Tom Allen has said that The Apprentice contestants are ‘devastated’ after fellow contestant Shama Amin left the show due to health reasons.
The comedian, who hosted the spin-off show The Apprentice: You’re Fired, said Shama is a “clever” and “cute” person who he thought would go a long way in the competition.
It was revealed that the 41-year-old Children’s Day nursery owner quit the BBC One series because she has rheumatoid arthritis and the show became too ‘physically demanding’ for her.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of The One Show, Tom said: ‘It’s so sad because she’s such an absolutely brilliant and such a smart person and such a lovely person.
‘And all the candidates I know were really devastated that they had to leave the process early.’
He added: ‘She would have really come a long way in the competition. I am sure she will do great things.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints and commonly affects the hands, feet, and wrists.
With Amin’s departure, 13 entrepreneurs are in a race to win £250,000 worth of investment in their business and become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.
The girls’ team won the last two weeks of challenges, which saw contestants design an advertising campaign for a cruise and then create a children’s toothbrush.
Speaking about the boys’ team’s performance, Tom admitted that he thinks they are ‘either too quiet or they are too loud’.
‘ By no means do they listen to each other very much. I think it’s always about communication with the boys team.
‘It’s often the boys’ team that quickly let itself down. Stupid boys in their cute suits but they talk too much and they don’t listen to each other and they come up with some really awesome products.’
Shama’s departure is set to be addressed in Thursday’s episode of The Apprentice, where she tells Lord Alan Sugar that she will be leaving the show due to her medical condition.
In an upcoming episode, the mother of five tells Amstrad Muggle: ‘I’d just like to say something, Lord Sugar, if that’s okay. I am suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.
‘For medical reasons, because the procedure is so physically demanding, I have had to make a difficult decision to skip the procedure, despite all the efforts the entire team has put in to support me.’
The mistress of Children’s Day Nursery, Shama has been in the winning team for both the functions in which she participated.
Before her appearance on the show, she said: ‘Being a woman of color, as well as wearing a scarf, and the challenges we face on a daily basis, I am just a living example to Asian women and South Asians. I want to be The women there.
The last candidate to be fired by the businessman was Connor Gilson, after working teams to create an electric toothbrush for children ages six to eight.
The boys’ team failed to secure any orders for their Magic Wand themed toothbrushes, while the girls’ team received 11,000 orders from various retailers.
After Connor went against the project manager’s wishes to make the toothbrush gender neutral, she was given the boot.
However, his firing was controversial, with some viewers believing that the wrong candidate had been chosen.
The next episode of the show will see the teams working on making non-alcoholic drinks.
The One Show airs weekdays at 7 pm on BBC One.
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