
On Thursday’s second episode of the new series, The Apprentice hopeful Shannon Martin shocked viewers by withdrawing from the competition to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.
After the candidates flew to Antigua in the first episode, Shannon made the painful decision to leave on Thursday’s programme, just moments before her team learned that they had won the job.
Talking about ending her time in the competition, Shannon revealed: ‘I think that going into the process, I was already having some doubts of whether I should go in or not.
‘But when you’re given such an amazing opportunity, you’re not ever going to turn that down, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime that I’m forever grateful for.’
The bridal boutique owner continued: ‘During the bao bun task, I was there in the kitchen thinking “Why am I here? What am I doing here making bao buns in a kitchen when I can’t cook as it is?” I just really felt like I couldn’t focus on the tasks because I was constantly thinking about what was going on at home.
‘What’s happening with the business? Is everything okay? I knew in the back of my mind that of course everything would be okay, the team are amazing. But I’m a perfectionist, I need to know what’s going on all the time and not being able to know how things were going on at home or what was happening at work was really hard for me.
‘The unknown is definitely not something I’m good at. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, “Am I in here for the right reasons? Do I really want a business partner? Is this what I want? Do I want my life to change?” and it really made me realise I love my life; I love the team and I love everything about my life.

‘I knew that I could potentially win the show, and did I really want to win and have my life completely changed? No, I didn’t.
‘I wasn’t in there for the right reasons.’
She continued: ‘The other candidates are just amazing and there’s so many amazing businesses there that I felt that they deserve to win. I’ve already got a very successful business.
‘I just felt that there were more deserving people there than me and it was not right for me to stay in the process.’
Shannon added that the experience taught her to ‘listen to her gut’. She said: ‘I’ve learned to listen to my gut. If you’ve got a feeling, just go with it. If you have that feeling of what you want to do, just go with it and just do you.’
The Apprentice continues on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.