This week saw Navid Sole become the third contestant to be fired from Lord Sugar’s boardroom, as The Apprentice continued on BBC One.
But what many didn’t get to see on the business programme was Navid’s larger-than-life personality, which was evident from the moment RadioTimes.com met him.
Dressed to the nines in a Gucci blazer, Navid was full of charisma when we spoke to him over Zoom, following his exit from the show.
And he wishes viewers would have seen a bit more of this, particularly the moments where he stood up for himself.
Referring back to Week 1, where each team had to design a cruise trip, he said: “It was mostly where I was sharing more of my ideas, like the cruise ship pitch. That was literally such a long pitch. I think it was about 30 to 40 minutes that we were pitching.
“There was a lot and I was constantly trying to defend the logo, and you know, there was just so much stuff I was trying to fight back with the judges and trying to kind of defend my corner. They didn’t show all of that.”
As well as this, Navid feels his “funny” side wasn’t really conveyed on screen.
He continued: “There were some funny remarks that I made like actually telling them that the brown and green represents a tree, kind of stating the obvious but I kept trying to combat. I’m a person that never like quits. I keep fighting and fighting.”
!["Navid,]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/01/Navid-Sophie-and-Akshay-9872a98.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Navid,-Sophie-and-Akshay\"")
Following this week’s task, Infinity’s project manager Sophie Wilding brought back Navid and Akshay Thakrar to the boardroom. She felt Thakrar hadn’t contributed on the branding team, and Navid didn’t help her and Stephanie Affleck during the mixing of their non-alcoholic beverage. At one point, Sophie even took over from Navid and he didn’t argue back.
So, why does Navid think his true personality didn’t come across on camera?
“This is my funny side and relaxed side, but trust me, when you’re in that kind of environment, you’re so tense,” he explained.
“There’s so much pressure that all your focus is about winning the task. It’s not like you can let yourself loose and just be yourself. When I did Rich Kids Go Skint, I was actually being myself and it was just fun. I’m a crazy polite person.”
Lord Sugar felt that although Navid made suggestions, he was never listened to, which is something the business tycoon felt very uncomfortable about when it came to deciding whether to keep the 27-year-old in the competition.
In terms of why he thought others refused to listen to him, Sole said: “I was just being true to myself. At the end of the day, I’m a pharmacist. I’m a professional. I’m representing professional healthcare. I’m someone who does things very calm in a relaxed manner, not the ones that shout or bark at each other. And that’s what The Apprentice is known for.”
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