From the boardroom to the bedroom: Two pairs of love-struck Apprentice hopefuls 'caught kissing under the covers in shared London mansion'

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There's no love lost between the Apprentice hopefuls when they're fighting for their place in Alan Sugar's boardroom.  

But four candidates have also been getting feisty in the bedroom, an insider has claimed.

Ex-stripper Jessica Cunningham is said to have struck up a romance with Essex lad Courtney Wood - while make-up expert Grainne McCoy apparently hit it off with marketing executive Paul Sullivan.

Steamy: Ex-stripper and selfie lover Jessica Cunningham is said to have struck up a romance with Essex lad Courtney Wood

A show insider told The Mirror that the couples would sneak off into each other's bedrooms in the £12million London Hammersmith mansion they shared with the other 18 candidates. 

'Both couples would suddenly ­disappear and there were several times they'd be found upstairs under the covers kissing,' said the source.

'Production team researchers had to go into one of the girl's rooms and tell the boys to move back to their own beds.'

Getting close: Courtney and Jessica's relationship was said to be the most 'lovey-dovey'

Passionate: Make-up expert Grainne McCoy apparently hit it off with marketing executive Paul Sullivan

Apparently 38-year-old Paul, who led boys’ Team Titans in Thursday’s episode, made his move on Northern Irish Grainne, 31, after the first task. 

The insider said: 'They were flirting. Paul thought she had a really nice bum,' adding that they would often kiss and watch romantic movies in bed.

Meanwhile 29-year-olds Jessica and Courtney are said to have enjoyed a 'lovey dovey' relationship - which even involved the Burnley lass picking spots off his back.

A spokesman for the show declined to comment to MailOnline. 

Producers of the show, which was watched by 5.5million people during Thursday's first episode, banned sex in the house.  

The mother-of-three will battle against 17 other contestants to take home the £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar on the Apprentice

The revelations emerge after it was disclosed that Jessica Cunningham used to earn £300-a-night as a stripper in an upmarket lap-dancing club.

Jessica's naked ambition caught the attention of BBC producers when she auditioned for the Apprentice, but the 29-year-old brunette is no stranger to having all eyes on her.

Before turning her hand to business, the mother-of-three from Dronfield in Derbyshire, used to be a stripper in a club in Liverpool. 

Jessica could pocket from £40 to £300 as an exotic dancer at X In The City, a club which describes itself as 'Liverpool's number one lap dancing bar for stag nights', reveals the Sunday People.

The online entrepreneur, who runs women's fashion house Prodigal Fox, told MailOnline: 'I briefly worked in a strip club a long time ago for a couple of months and this is very much a part of my past.'

Jessica's favourite song to perform to was Private Dancer by Tina Tuner and a pal told the People: 'When that came on, she would work the pole and entice the punters to get a dance from her for £5 or £10. 

Enterprising: Selfie-loving Jessica worked as a stripper at the X in the City club in Liverpool, before setting up her Prodigal Fox fashion house

'For richer clients, she would offer them private dances at £50 a time.

'It was a means to an end but Jess made the most of it. She's drop-dead ­gorgeous and was a real hit with the punters.'

Jessica will be hoping her ambition and business acumen sets her apart from the 17 other candidates hoping to impress Lord Alan Sugar and his aides in this year's Apprentice. 

Nine men and nine women will be taking part in a number of gruelling challenges and testing boardroom showdowns as they compete to win a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.

Jessica often takes glamorous selfies on social media and boasts celebs friends such as Vicky Pattison from reality TV show, Geordie Shore.

However, such attraction to the limelight is sure to cut little ice with Lord Sugar who wants his hopefuls to keep a low profile and focus on the challenge and business at hand.

He told The Sun: 'A lot of the candidates publicise themselves on social media that's why so many flock to the auditions cause they want to be like them.

'It's only the ones that take it seriously that go all the way.'

Glamour gal: Jessica often posts glamorous selfies on social media - but such a love for the limelight will not be enough to impress Lord Sugar and his aides