The Apprentice viewers have spotted an unfortunate pattern when it comes to who exits the hit show first. Lord Alan Sugar's search for his next business partner continued on Thursday night (January 12) and the 17 remaining candidates were hoping to do all they can to avoid those dreaded words - 'You're fired'.
During episode two, the remaining candidates were back on UK soil after a trip to Antiga and the two teams were tasked with making and selling bao buns. They needed to keep their costs low and profits high while impressing market customers and their corporate clients as they catered for two different events.
But by the end of the hour-long edition of the BBC One show, viewers saw a surprising double departure as Kevin D’Arcy received the firing treatment and Shannon Martin opted to leave the process early.
READ MORE: BBC The Apprentice viewers 'upset' seconds into episode two as change is made
Kevin, a 32-year-old accountant from Dublin, found himself on the losing team after and was brought back into the boardroom by project manager Bradley Johnson after he selected him as the men's sub-team leader. But Kevin was ultimately fired by Lord Sugar, 75, for pricing the products too low.
But fans of The Apprentice think they have spotted a theme when it comes to who will find themselves leaving first and missing out on Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment. @roisinquill1 said: "Only two Irish people gone the first two tasks …… a pattern here?" @shawnseanie commented: "2 Irish go in the 1st and 2nd week."
@GMcK2012 tweeted: "First 2 weeks of #TheApprentice and 2 Irish people fired.." @Ellie9691 fumed: "#TheApprentice what’s going on?!!! The two Irish contestants fired in the first two weeks??!! What on earth??!! They didn’t even deserve it!!!" Former Apprentice candidate Amy Anzel also said: "Ah, the luck of the Irish aye! First Emma, and now Kevin! Not sure if that was the right decision from Lord Sugar, but good luck with whatever you do next @ArcyKevin #TheApprentice."
Meanwhile, the second episode of the 17th series also saw the surprise departure of West Yorkshire bridal boutique owner Shannon, who left the process before the boardroom results in Thursday’s show, when it was announced her team had won the bao bun task.
Explaining the reason behind her decision to leave, Shannon said: "I think that going into the process, I was already having some doubts of whether I should go in or not. But when you’re given such an amazing opportunity, you’re not ever going to turn that down, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime that I’m forever grateful for."
She added: “But I’m a perfectionist, I need to know what’s going on all the time and not being able to know how things were going on at home or what was happening at work was really hard for me. The unknown is definitely not something I’m good at. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘Am I in here for the right reasons? Do I really want a business partner? Is this what I want? Do I want my life to change?’ and it really made me realise I love my life, I love the team and I love everything about my life.
"I knew that I could potentially win the show, and did I really want to win and have my life completely changed? No, I didn’t. I wasn’t in there for the right reasons."
The Apprentice airs every Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm.
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