The Apprentice 2023 recap: What happened in episode 9?

If you missed out on the cringe-worthy pitches, Lord Sugar's laboured jokes and the disapproving looks to come from Tim Campbell and Karren Brady in tonight's episode, then we're here to fill you in with RadioTimes.com's latest recap video.

Episode 9 saw Lord Sugar task the remaining line-up with creating a male skincare product and putting on a launch event where they can pitch to buyers.

While for Team Affinity, Rochelle Anthony had been excited to put herself forward as Project Manager given her background in beauty, she was quickly back-stabbed by Bradley Johnson who declared himself as the group's leader. Cue a confused look from Karren.

The team ultimately voted to go with Bradley, who came up with the idea of a snake-themed product targeted at 30s and 40s and later tried to call it Venom, which was poorly received by the rest of the team – what a ssssurprise.

Over with Team Apex, Dani Donovan put herself forward as Project Manager, pitching a product aimed at men over 50. Along with Victoria Goulbourne, she went to design the star-shaped packaging, adamant that customers could use it as an ornament after using the cream but judging by the look of Tim's face, it was more likely to end up in the bin than on someone's bedside table.

We knew Team Affinity were in trouble as soon as Rochelle and Avi Sharma were put in charge of creating the product's formula. The two have frequently clashed throughout the process and tonight's episode was no exception, with the pair rowing over how much dye to add to their snake-themed cream.

They soon discovered that the green dye they'd added to the batch was leaving a permanent stain on the skin, which is always something we look for when buying a face wash. Running out of time, they were unable to take out the dye, resulting in Tim whipping out a classic disapproving head shake – one of many in this episode.

Meanwhile, Team Apex went for a safer white colour, however Victoria wasn't convinced by Dani's complicated tagline for their product Start.

Over with Bradley and Marnie Swindells, they went with the name Anti-Venom, designing a neon green container that looked more like a child's bubblebath than an adult's skin product.

Both teams then received their prototypes, with Team Affinity panicking over their slimy, staining product. "The colour is definitely unique," Bradley said. You're not a contestant on The Apprentice if you're not attempting to put a positive spin on an ultimately disastrous product.

They then headed off to do some market research, with firefighters telling Apex that their product looked like a "scented candle" and was "too cheesy" for the male market, while a group of actors told Affinity that Anti-Venom looked like a "toy" and looked "toxic".

It was then time to put on their launch events, with the candidates convincing buyers to put in bulk orders. Speaking to the brand War Paint, Bradley and Marnie struggled to convince the representatives that the product doesn't permanently stain the skin. "It looks like watered down shower gel, it smells like toilet freshener," one of the unimpressed reps told him.

Meanwhile, Avi and Rochelle tried to pitch to John Lewis's representatives, who weren't buying it. "He kept pushing and pushing and actually it started to come across as a little bit desperate," Rochelle said in a confessional.

Back in the boardroom, Lord Sugar was on top form, name-dropping his "friend" Sir Rod Stewart at one point before telling Team Affinity that their product looked "like a Brussels sprout, sitting on top of a turd". Poetry.

When it came down to the numbers, Tim revealed that Apex received 11,350 orders for Start, while Karren dropped the bomb that Affinity received no orders whatsoever.

In an unprecedented move this season, Lord Sugar fired Bradley immediately, telling him that he didn't want to ever see him back in the boardroom again. It turns out Anti-Venom had some bite!

Despite criticising Marnie's design for the product and Rochelle's part in creating the formula, Lord Sugar chose to fire Avi, saying: "That concoction – you put it on your skin, and it dyed your skin green."

With just six candidates left, who will be Lord Sugar's next business partner?

The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer next Thursday at 9pm. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.

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