Gregory won’t be securing Lord Sugar’s investment (Picture: BBC)
Tonight’s episode of The Apprentice saw antiques expert Gregory Ebbs’ time in the competition come to an end, after failing to meet Lord Alan Sugar’s expectations.
Having originally wowed the tycoon in the opening instalment of the 2023 programme, when the candidates put on tours for tourists in Antigua, his lack of knowledge around children’s cartoons eventually led to him being fired a couple of weeks later.
During the latest episode, the teams – which mixed the male and female contestants for the first time – were instructed to create animated short films that could prove entertaining to two-to-four-year-olds, as well as impressing experts from the industry.
The losing team failed to meet the mark with a cartoon that featured a short tale about two children having fun together on the playground, with one of the biggest gaffes being that the animated kids didn’t have hands, despite playing a clapping game together.
Gregory refrained from voicing strong opinions when working with his team, which subsequently resulted in some of the other candidates calling him out in the boardroom for a lack of input.
While he insisted that he didn’t feel he was qualified to make calls on this particular task, in the end, Lord Sugar sealed his fate by stating: ‘Gregory by your own admission you struggled with the task. In business you need to adapt. It is with regret Gregory, that you’re fired.’
The hopeful businessman didn’t meet Lord Sugar’s standards this week (Picture: PA)
Speaking in his taxi after his elimination, the budding businessman said: ‘I understand that Lord Sugar fired me because he felt I was unable to adapt.
‘However, I am determined to prove Lord Sugar wrong and show him why I should have been his next business partner.’
Reflecting on being fired, he added: ‘It’s tough. It’s a really tough experience and obviously you would love to secure Lord Sugar’s investment so that is difficult to take. Also, when you leave the process, you leave a lot people who you’ve built close connections with.
‘Overall it’s a very challenging sort of experience. On the whole, I enjoyed the process and I think that I’m very, very glad that I did it. It’s been honestly very rewarding.’
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He added that his journey on The Apprentice has ‘reinforced the idea that anything is possible’.
‘You’re only limited by what you set your goal to. That’s what I’ve taken from the show. There’s a big world out there, anything is possible, and I’m just really excited about the future,’ he stated.
Gregory recently released a statement issuing an apology after it emerged that he was selling Nazi memorabilia through his online antiques shop.
‘I in no way condone or wish to be looking to be celebrating this abhorrent and shameful part of history and I apologise for any offence caused,’ he said.
‘My online business is an antiques marketplace where independent sellers have a platform to sell a wide range of antiques, memorabilia & militaria from many different periods of history.
The entrepreneur explained that the ‘item in question was sold by a third party vendor’, adding: ‘This type of memorabilia is not something I would personally sell or stock.
‘The website is relatively new and I will be looking to implement stricter vetting procedures for third party vendors.’
The Apprentice returns next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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‘In business you need to adapt,’ Lord Sugar told the fired candidate.
