Why did Jana Denzel quit The Apprentice? Doctor explains decision to leave series

As per Lord Sugar's request, Dr Jana was made the project manager of this week's task as he and his team created an Easter egg for children as opposed to a luxury item, with his team's creation not wholly resonating with children or the buyers.

But before Lord Sugar could point his firing finger, Dr Jana very quickly revealed he wanted to bow out of the process – but why?

In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Jana detailed his thought process behind the decision and what could have stopped him from leaving the show.

"A business partnership is like a marriage, it's got to be a great fit for both people," Jana explained."So I made the decision to leave the process not in episode 5, but at the end of episode 4 because [of] those comments that [Lord Sugar] said to me."

In the final moments of last week's episode, the business mogul told Jana: "You have been very, very quiet in the last four weeks, I haven't seen much from you. You know what, the next task, you are gonna be the project manager – like it or not."

However, for Jana, he thought he had been the opposite of "very, very quiet".

He told RadioTimes.com: "I've probably been one of the favourites to win the first few episodes and I put a lot of positive contributions there, I just don't feel the need to brag or talk about it in the boardroom as much as others do. If you look at that piece of paper, you've got the numbers there.

"I thought to myself, 'Look, if right now I'm putting 100 per cent into all of these tasks and everyone else around me is seeing me and letting me lead in negotiations, in each task, and you are not. Are we a right fit? Are we going to be a good fit for business partners?'"

When it came to start of episode 5, Jana reveals he told the other candidates to "just have fun", no matter if they won or lost the task.

He added: "I think I said as well, 'Win or lose [it] doesn't matter, I don't think this is a good fit for me.'"

Jana insisted that him leaving the series was "no discredit to Lord Sugar", and he had thought that he and the business mogul were similar, but his decision was final – and nothing was going to change that.

"[Lord Sugar] has never given someone a second chance, after they said they want to leave, to stay in the process," Jana continued to RadioTimes.com.

"So when he gave me a second chance, I did stutter, and I think Liam behind me was like, 'No, he doesn't want to go!' But I was like, 'Even if I stay and you have to bring two people back in here, because we lost at that point – I probably would have brought back Jonny or Emma, for just their lack of contributions to it – do I want it more than these two do?'

"And I'm like, not really. I think they want it more than I do. So it's not fair for me to put those two into that position of the firing line. So I just decided to walk out on my own accord."

Could something have changed Jana's mind? In short, no – but had Lord Sugar's comment not been made in episode 4, things could have been very different.

Jana added: "For sure if he didn't make those comments and he just said, 'Jana, I want to see you be PM next time'. Cool. [But] 'you're very, very quiet, [I] haven't heard much of you.' That's not true. So I think it was that, that kind of solidified my choice."

The Apprentice continues on Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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