pain and I think that does give me grit and it does give me determination. I do not want it to be a sob story because it is not.

“Hopefully I am showing people we are all beautiful and we are all unique.

“We can go for these reality shows and big series, even if you do have a facial difference, or difference, whatever that is.

“People are all born with differences, mine is a birth mark covering my face, for other people it could be a physical attribute somewhere else on their body or a speech thing, or anything.

“We have all got things that make us different, that is what makes us exciting as humanity.”

Jonny grew up in the seaside town of Deal, where his mum still lives today, and attended Deal Parochial School, Canterbury Steiner School and Dover College.

He graduated from Liverpool University and has continued his link to the city through his present job.

The entrepreneur previously spoke to KentOnline about his application to take part in the popular BBC show, which he put in with just two minutes to spare.

But his last minute effort paid off, and he is one of a group of 18 initial contestants in the present series.

He said: “I woke up the next morning about 9am, just to see if I got a response and actually, I did.

“And they said, you know, we want to meet you, Jonny, can you come down to London?

“It was in that moment, I thought, can I get down from Liverpool to London in a couple of hours? And I thought, why not? So I then quickly rushed down to London.”

If he wins The Apprentice, he will benefit from a £250,000 investment and a 50/50 partnership with business magnate Lord Sugar.

For each episode, the candidates are split into two teams to fulfil a task and usually the winners are the ones who make the most profit.

Jonny added: “We are all incredibly passionate about our businesses and we do want to secure that investment

“I think every day in the boardroom or the shared house is a good day. If I did win, obviously it would be fantastic.

“But even if I do not, it is this experience, which I did it for. The exposure, the experiences with Lord Sugar and the team. It has been fantastic.”

Read More: KentOnline speaks to former Kent candidates Stephanie Affleck and Felipe Alviar-Baquero

The 19th series of The Apprentice is on at 9pm every Thursday until April 17.