The Apprentice viewers were left reeling after Lord Sugar fired three candidates in a historic moment for the BBC show.
However, two of the fired contestants have argued against the business tycoon’s decision, calling it undeserved.
Sugar, 78, sent home all three contestants who were brought back to the boardroom after they failed in what he described as “the worst” performance in the corporate away-day task the show has had in 20 years.
The Apprentice typically airs double firings midway through the series, but this is the first time Lord Sugar opted to get rid of three people in one fell swoop outside of the interview stages, where he whittles five down to two.
In the latest episode, this year’s candidates were sent to Egypt to hold an away day for clients, where they found increasingly creative ways of cutting costs to make a profit.
However, only one team, led by account manager Priyesh Bathia, made back any money, with clothing brand owner Megan Ruiter’s team making a loss of 290 Egyptian pounds.
Her clients, who were dressed for a leisurely walk, were left unimpressed at having to kayak their way to dinner – and after arriving two hours late for food, soaking wet, they were presented with a starter of potato wedges, cooked by online loungewear business owner Carrington Saunders.
But after biting into the potatoes, it became clear that the food was raw.
Megan brought Carrington and also lettings agency owner Andrea Cooper back into the boardroom after accusing her of being too negative throughout the task. Sugar was more exasperated than usual and barely let the trio defend themselves before giving them the chop.
“The biggest mistake was you took on this task, Megan. On the basis that you are experienced and have done corporate events, for that reason, I’ve got to tell you, Megan, you are fired.
When she stood up to leave, Sugar angrily told her: “Sit down, I’m not finished yet.”
He continued: “Carrington, I’m not satisfied with your explanations, so you're also fired. And you [Andrea], I don't like people who are negative, so you're fired also. So all three of you are fired.”
But both Carrington and Andrea have now hit out at Sugar’s decision, with the former telling DailyMail: “I don't think I deserved to be fired. I made a mistake. The show isn't based on your cooking skills, it is based on your business skills.”
She continued: “However, I suppose that the refunds were so high, it does make sense to an extent, but I don't think I really deserved it, no.'
Meanwhile, Andrea added: “I don't think the reasoning for me being fired was accurate. I don't think I were negative. I'm not a negative person.
“I'm a very positive person. I feel that a lot of inexperienced people in business see it as being negative when actually it's just about being a business person.”
Megan said she “deserved” to be fired “in a sense” as she was the project manager, but said she doesn’t feel like she was “necessarily to blame for the refunds”.
She pointed out: “If it wasn't for the refunds, we actually would have won the task and that amount of money that we secured from the client – that was down to myself, and for knowing the experience that I've got within the events industry.”
The Apprentice airs on Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One.
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