Star of The Apprentice Neil Clough has been appointed non-executive sales director of a growing North West firm after an impromptu phone call sparked by the hit TV series.

My Travel Pal was set up by husband and wife team David and Nicola Palmer in October last year as an off-shoot of their long-established holiday rental firm Perfect Getaways.

When Nicola saw Neil on the last series of The Apprentice she contacted him to ask if he could help with their sales strategy.

Husband Dave said: “Nicola watched The Apprentice and saw the skill Neil showed in sales. She got in touch with him and after the two of them had a chat about football he agreed to meet with us.

“We’re thrilled to have Neil on board and his sales expertise will be a huge help in driving the business forward.”

The appointment closely follows the launch of Neil’s business, NWC Consultancy, which provides sales consultancy, sales training, coaching and mentoring.

My Travel Pal is a cross between Travel Zoo and Groupon. It’s based in Capenhurst and offers discounted deals to clients on a database of over 240,000. A number of top name businesses including Frankie and Benny’s, Bella Italia and McDonalds Hotels advertise on the site.

“We give people the opportunity to do the best things and eat and drink in the best places at a discounted price,” said Dave.

As non-executive sales director Neil’s remit will be to help expand My Travel Pal’s growing customer base.

It’s an opportunity Neil relishes. He said: “My Travel Pal is a great family company with a great ethos. They are at the point where they have the potential to expand rapidly and I’m looking forward to helping the company grow.”