08 February 2024 , 22:01
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Fired candidate Paul Bowen says he completely agrees with Lord Sugar's decision.
In the second challenge of the series, Lord Sugar was faced with Paul, Asif and Phil in the bottom three as the boys lost once again, in a task that saw the candidates manufacture miniature cheesecakes. Although Lord Sugar told Paul he "admired" him for admitting his mistakes, he decided he had to go.
Speaking to the Mirror, Paul said he agreed with the business mogul's decision. He joked: "I nearly called the taxi myself! I did make the mistakes and that's what I did. I was hoping Lord Sugar could have seen why I made the mistakes and could have seen the business side of exactly what I did do."
When asked if he thought either of his fellow bottom three candidates should have gone, he said: "I would have liked to see Asif fired just because I don't think he contributed as much as everybody else. But that's not to take anything away from him. He's good at what he does, I believe, and I wish him all the best."
Lord Sugar admired Paul for admitting his mistakes (Freemantle Media Ltd)Reflecting on the cheesecake task, in which the losing team fumbled their figures, Paul continued: "Where did it go right? I made a few mistakes. When I look back at it, I can see why I did make mistakes. In business, you've got to understand I don't have to answer to anybody whereas in the process you do.
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"And yes, I did force the issue on chocolate. But you can almost see why because the boys sent me into sell as a chocolate cheesecake. The price? £6 for a cheesecake I’m sorry even I still think that’s [expensive] I would have gone to £4. I think my major downfall was my fighting. I didn't fight back, I accepted all the mistakes and maybe if I had a bit more self-confidence in myself and pushed myself a little bit harder, I think maybe I could have had a different outcome."
The business director, who was one of two pie company experts during the process this year, was hoping to secure Lord Sugar's investment for his experience and knowledge in order to grow his pie empire. The fired candidate admitted he struggled with the adjustment from the business world he knows and The Apprentice process.
He added: "Here at Bowen Pies, what I say goes and if I make a mistake I can hide it and pretend it never happened. We’re here to make money, I’ve only got myself as my pusher and I can make as much or as little money as I like and it's down to me.
"Obviously, going into a competition Lord Sugar wants the best and I think I struggled with that. I was happy with the profit we made, that’s good money for me. But obviously he's after more and the other team certainly gave him that."