The Apprentice spoilers follow.
The Apprentice's Emma Rothwell has shared her heartbreaking reaction to being fired in last night's episode.
The BBC One show returned to screens with a new set of candidates last night, with the episode seeing Lord Alan Sugar send them to Austria to sell and run Alpine tours.
After finding herself on the losing team and being accused of poor sales tactics in the boardroom, Emma became the first contestant to be fired from season 19.
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Sharing her reaction to her exit, Emma told Metro she believes that she has let herself and "everyone else down".
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"I was just like, I’ve let myself down," she said. "I’ve let everyone else down. I just knew I had more to give and could have fought for my place more."
The online gift store owner continued: "I just really wanted to show people that you can be a normal person and be nice in business; that you don’t have to be fighting or nasty.
"I wanted to represent the normal people among us who have gone into business, but I didn’t get the chance."
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Emma also said she thinks she was "perceived as being quiet", adding: "I wasn’t. I was energetic. There was even a scene with me with a megaphone trying to sell the tours.
"They edited a clip of [fellow candidate] Carlos saying that I didn’t have any energy and whatnot and I was like, what a load of old rubbish.
"I’m not quiet at all. My friends are going to find it absolutely hysterical that me, of all people, was fired for being quiet."
While she said her edit was not "properly representative" of her personality, Emma noted that the producers "are there to create a TV show" and she was "happy to go out a hero without making myself look like an idiot."
The Apprentice airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
