Rothna Akhtar: From Self-Taught Baker to The Apprentice Entrepreneur
Discover how a passion for baking that began at 12 grew into Rothna’s Bakery and took East London entrepreneur Rothna Akhtar to BBC’s The Apprentice.
Rothna Akhtar is a British entrepreneur, self-taught baker and student wellbeing professional best known for appearing on BBC’s The Apprentice Series 20 in 2026. She began creating cakes at the age of 12, starting with cupcakes before developing her skills and eventually building Rothna’s Bakery, with a particular focus on bespoke wedding cakes. Alongside her baking business, she has built a career in student wellbeing and has a degree from University College London (UCL).
Who Is Rothna Akhtar?
Rothna Akhtar has developed an unusual career that combines baking, entrepreneurship, education and student wellbeing. Before becoming familiar to a national television audience, she was already balancing a professional career with her passion for cakes.
Her journey into baking was not based on formal culinary training. She describes herself as a self-taught baker, developing her skills through practice, experimentation and persistence.
According to her own LinkedIn profile, Rothna has been creating cakes since she was 12. What began with cupcakes eventually grew into a more serious business, with her baking interests expanding into bespoke wedding cakes.
Her appearance on The Apprentice brought this side of her career to a much wider audience.
Rothna Akhtar Age
Rothna Akhtar was 28 years old when she appeared on The Apprentice in 2026. Contemporary profiles of the Series 20 candidates list her age as 28 and identify her as a student wellbeing adviser from East London.
Her age is particularly interesting in the context of her career because she had already developed professional experience in student support while simultaneously building a baking venture.
Rather than following one conventional career path, Rothna has combined her professional skills with a creative entrepreneurial ambition.
Early Life and Love of Baking
Starting Cakes at 12
Rothna’s interest in baking began during her childhood. She has described herself as a self-taught baker who started making cakes at the age of 12.
Her early creations were much simpler than the bespoke cakes associated with her business today. Cupcakes provided the starting point, allowing her to experiment with flavours, decoration and presentation.
In an interview discussing Rothna’s Bakery, she explained that her journey included making Nutella cupcakes, cheesecakes, truffles and dessert boxes before the business developed into bespoke wedding cakes.
This gradual development is an important part of Rothna’s story. Her baking business was built through experience rather than appearing fully formed overnight.
Rothna Akhtar Education
Studying at UCL
Rothna studied History at University College London and graduated in 2018. Her university experience also helped shape her interest in student welfare and representation.
Her time at UCL was about more than academic study. She became involved in student-focused work, developing experience in supporting and representing other students.
That experience provided a foundation for the career she would later build in student wellbeing.
Career in Student Wellbeing
Rothna’s professional career developed in higher education, where she has worked in student wellbeing.
Her role requires strong communication and interpersonal skills, particularly when supporting students who may be dealing with difficult circumstances. This people-focused experience also became part of the way she presented herself as an entrepreneur.
During The Apprentice, Rothna described her wellbeing work and baking experience as complementary strengths. Her professional background had taught her to understand people, while baking had developed her attention to detail and creativity.
The combination made her profile different from that of a conventional food entrepreneur.
Rothna’s Bakery
From Cupcakes to Bespoke Wedding Cakes
Rothna’s Bakery grew from a personal passion into a commercial venture.
Her own account explains that her family encouraged her to consider selling her baking after enjoying her homemade creations. She initially started small, offering cupcakes and other desserts, before moving towards more elaborate cakes.
Eventually, her work developed into bespoke wedding cakes, an area requiring precision, creativity and close attention to individual customer requirements. She has said that the cakes were created through self-teaching, trial and error and long hours in the kitchen around her full-time work.
This background helps explain why entrepreneurship became a natural next step for Rothna.
Rothna Akhtar on The Apprentice
In 2026, Rothna became one of the candidates on Series 20 of BBC’s The Apprentice.
She entered the programme as a 28-year-old student wellbeing adviser from East London, hoping to develop Rothna’s Bakery into a larger business. Her proposed concept went beyond selling finished cakes.
Her Business Plan
Rothna wanted to transform her part-time bakery into a three-part physical experience combining bespoke occasion cakes, interactive baking workshops and a personalised cake-bar station.
The idea reflected the two main themes running through her career: creativity and wellbeing.
Rather than viewing a bakery simply as a place where customers purchase food, Rothna envisioned an environment where people could participate, experiment and enjoy a creative activity.
Her Apprentice journey ultimately ended before she secured Lord Sugar’s investment, but appearing on the programme gave her business ambitions significant public exposure.
Rothna Akhtar Family
Information about Rothna Akhtar’s family is relatively limited publicly, and it is important not to confuse speculation with confirmed information.
Rothna has spoken about her family in connection with her baking journey. Her homemade Nutella cupcakes became popular among her relatives, and their encouragement helped persuade her to consider selling her creations.
She has also publicly discussed her East London background and British Bangladeshi identity.
However, detailed information about her parents, siblings, marital status or other relatives is not reliably established in the sources available. Therefore, claims about specific family members should be treated cautiously.
Rothna Akhtar Net Worth
There is no reliably verified public figure for Rothna Akhtar’s net worth.
Some online biography websites may publish estimated figures, but these should not be treated as confirmed unless Rothna herself or a highly authoritative financial source provides the information.
Her known professional activities include her work in student wellbeing and her entrepreneurial baking business. However, neither her personal earnings nor the value of her assets has been publicly established.
Therefore, the most accurate answer to “Rothna Akhtar net worth” is that her exact net worth is not publicly known.
Rothna Akhtar Wikipedia
As of the available information, Rothna Akhtar does not have a clearly established dedicated Wikipedia biography comparable to major long-established public figures.
That means Wikipedia should not be treated as the primary source for her biography. For emerging television personalities and entrepreneurs, information is often found first through their own professional profiles, programme information and interviews.
In Rothna’s case, her own professional background and interviews provide more useful information about her journey than an encyclopaedia entry would.
What Makes Rothna Akhtar’s Story Interesting?
Rothna’s story stands out because she did not begin with a traditional business background.
She started baking as a young teenager, learned the craft herself and gradually moved from cupcakes to increasingly sophisticated bespoke cakes. At the same time, she developed a professional career centred on supporting students.
Her appearance on The Apprentice brought those two worlds together.
The proposed bakery concept was not simply about selling cakes. It attempted to combine food, creativity, customer experience and wellbeing, reflecting the distinctive combination of skills Rothna had developed over the years.
Conclusion
Rothna Akhtar’s journey demonstrates how a childhood hobby can gradually become an entrepreneurial ambition. Starting to make cakes at 12, she developed her skills independently before expanding from cupcakes and desserts into bespoke wedding cakes and establishing Rothna’s Bakery.
Alongside baking, she built a career in student wellbeing and gained valuable experience through her education and professional work. Her appearance on The Apprentice in 2026 marked a major new chapter, introducing her business ambitions to a national audience.
Although her exact net worth and detailed family life remain private, her public career is clear: Rothna Akhtar is a self-taught baker, entrepreneur and student wellbeing professional whose journey from homemade cupcakes to national television reflects persistence, creativity and ambition.
