This week’s episode of The Apprentice saw Lord Alan Sugar fire his fifth candidate.
Following the computer game challenge, Francesca Kennedy Wallbank was eliminated from the 2022 season, as she had misspelt her group’s brand name, causing potential investors to back out from the project.
Despite the obvious error, the elimination came as a “shock”, with Wallbank previously being tipped as a frontrunner to win the 2022 series out of all The Apprentice 2022 candidates.
“I was shocked!” she revealed after her exit. “I am someone that believes in fate and maybe the partnership with Lord Sugar just wasn’t meant to be. He fired me because of a spelling error but he himself, in his autobiography, refers to his own spelling as atrocious, so I think we probably have more in common than he realises!”
She added: “I wish more of my performance in the other tasks was taken into account when the decision was made – after all it is a process and everything that has happened prior should be taken into consideration, in my opinion.”
From early on, Wallbank was listed as the 3/1 favourite to be selected for Lord Sugar’s investment.
So, what happened?
“I can’t even begin to explain to you,” she said. “I have been in some scary situations in business; managing £40m brands in my day-to-day life and nothing compares to what it is like in this situation where you’re under so much pressure; trying to deliver and manage people that you don’t know, simultaneously. Mistakes do happen, that’s just part of life, but in that scenario it’s just amplified and I don’t think the lack of sleep helps!”
Speaking of the reception from viewers, she continued: “I couldn’t have asked for anything more, honestly everyone has been so lovely. A lot of people messaged to say they have bet on me and they can’t wait to have a lovely holiday with their winnings – I feel awful for all those people!
“But the response has just been overwhelmingly positive. Most people reach out to say I am driven and intelligent and I love those comments as it goes deeper than just the way I look.”
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