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Lord Sugar fires third Apprentice star after awkward boardroom mix-up in show first
TONIGHT’S episode of The Apprentice saw Lord Sugar fire a third contestant following an awkward mix-up on which stars would be brought back into the boardroom.
This year’s crop were tasked with writing and illustrating a children’s book before attempting to sell it to retailers.
Lettings agency owner Andrea Cooper led the charge for the women while barbershop owner Marcus Donkah took charge for the men.
After everything was said and done, it was revealed that the women had triumphed, with more books being sold to retailers than the men.
Lord Sugar bemoaned that the boys’ book “had no point to it” and it was missing illustrations after the sub team ran out of time to finish it.
Marcus decided to bring back Dan Miller and Keiran McCartney back into the boardroom with him.
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However, as the three men were told to stand outside while Lord Sugar debriefed with Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, Marcus dramatically asked to be brought back into the boardroom to speak to the mogul.
He requested to change his decision by sending Dan back to the house and instead asked to bring back Priyesh Bathia.
However, not putting up with the nonsense, Lord Sugar decided to bring back all four men back into the boardroom.
Ultimately, the business magnate fired project manager Marcus, blaming him for the failure of the task.
The other three men were sent back to the house after narrowly avoiding being fired by Lord Sugar.
Speaking about his untimely exit, Marcus said: “I was absolutely gutted. I had so much more to give to the show.
“I feel as though I didn’t really get to showcase my business acumen and my business skills, considering I’ve been running a business for five years and a successful one at that.
“And I was mostly upset at the fact that I couldn’t see the other candidates. They were amazing people, absolutely class individuals.
“I think the production team did an amazing job gathering the candidates together. We all fit together really well. So yeah, I think missing them was probably the biggest part.
When asked if he deserved to be fired, the contestant explained: “No. I definitely did not deserve to go.
“I feel as though, in the real business world, you have a lot of information – you do have to make quick decisions, but you have a time to think.
“It was really intense in the boardroom, I had to make a decision very quickly on who to bring back.
“ So, changing my mind didn’t help, but I feel as though there were other candidates that performed a lot worse than I did, didn’t do what they were supposed to do, and I feel as though they deserved to get kicked off rather than myself.”
The BBC One show returned last week for the milestone 20th series, with the group heading to Hong Kong for the opening episode.
The groups were tasked with having to find nine items but both failed miserably and were only able to find a couple each.
To make matters worse, half of the ladies arrived back at the meeting point two hours later than required, incurring them huge penalties.
The dramatic episode ended with a double firing, with both Nikki Jetha and Georgina Newton being sent home after a poor effort from both teams.
The Apprentice continues next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.