The Apprentice’s Jonny Heaver opens up about birth mark that’s made him so much ‘stronger’

The Apprentice is back for season 18 and one of the candidates, Jonny Heaver, has opened up about the “birth mark” he was born with that has made him “more resilient”.

Speaking on TikTok, he revealed that he was born with a giant melanocytic nevus covering half his face and neck. As MedlinePlus explains, this is a dark, noncancerous patch of skin that is made up of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes.

However, there was a small chance that his could potentially be cancerous, so his parents made the difficult decision to remove part of it, which has given Jonny permanent scarring around the birth mark.

“The surgery got quite obtrusive and it actually affected my eye and it’s basically called an ectropion, which basically means my eye droops down,” he explained.

This often puts him quite a lot of pain as a part of his eye is exposed that shouldn’t be, which also makes him prone to things like ingrown eyelashes and discomfort.

The 24-year-old has had many operations in his life to try and make his eye a better shape. One of them was successful, but he does still suffer a lot of pain.

@jonnyheaverachiever

Replying to @Mada514 Guys I just want to say a massive thank you for all the incredible messages and the support! It means the world! I’m loving it all and can’t thank you all enough. Bring on week 5 🪺🪺🥚🥚🐣🐣 #theapprentice #theapprenticeuk #theapprentice2025 #wunderbar #facialdifference #teamjonny @Changing Faces UK

♬ original sound – Jonny / Achiever Tutoring

“So that’s why I’ve got the scarring and as well as my birthmark, which now is just around my eye,” he continued.”In terms of pain, yeah I do still deal with pain.”

He added that the early mornings and late nights on The Apprentice have made his eye quite bloodshot, and other external factors like wind, sun and pollen can also bring pain.

However, there have been some positives. Jonny said the many surgeries he’s had have made him a “stronger” and “more resilient” person, which gives him more “grit” and “determination”.

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He was “umming and ahing” about addressing the condition online because it’s “none of anyone’s business” and he doesn’t want people to remember him just because of what he looks like.

However, he decided to confront it directly because he wanted to share his story that makes him different, but doesn’t want people to like him and support him just because of what he’s been through.

Jonny also wants to break the stereotype that only a specific type of person can go on reality TV and show people “we are all beautiful, we are all unique”.

“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. We’ve all got things that make us different and that is what makes us exciting.”

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Featured image by: BBC and jonnyheaverachiever/TikTok