The latest series of The Apprentice has seen its fifth candidate fired after a task focused on creating and marketing a bottled water brand.
Aberdeen pharmacist Roxanne Hamedi was dismissed by Lord Sugar, who held her accountable for her team's poor branding decisions.
As sub-team leader for the branding element, Hamedi expressed her disappointment, saying she felt "like my time was cut short".
The episode required candidates to sell their new water brands live on social media and produce an accompanying television advert.
Rapper Big Zuu also made a cameo, assisting in judging the candidates' work. Lord Sugar ultimately attributed the team's branding failures to Hamedi, resulting in her exit from the BBC business show.
She was in the firing line alongside team leader Conor Galvin and pharmaceutical sales specialist Rajan Gill, who was brought into the boardroom after a disastrous pitch.
Hamedi said: “It didn’t feel good to be fired, just because I didn’t think that I deserved to be.
“There was a lot going on that day and I feel like other people lacked accountability.”
Hamedi said she took on the role of sub-team leader because she “wanted to get out of my comfort zone and take that risk”.
She added: “I don’t regret being a sub-team lead, but I just feel like my time was cut short in the process.”
She said Galvin should have been fired instead, adding: “I feel like he did throw me under the bus because I was just an easy scapegoat.”
Asked if she would have done anything differently, Hamedi said: “I guess I could have fought more in the boardroom, you know, called Rajan out on his lack of input, or reminded Lord Sugar that I’d taken creative risks and didn’t hide in the background.
“But I didn’t want it to come down to begging or being the loudest or most apologetic person in the room. I stayed true to myself and that takes integrity.”
Hamedi would have expanded her business, a beauty brand specialising in combatting hair loss, if she had won the programme.
The winner of the latest series of The Apprentice will be awarded £250,000 of investment into their company and the opportunity to go into business with Lord Sugar.
The Apprentice returns on BBC One next Thursday at 9pm.
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