Lord Sugar has fired his first candidate as the 19th series of The Apprentice got underway with a sales task in Austria.
Eighteen fresh candidates began the process, which started with a twist - rather than the initial teams being split among gender lines, they were mixed from the start.
Sugar sent the teams off to Innsbruck in Austria, where they had to set up and run a tour, sell tickets and then deliver "an unforgettable experience" for their guests.
© BBC
Emma Street, a 23-year-old corporate project manager from London, led her team to victory on a glacier tour with an overall profit of €230.60.
It was a completely different story for the other team, led by Anisa Khan - a 26-year-old pizza company owner from London - whose forest tour, including e-bike rides, honey and bread-making, actually ran to a loss of €166.
© BBC
Lord Sugar took the lead in blaming the sales half of the team for the defeat, meaning that six candidates were in the firing line in the final boardroom decision, and in the end a total lack of sales from Emma Rothwell, a 29-year-old online gift merchant from Lancashire, meant that she became the first to be fired.
"Emma, you haven't sold any tickets," Sugar told her, "and you haven't explained to me what in fact you did do. So look, it's difficult, but my gut feeling is telling me Emma, it is with regret - you're fired."
Speaking in her taxi ride home, she said: "Lord Sugar absolutely made a mistake. I'm more than good enough to be his business partner and this will not be stopping me.
The Apprentice continues next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer, when the candidates will be tasked with creating virtual popstars.
Neil Wilkes
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