BBC’s The Apprentice delivered a double sacking last night, surprising viewers and the TV candidates, not least Vincent Disneur and Ellie Reed, who were both axed from the show.
And it was a case of fur play to Jim Eastwood, the sales and marketing manager from Northern Ireland who had a lucky escape after a heated boardroom rant with Lord Sugar and assistant Karren Brady.
It was the fourth time Cookstown man Jim has ended up on the losing team since the show began.
Last night he avoided being hauled in front of Sugar for the chop because of his seemingly cosy relationship with team boss Disneur.
Lord Sugar’s sidekick Nick Hewer described as a “bit like a Batman and Robin thing”.
In this week’s task teams Logic and Venture were asked to make and brand a new pet food with an accompanying advertising campaign.
Eastwood wriggled his way out of a call back into the boardroom after being held responsible for creating team Logic’s product name – Every Dog.
This was despite being told by a panel of experts that their universal dog food was “against everything they believed in”.
Eastwood also suggested a rather colloquial “fur play” before getting behind the camera to shoot promotional material for the pet food.
Facing boardroom pressure from both Lord Sugar and Karren Brady over his naming of the product, Eastwood said: “I came up with the name but not in association with the way we branded this exercise. Every single one of us ran with it.”
For smug and slippery team leader Vincent Disneur and construction company boss Ellie Reed, it was the second time that they had faced the wrath of Lord Sugar in the boardroom after failing to live up to tasks in week three and four.
After the show, Reed said: “We felt we should have won as we had a better campaign, but our idea was flawed. It was Jim’s idea, but Vincent didn’t bring him back because he’s his mate.
“Lord Sugar said I didn’t do enough, but I didn’t have chance to show what I could do. I was gutted to be fired – it should have been just Vincent.”
Reed, 34, of Bradford, added: “I wasn’t competitive enough. There were some big characters all trying to shout the loudest, but I couldn’t be bothered with that.
“I feel like I left with my head held high. I wish I had been project manager, then I could have shown more of myself.”
Winning team Venture impressed Lord Sugar by designing a cat food for slimming felines called ‘Cat Size’ and were treated to a tennis lesson from Aussie Pat Cash at the prestigious Queen’s Club.
