Leah Totton (born 22 January 1988) is a British practising physician, entrepreneur and former model from

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, who won the 2013 series of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's ''

The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...

''. Her business plan, a cosmetic clinic chain, named Dr Leah Clinics, co-owned with

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician, and political adviser. Sugar began what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company A ...

, launched in 2014. Their business was a success; with their London clinic winning national awards. Dr Leah Clinics expanded to open further branches in London and Essex & the pair have also launched Dr Leah skincare products. Dr Leah received media attention for her glamorous appearance, her success on the show, the success of her resulting business and for advocacy of improved ethics and integrity in the cosmetic treatment industry. Despite the success of her business she remained committed to NHS and returned to work part-time as a GP in 2017.

Background

Leah Totton grew up in

. She attended

Foyle College Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged unde ...

. She studied medicine at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, graduating as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

in 2011, aged 23 after working as a model until that point. She subsequently registered with the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

. In 2013, Totton won the £250,000 prize for business acumen on

's ''

'', a British reality television competition that offers the winner an opportunity to start a business with British

business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

. Along with Alan Sugar, she set up a chain of ethical Cosmetic Clinics, Dr Leah Clinics. She continued work as a physician within the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

on a part-time basis.

Dr Leah Clinic

In 2014, Dr Leah Clinic, co-owned with Lord Sugar, opened in central London. There was criticism at the time regarding Totton's young age and level of experience by several members of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). Alongside Lord Sugar she has gone on to open further Dr Leah Clinic branches in Essex and London. Her Clinics have been voted ‘Best Clinic London’ and awarded ‘Most Trusted UK Clinic 2023’ and reported a yearly turnover of £2.7 million in 2022. The pair also launched a Skincare line, Dr Leah Skincare in October 2022.

Industry standards

Totton has advocated better regulation and improved standards in the cosmetic industry. She endorsed a 2013 review by Sir Bruce Keogh,

medical director, that expressed concern over lack of proper qualifications for some

dermal filler Injectable filler is a special type of substance made for injections into connective tissues, such as skin, cartilage or even bone, for cosmetic or medical purposes. The most common application of injectable fillers is to change one's facial appear ...

treatments. Her expressed reason for being drawn to the field was to improve standards and help reduce adverse outcomes.

Personal life

She has frequently spoken out on

women's issues Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern societies are patriarchal—th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Totton, Leah 1988 births Living people 21st-century British medical doctors Alumni of the University of East Anglia Models from Derry (city) British businesspeople Businesspeople from Derry (city) The Apprentice (British TV series) winners Medical doctors from Derry (city)