The Apprentice's Karren Brady reacts to "ludicrous" decision in episode 1

During this week's premiere episode (30th January), the candidates were sent on a tour-selling task in Austria, where the team who made the highest profit would win.

With the teams split into two, one delivering a glacier experience and the other in the forest, a lot was riding on selling enough tickets, but things didn't go to plan for Anisa Khan's forest team.

After only managing to sell six tickets, one candidate - Keir Shave - started flogging tickets for cheaper than agreed and began playing rock, paper, scissors with members of the public in order to sell them!

Lord Sugar was less than impressed in the boardroom and advisor Baroness Brady has now branded the move "ludicrous" in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.

"I think it's just ludicrous selling things for less than what you're paying for," she said. "That's the fastest way to bankruptcy, and then to gamble on that? Gambling with companies' money is not right."

Tim Campbell echoed the sentiment, adding that "gambling is not a strategy", especially not one that Lord Sugar views too kindly.

Campbell, who has served as an advisor to Lord Sugar since 2022, told RadioTimes.com: "I'm not sure London Business School are going to have it as a business strategy...

"I think I know what he's trying to do in terms of making sure he didn't lose a sale, but you would never want to negotiate something that's going to potentially put you in a weaker position.

"And he did, and unfortunately, he lost. So gambling is not a strategy, and it's not something that goes that well with Lord Sugar, because he is not a gambler, he's not a chancer. He's somebody who takes all the information and makes a good decision he expects."

While Keir did defend his decision-making, arguing that through playing the game, he was going to get a sale either way, it did not make Lord Sugar happy.

Thankfully for Keir, he avoided the first firing of the season, and instead it was Emma Rothwell who was sent home packing after not selling any tickets or proving to Lord Sugar that she deserved a place in the competition.

As she left, Emma told the cameras: "Lord Sugar absolutely made a mistake, I'm more than good enough to be his business partner, and this will not be stopping me."

Now just 17 candidates remain, but will Keir be so lucky next week?

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

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