One of the stars of The Apprentice has been forced to quit the show. The hit BBC One series is set to continue on Thursday night (February 9) but it has already been confirmed that one of the candidates had to drop out before the latest task which saw them whisked off to Dubai.
The remaining candidates still vying for Lord Alan Sugar's £250,000 investment into their business ideas will be seen being tasked with organising a corporate away day for two international clients that are based in the United Arab Emirates city.
However, Reece Donnelly has confirmed he has been forced to quit the reality show due to his health issues meaning he was unable to travel to Dubai and complete the task, resulting in him having to withdraw from the show and miss out on Lord Sugar's sought-after investment.
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Speaking to the Daily Star, Reece said of his surprise exit: "I could not continue in The Apprentice due to being unable to complete the task in Dubai for health reasons." But despite having to make an early exit, the theatre school owner said he had achieved one of his 'goals'.
He said: "My goal of being on The Apprentice was to showcase that Scotland has amazing businesses and entrepreneurs. I really hope I’ve done that," he added of why he wanted to take part on the show in the first place." Reece added: "I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time on the show and I’m looking forward to watching my fellow candidates in the rest of the series. I’m so grateful for my time with Lord Sugar and the team."
But Reece isn't the first person to quit the show this series. The second episode of the 17th series also saw the surprise departure of West Yorkshire bridal boutique owner Shannon Martin, who left the process before the boardroom results 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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