Latest candidates fired and finalists revealed in The Apprentice

The latest candidates have been fired from The Apprentice, meaning only the two finalists remain in the BBC business show.

Pascha Myhill will battle it out against Karishma Vijay in the series finale next week, after surviving gruelling interviews with Lord Sugar’s business associates in tonight’s episode.

Dan Miller, Lawrence Rosenberg and Priyesh Bathia were the latest candidates to leave the show, after a tense episode during which viewers saw their products tested and their business plans pulled apart.

Student recruitment company owner Miller said he feels “immensely proud” to have made it to the final five, adding: “My interviews went so well, and it was a fantastic validation for me to know the business I have built up over the years is really good.

“I made the right decision for myself and my business in that moment and I’m really happy Karishma and Pascha are the two finalists.”

The entrepreneur, from London, said that he would not have done anything differently throughout the process, adding: “I’m just me, and what you saw is how I am.”

He said that since leaving the show, he is still growing his business and that he implemented the feedback from Lord Sugar’s advisers, and joked: “It probably saved me about £100k in consulting fees.”

Public relations specialist Rosenberg hailed his time on the show as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience”, and said: “Nobody will ever be able to take away that I made it to the final five of one of the most competitive processes on television.”

He added that he wishes he pushed back on the accusations that his business plans were written by AI during the interviews with Lord Sugar’s associates, and said: “My business plan was written by a human, and I have over 100 hours’ worth of logs to prove it.”

Bathia, a global account manager from London, described it as “disappointing” to miss out on the final and said being fired “stings”.

He added: “That said, I’m incredibly proud of how far I got. It’s a huge milestone and a massive achievement for me, and something I’ll always look back on with pride.

“I’ve learned a huge amount about business, about resilience and about myself and I’ll take that forward. I’m leaving with my head held high and a lot of momentum for whatever comes next.”

Bathia called finalist Vijay a “standout candidate”, and said: “She has just been amazing throughout the process with all her creative ideas and business acumen.”

The winner of the latest series of The Apprentice will be awarded £250,000 of investment into their company and the opportunity to go into business with Lord Sugar.

Myhill, a recruitment consultant from Berkshire, hopes to use Lord Sugar’s investment to create a recruitment company within private healthcare if she wins the programme.

Meanwhile, beauty brand owner Vijay, from Surrey, is seeking an investment from the business mogul so she can expand her company.

The Apprentice returns for its series finale on BBC One next Thursday at 9pm.