Fans were quick to praise Gregory Ebbs on Thursday night when he stepped in to help his team member during the first episode of the new Apprentice series.
During the assignment, the team was conducting a rum tasting and tour of Antigua’s historic site when project manager Joe Phillips, the self-confessed ‘James Bond’ of business, had trouble answering questions about a fortress, and the enthusiastic historian Gregory took over.
Viewers flocked to Twitter to express their happiness at meeting Gregory, labeling him a ‘King’ and a ‘Boss’, with many saying that he was their early favorite to win.
Struggling: Fans were quick to praise Gregory Ebbs on Thursday when he stepped in to help his team member Joe Phillips (pictured) during the first episode of the new Apprentice.
One fan wrote: ‘Gregory saved the day’ while another added: ‘Gregory is brilliant. He is already one of my early favourites.
Meanwhile, a third person took to Twitter to write: ‘Greg for the win. Goat.’
And a fourth said: ‘Confidence + preparation = success’.
The team was doing a rum tasting and tour of the Antiguan historic site when Joe had trouble answering questions about the fort, and enthusiastic historian Gregory (pictured) took over.
Positive: Meanwhile, a third person took to Twitter to write: ‘Greg for the win. Goat.’ And a fourth said: ‘Confidence + preparation = success’
Negative: However, one person wrote: ‘Where did the apprentice find Gregory Ebb from ahahahaha #TheApprentice?’
However, one person wrote: “Where did the apprentice find Gregory Ebb from ahahahaha #TheApprentice?”
The men’s team won the Thursday night task, with Emma Browne being the first candidate to be eliminated.
The senior account executive insisted she has “no regrets” after her brief time on the show after Lord Sugar kicked her out for being detrimental to the team.
You are fired! Emma Browne became the first candidate eliminated from The Apprentice after Thursday night’s episode.
Emma, who described herself as ‘extremely competitive’ and ‘a workaholic’, landed in the boardroom after the girls lost to the boys’ team during the first task.
Despite her driven work ethic, it wasn’t enough to keep her as a prospect for Lord Sugar, as she was cut after just a week.
Emma’s team decided to offer catamaran rides to tourists on the Caribbean island, however, they lost out to the kids’ team that generated the most income.
Game On! The series kicked off the show’s 17th edition on Thursday night and has already said goodbye to one contender following a challenge based in Antigua.
Losers: Emma, who described herself as ‘extremely competitive’ and ‘a workaholic’, landed in the boardroom after the girls lost to the boys’ team during the first challenge.
The girls’ team came to Pigeon Beach to try to promote their $135 tickets, but had trouble getting sales as the venue was deserted, and the girls got into a fight after Emma and Shazia had thrown different venues.
Meanwhile, the boys managed to rack up trade in downtown Antigua and sold out all 16 of their tickets.
Claude Littner was not impressed when the girls took their clients to a picturesque bay, but decided to entertain them by teaching them a hip dance.
Ambitious: Self-confessed ‘James Bond’ of business, Joe Phillips, has taken on the role of project manager for the team of kids who led a rum tasting and tour of the historic site.
In the boardroom, the businessman told Lord Sugar: ‘It was a sight to behold’.
The two teams then tried to increase the profits by selling pottery and a bottle of rum, before heading to the boardroom.
After failing to impress, the girls had to confront Lord Sugar in the boardroom, with Emma ultimately being the one to pack.
Doing it right: The boys managed to sell all their 16 tickets and even received tips
The girls’ team earned $487.50 after costs were discounted, while the boys’ earnings nearly doubled with $989 profit – $75 of which was tips.
Project Manager Victoria invited Emma and Assistant Manager Marnie into the boardroom, and Emma finally said her goodbyes.
Lord Sugar said he didn’t want to cause trouble for the teams and so he had to leave.
After her departure, Emma insisted during an interview that she “applied because of my excellent and profitable business idea.”
It got off to a bad start: The girls’ team went to the beach to try to promote their $135 tickets, but had trouble getting sales as the venue was deserted.
However, it seems that he will be leaving the show without any ill feelings, as he revealed that the experience “was as positive as can be.”
She said: “They’re all there for the same reason, so naturally there were clashes etc., but there was absolutely no hard feelings.”
Emma, from County Kildare, has over five years of hands-on sales experience and previously said she wanted to win assignments by being honest about her opinions.
Struggling: Victoria brought Marnie back into the boardroom for poor subteam leadership
Reflecting on her experiences since being rejected, she said: “It was a little more intense than I expected, but nothing, nothing like a little bit of pressure.”
‘Looking at home, you only see an hour, but it’s completely clipped. So, obviously, that’s one of the biggest things, because I would have thought watching at home ‘that’s an hour and that’s it,’ but in reality, it’s shot for hours and hours.
Despite being fired first by the business veteran, Emma said she still looks up to Lord Sugar the most of the show’s advisers.
Celebrations: The girls’ team earned $487.50 after costs were deducted, while the boys nearly doubled their earnings with a profit of $989, $75 of which was tips.
She said: “If he had been there during the assignment, his opinion might have been completely different, but I guess he made his decision based on other people’s judgement.”
Emma thinks she shouldn’t have been the first to go, since she had the most sales on her team and expressed that the beach was not a good place for sales.
She said: ‘I brought a lot of energy to the girls’ team, which I think also showed and stood out. I am a very positive person and I stayed positive the whole time.’
You are fired! Lord Sugar said that he did not want to cause disruption within the teams, so he had to leave.
Revealing his plans now that his trainee journey is over, he said: ‘I hope to have my business up and running by next year.
‘I’m still actively looking for investments, so any investor, I’d love to get in touch. I have a really solid business plan that I would love to put into action. Whether I get investment or not, I will.’
Insisting that he does not regret his experience, he said: ‘Yes, I absolutely do not regret doing it. I think if you want to do it, 100% do it. I’m not going to be a sore loser, I got ahead and someone had to go. It does not hurt me.
The Apprentice is Thursdays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
The search is on! The new Apprentice series airs Thursdays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the race to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.