Lord Alan Sugar was left “disappointed” by their actions in the first episode of the new series.
Two Apprentice candidates have been forced to leave the competition immediately after a shock double firing.
Lord Sugar’s BBC competition returned tonight (Thursday 29 January) with a new batch of hopefuls vying for a £250,000 investment into their businesses.
Among them are a former Geordie Shore star and an actress hoping to follow in the footsteps of Tim Campbell and Harpreet Kaur.
However, they didn’t seem to get off to the best start after the teams were flown out to Hong Kong to attempt the infamous “treasure hunt” challenge.
Pushed to their limits, both teams failed to impress Lord Sugar, with one half of the ladies’ team failing to reach the endpoint on time.
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In the boardroom, Lord Sugar was left furious and ultimately chose project manager Nikki Jetha and subteam leader Georgina Newton to fire.
Speaking after the firing, Nikki admitted she felt “disappointed”, saying: “I did not get to show more of me and what I’m capable of, but I definitely don’t feel defeated. You know, I stepped forward, I took a risk, and I own the outcome.”
She went on to say she didn’t believe she deserved to be fired, adding, “I was brave enough to stand up and take on a challenge during the first task. It was, you know, unfamiliar territory. Not knowing the process, let alone the country, and not having internet and things like that. But I did the best I could do under the pressure, with limited information, and I’d rather be fired for stepping up than staying safe in the background. There’s a saying that ships are safest in the harbour, but that’s not what they’re built for.”
Nikki went on to say that she would have done a lot differently, but “that’s just the luxury you don’t get, unfortunately”. She continued: “I trusted my instincts, I made decisive calls, and I’ll do that again. I guess I did something that many people think about, but they don’t actually stand up and do.”
The mortgage adviser and mum-of-two added: “I had fun on the show, I learned a lot about myself, I’m definitely bolder than I think I am. And I hope it shows other mums that you don’t have to put yourself last, and you can still go after more.
“And I’ve just proved to myself and everyone out there that you can be a mum, a wife, a businesswoman, and you can have it all if you put yourself out there and try. I was the only one with a young family on the show this series, and it was a big achievement for me, being out of my comfort zone. My kids were two and one when I did the show. But that didn’t stop me, and I still pushed forward.”
Nikki had also called the subteam leader and actress Georgina to the boardroom, but she failed to impress Lord Sugar with her positive attitude.
After her firing, she admitted, “I was devastated. I spent two weeks feeling sorry for myself, but then I picked myself back up, put myself back together and then cracked on, ready for the next thing. But I was really sad.”
When asked what she learned through the experience, she added, “So I’ve been performing in theatre all of my life. I’ve always played a character, and I think for a lot of my life, I’ve hidden behind being somebody else, and being in this process, it’s the first time I’ve ever done anything just as Georgie. And I think what I realise the most from this is that I am enough just as I am. I can hold my own. I’m enough, and I think that’s a really lovely takeaway.”
Though it was a shock double firing and Lord Sugar brutally questioned the candidates, he previously admitted a “heated exchange” had been cut from the BBC edit.
He said: “It’s a classic task, and you’d think it was quite simple, wouldn’t you?”
He went on to explain that before the competition even began, people were sent out “to do a dummy run,” ensuring the challenge would have been possible.
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After seeing the candidates fail, Lord Sugar admitted: “I was a bit disappointed.”
He continued: “It was quite shocking, I expressed my displeasure, from what I recall, you see a mild disapproval from me but there was actually more of a heated exchange when I told them how disappointed I was.”
The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursdays at 21:00, with The Apprentice: Unfinished Business airing straight after on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
