A lot of who I am I Owe to my brother ...he is my reason for living right now

HIS snappy suits and impromptu rapping have made him one of the stand-out candidates on this season of The Apprentice.

- EMMA PRYER

But former garage star Tre Lowe has spoken of the heartbreaking motivation behind his bid to become Lord Sugar's latest business partner.

Tre, one of five final candidates vying for a £250,000 investment in the BBC One series, was devastated when his brother Ashley Akabah was found dead in his flat in Notting Hill, London, on February 2, 2020. He was 49.

The wellness entrepreneur and coach, who performed with Ashley in 90s act Architechs, said: "Ashley is one of my biggest reasons for living right now. A lot of who I am I owe to him.

"His death was one of the most challenging things I've ever had to deal with in my life."

Family believe Ashley died of Covid complications, weeks before the start of the UK's first lockdown.

Together with Tre, the successful songwriter and producer remixed for artists including Justin Timberlake, Usher and Mariah Carey.

They became famous for hits including the 1998 remix of The Boy Is Mine and the 2000 single Body Groove.

Opening up for the first time about what happened, tearful Tre, 49, said he was leaving the gym in west London with his now wife, Enas, when his father called to deliver the tragic news. He explained: "Just thinking about my dad's voice is hard because it's just so vivid. Dad was crying and my dad never cries. He's a proper Nigerian man. He said, Your brother's gone.

"Enas took the phone and I just remember collapsing in a lump on the street. I couldn't speak. Then my next thought was to 'run, run' to my brother's house."

When Tre arrived at his brother's home, an ambulance and police were there, along with his brother Andrew, who had called them after being unable to contact Ashley for days.

Tre said: "Andrew was looking absolutely distraught. I remember running up the stairs to the flat and the police saying, You can't go in. You don't want to see him like this.