Stuart Baggs was saved on The Apprentice last night as Liz Locke was dumped from the show last night despite being the bookmakers’ favourite to win.
The 24-year-old investment banker fell at the final hurdle to earn a job with Lord Alan Sugar, when pipped against controversial contestant Stuart Baggs in the boardroom.
The pair were in the losing team in a London tourism task.
As she was fired, she said Stuart Baggs had only been saved because Lord Sugar saw the 21-year-old as a ‘mini-me’.
She said: “In that boardroom I felt a sinking feeling as I felt Lord Sugar looking at Stuart with a kind of admiration – a bit like he saw him as a mini Sugar. It was really bizarre.
“But fair play to Stuart, he had fantastic boardroom strategy which has got him through to the interviews, so I can’t really knock him for that.
“I think his main attribute has been schmoozing Sugar in the boardroom. He seems to have pushed the right buttons and know what the right things are to say to tug on his heart strings.”
Ahead of finding out what they would be doing, Jamie said: ‘This is the most important task. This is full on, this is the hardest it’s going to get.’
The contestants’ task began at Wandsworth bus garage, where Lord Sugar announced the teams would be given an open-top bus for the day to run a London tour company. Baggs led Stella English and Locke as Project Manager for team Apollo, while Joanna Riley was sent to manage Synergy with Jamie Lester and Chris Bates.
English suggested a cockney bus tour around the East End – taking in an old fashion knees up, pearly kings and queens and local cuisine.
But Locke didn’t get off to a good start with the locals, asking a jellied eels stall holder to exaggerate his cockney accent, which was deemed ‘extremely patronising’ by one customer.
Synergy went for a Sweeney Todd/Golden Ghosts tour.
It all came to a head in Trafalgar Square where a “turf war” as described by Lord Sugar broke out, with the two teams vying for the custom of tourists.
Team Apollo ended up in the boardroom having made a profit of £834.30 compared to team Synergy’s £1099.33.
In the boardroom, Lord Sugar said to Locke: “You’re the one with the business degree, and I’m starting to wonder if you have shown me anything that you’ve done in a special way.”
Then, explaining why he should stay, Baggs told Lord Sugar: “I will make you so proud of me. Since we’ve started this process, i’ve been thinking every night about new business ideas that I can make you so much money.”
Having been shown the door, Locke said: “Stuart might be the next Lord Sugar, but I’ll show Lord Sugar – he might be knocking on my door in a few years to come.”
Now she is off the show, Liz said she is open to pursuing a career in television.
