It was a tough task on The Apprentice this week, especially when it came down to Phil Turner being on the losing team for a ninth time!

Advertisement

You heard that right. The pie company owner has lost nine times in a row, that's every single episode, and whether that's down to bad luck or bad business skills – no one can be too sure, but Lord Sugar made it clear he would not stand for it again.

During tonight's episode, the candidates were split into two teams once again and had to take on the iconic TV shopping task in which they had to select products to sell to live audiences on a top shopping channel.

Like most tasks, the aim was sell as much as they could with the team making the least amount of money, failing.

Unfortunately for Phil, he was on the losing team once more but, luckily for him, he avoided being fired. Instead, Maura Rath and Raj Chohan were the two latest candidates to be fired, after their selling tactics did not go down well on TV or in the boardroom.

More like this

In addition to this, Lord Sugar was still unimpressed, especially with Phil. This led to the business mogul issuing a stark warning.

Lord Sugar said: "Look at this fellow here, he's lost nine times. And they're saying, 'Lord Sugar what are you doing? It can't just be bad luck. Right, Phil, [in the] next task, you are going to be project manager and if you lose, you are gone. Get it?"

Phil accepted it and said: "That's reasonable. That's fair."

Phil posing for The Apprentice 2024. He is wearing a tan suit with his hand in his pocket and is in front of a background of the London skyline
Phil Turner. BBC/Naked

Former Apprentice candidate Virdi Singh Mazaria had also never won a task during his time on the show and admitted he felt he needed to fight for his place in the series, something Phil may have to do yet again.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Mazaria said: "I think the more people get fired, the more morale gets boosted, the more it gets heated, and the more the competition gets more fierce because it gets more real.

"And for me, obviously, losing seven times, it was a lot harder, my journey, because I had to be in the boardroom quite a long time and I had to fight for myself.

"But I really feel like it got me stronger week in, week out. And then it got to a point that the boardroom was just normal for me."

Read more:

In week 10, the seven remaining candidates are tasked with creating and branding a new vegan alternative to cheese before pitching to industry experts, and time will be up for yet another candidate.

Will Phil rise to the task next week? Only time will tell.

The Apprentice season 18 continues every Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.

Advertisement

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement