Stuart Baggs (23 July 1988 – 30 July 2015), also known by his self-styled

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

as Stuart Baggs "The Brand", was an English businessman and entrepreneur from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. He founded and ran BlueWave Communications, a broadband company in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. He gained recognition for reaching the final five of

Series 6 Series 6 or Season 6 may refer to: *Series 6 exam In the United States, the investment company products/variable life contracts representative exam, is commonly referred to as the Series 6 exam. Individuals passing this multiple choice exam are l ...

of '' The Apprentice''. Baggs died aged 27 in

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas (, ) is the Capital (political), capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, Isle of Man, River Douglas, and on a sweepi ...

due to an

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

attack.

Business career

Born in Plymouth, Baggs spent most of his life in the Isle of Man and got into business by selling yo-yos at school. He attended

Ramsey Grammar School Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man. History A grammar school has existed in Ramsey since 1681. It moved to Lezayre Road in 1933 and was housed in a building that now f ...

. When he was 13, he founded BlueWave Communications to provide internet services in the Crown Dependency and legally incorporated it as a company when he was legally able to on his 18th birthday. It was formally launched in 2007 with Baggs saying that he founded it with the intent of providing broadband to areas of the Isle of Man with slow broadband. In 2015, on his 27th birthday and a week before his death, Baggs announced he was going to launch a new 4G data-only network.

''The Apprentice''

Baggs successfully applied to appear on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

programme ''The Apprentice'' broadcast in 2010. At 21, he was the youngest ever candidate to appear on the programme. He gained a reputation for one-liners and exuberant business style. He was described by one of his fellow contestants as "a breath of fresh air" and stated they felt he was aiming to better himself. He started with strong performances before calming during a few weeks but reached the semi-finals after some strong results. Baggs made it to the final five interview stage where he made several errors including: addressing

Margaret Mountford Margaret Rose Mountford (''née'' Swale, born 24 November 1951) is a British lawyer, businesswoman, academic and television personality from Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, best known for her role in the BBC reality TV series '' The Ap ...

by her first name, arguing with Claude Littner about calling himself "the Brand" and being discovered by Bordan Tkachuk to have lied on his application claiming BlueWave was fully licensed for telecommunications when it only had a broadband internet licence. In the boardroom, before being fired,

Lord 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 ...

said that Baggs was "...full of shit" for his attitude and statements. He was also not invited back for the final. Following his appearances on ''The Apprentice'', he was reportedly in talks to become a television presenter. He appeared on several television programmes afterwards, including ''

The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" th ...

'', ''

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

'' and '' Pointless Celebrities''. In 2020 after his death, fans of the programme paid tribute to him and many of them regarded him as their favourite contestant.

Death

On 30 July 2015, Baggs was found dead by officers of the

Isle of Man Constabulary The Isle of Man Constabulary () is the national police service of the Isle of Man, an island of 85,000 inhabitants, situated approximately equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. Structures and deployment The force has a ...

at his home in Douglas. Though initial investigations could not determine his cause of death, it was later discovered that he had died of an asthma attack. Lord Sugar paid tribute saying "Stuart was one of our most memorable characters and regretfully he's passed away, but he'll never be forgotten. What a great character". His funeral was held at St Ninian's Church, Douglas.

References

External links

IMDb profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baggs, Stuart 1988 births 2015 deaths Businesspeople from Plymouth, Devon Manx businesspeople The Apprentice (British TV series) candidates Deaths from asthma British telecommunications industry businesspeople 21st-century English businesspeople 21st-century Manx people