The Apprentice’s Gregory Ebbs has spoken out on his departure from the 2023 series, after some viewers slammed Lord Alan Sugar’s ‘unfair’ choice in the boardroom.
In week three of the BBC competition, teams were charged with creating short cartoons that would appeal to a population of two-to-four-year-olds while also impressing a panel of industry experts.
Gregory’s team, lead by project manager Reece Donnelly, the proprietor of a drama school, fell short due to the animated film’s messaging and general design.
Reece opted to reintroduce financial controller Denisha Kaur Bharj as the sub-team leader, as well as antiques specialist Gregory, who was accused by his teammates of not providing enough input on the work.
While the owner of the online antiquities marketplace maintained that he lacked the competence in the sector to back up strong judgements on the project, Lord Sugar eventually called him out for struggling to ‘adapt’ when not in his comfort zone, and he was -‘regrettably’ sent home.
Following his departure, Metro.co.uk asked Gregory if he believed his elimination was ‘unfair,’ a term repeated on Twitter by some dissatisfied people watching at home.
‘At the end of the day, I stuck with what I believed and I believe that there’s no point in saying stuff if you don’t have the authority to make that judgement,’ he stressed.
‘I put my faith in individuals who I thought were more knowledgeable than me in this task. So the arguments of the lack of contribution… I get where Lord Sugar’s come from and I very much respect that decision. I understand he’s looking for someone who is going to be his next business partner.
‘So I understand that, but on the other hand, it’s a tricky one, it’s a really, it’s a very tricky one. I felt I didn’t contribute enough in that particular task, but at the end of the day, whether I said something or not, would that have made a difference? Would that have won the task? Well probably not, to be honest.’
‘Really unfair to fire Gregory! He’s given so much on the other tasks!’, Lord Sugar was impressed with his performance in week one, when he exploited his niche cannon expertise to his advantage during a historical guided tour in Antigua.
‘That’s so unfair on Gregory!! He was good in the other tasks, but this one wasn’t his forte and suddenly that’s bad??’ someone else wrote, while another added: ‘Massively unfair on Gregory.’
Someone other mentioned that ‘the two people accountable for the task’s failure stayed’.
Gregory reflected on his time on The Apprentice, saying that while it was “challenging,” he felt “extremely grateful to have been given this chance” and formed great bonds with the other candidates in the house.
The first task in which he excelled, which was taped in April of last year, occurred to fall on his birthday, and the entrepreneur said he’ll ‘never forget’ being televised on national television.
A few days later, he was presented with a birthday cake, while he and the other candidates ‘danced salsa around the house’, which he stated is one of his ‘big passions in life’.
‘That was a really lovely experience by all the people in the show, because obviously you’re away from home, you’re away for an extended period of time and you have very little contact with the outside world,’ he said.
‘There was no animosity in the house. I think people generally did get on and there was a lot of support. There’s an understanding that your goal was to try and secure Lord Sugar’s investment, but there’s also an understanding that we’re going to be living together and we’re going to be doing these tasks together. So, of course, it’s difficult for friendships not to be fostered.’
The Apprentice returns next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.