Lord Sugar Fires Two Apprentice Candidates After Hong Kong Task Debacle

Lord Sugar Axes Two Candidates in Dramatic Apprentice Premiere

The 20th series of The Apprentice launched on BBC One with a high-stakes episode that saw Lord Sugar deliver a brutal double firing. The iconic business reality show returned on Thursday, January 29, 2026, plunging twenty new candidates into a challenging task set in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Shopping Task Ends in Failure

Under the watchful eyes of Lord Sugar, Baroness Karren Brady, and Tim Campbell, the candidates were split into teams and tasked with sourcing nine specific items at the lowest possible price. The competition pitted the girls' team against the boys' team, with the latter emerging victorious. However, the girls' team, led by project manager Nikki Jetha, a mortgage broker, suffered a catastrophic failure.

They managed to procure only two of the nine required items, a performance Lord Sugar deemed unacceptable. Compounding the disaster, half of Nikki's sub-team arrived nearly two hours late to the finish line. This poor showing led to the immediate dismissal of both Nikki Jetha and events manager Georgina Newton.

Fired Candidates Hit Back at Lord Sugar's Decision

Both axed contestants vehemently disagreed with their firings. When questioned, Nikki Jetha defended her leadership, stating, 'No, definitely not. I was brave enough to stand up and take on a challenge during the first task.' She argued that operating in unfamiliar territory without internet access was a significant hurdle and that she preferred to be fired for stepping up rather than playing it safe.

Georgina Newton also expressed her disbelief, saying, 'No, I didn't. I think in the first episode, I probably contributed more than anybody on my team... I thought I had a few more weeks at least left in me.' She suggested that Lord Sugar should have fired two members from Nikki's late-arriving sub-team instead.

Lord Sugar Expresses Severe Disappointment

Reflecting on the episode, Lord Sugar revealed his profound frustration, noting that a 'heated exchange' was edited from the broadcast. He explained that the task items were pre-verified as available in Hong Kong, making the teams' failure particularly shocking.

'I was a bit disappointed,' Lord Sugar admitted. 'To spend all that time and money sending everybody to Hong Kong... and one of the teams only found two of them. It was quite shocking, really.' He confirmed that his on-screen disapproval was a toned-down version of his actual reaction.

Remaining Candidates Battle for Investment

Following the double elimination, eighteen candidates remain in the competition, vying for Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment. The surviving contestants are: