I’m absolutely devastated says The Apprentice fired candidate Emma Rothwell from Lancashire

Lancashire businesswoman Emma Rothwell has had her hopes of securing Lord Alan Sugar's £250,000 investment and mentorship dashed after being fired tonight in the new Apprentice series’ first episode.

The 30-year-old from Accrington, who owns an online gift store called Quirky Giraffe, found herself on the losing team at the end of an Austria based tour selling task.

In the boardroom, Emma - a former pupil of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School and St Christopher’s Sixth Form- was accused of poor sales tactics but it was her unconvincing defence of herself which ultimately led to her being fired according to Lord Sugar.

Following her regrettably premature exit, we sat down for an exclusive chat with Emma to talk about everything business, The Apprentice and what’s next for the Lancashire lass. Here's what she had to say:

How are you feeling to be leaving The Apprentice after the first week?

“I’m absolutely devastated because I didn't get time to show what I could do. So like, obviously, when you're in there, there's just so much going on and you're trying to find your feet, like all these new people, new surroundings.-I'm just a normal girl from Accrington! I've never done anything TV related before, so I was just trying to climatise.

“In the first episode I am betrayed as being a bit quieter, but rest assured that is not me at all. Like I'm full of energy, always try my best, always going for it and, yeah, I just genuinely feel like I was unlucky, it could have been any one of us.”

So do you think you were the right person to be fired?

“I'm gonna obviously say no!. But no, I think obviously the task failed because of the sales team and not getting enough sales so it had to be one of us, because we all had the same responsibility for the overall team. But no, I just feel like I was unlucky. Basically, when it came to final speech time, I didn't realise it was final speech time and I went first so I gave rubbish answers to be honest, and then they went to the other two, and they, like, really stood out, gave really good answers and I was like ‘oh, no!’ So if I could go back, that'd be the one thing that I would change because I do feel like if I'd have done that properly, I might still be in there.”

You've just mentioned your regret of the series but what you were most proud of?

“I’m most proud of even getting on so people don't know this, but there's actually several rounds of intense rounds before you even get into that final lineup. Like to get into the lineup is just an amazing experience, it's a money can't buy opportunity, you have to earn your place, and you have to be good at business, have your own business or have quite a lot of business acumen. So every single person who's made it into that line up deserves to be there and we're just, all of us, so proud of ourselves for even getting there.”

How did the show compare to your expectations of it?

“It wasn't 100% what I expected. Obviously it was like long days and there's a lot more filming that goes on. So for something that could take on the show five minutes in that hour slot, that could have taken all day [to film], and there's going to be times that I weren't sure or people were like ‘eugh I never got to do this’ or whatever but you have to do it a certain way in order to obviously make the show, and you're made very aware of that before you can go in.”

And what about Lord Sugar? Was he what you expected?

“Yes, and no. I was just obviously a bit star struck. I didn't get to spend too much time with him, apart from when I was in a boardroom and whatnot. It would have been nice to get to know him more, but no, he seems like a lovely man and he's such an inspiration. Like, imagine having achieved what he's achieved, which is like life goals.”

What about Karen and Tim?

“I absolutely love Karen Brady. Before going on, I went to her talk in London ‘Women in Business’, she was phenomenal, super inspiring so I was really excited to meet her and talk but I didn't really get too much time because it was just in that first boardroom, and that was it. Tim is just so lovely, like he's one of the loveliest guys ever, and obviously, because he's been through the process, he can sympathize with us and obviously understand a lot more of what's going on and how we're feeling”

What were your first impressions of your other contestants?

“It's so bizarre because when you walk in - I was the last one to walk in - and you know you normally meet someone,and you're like, ‘hi, how are you? I'm Emma’ and you get chatting? You don't get to do that. You just get thrown into the waiting room, and you'll probably see in the first episode, I’m just beaming to be there, and everyone else is like proper businessey - I was just excited! So yeah, it's not a normal situation that you're putting yourself into, obviously, after we film, we got chatting but it's just a lot.”

Even from the one task you did with them, have you got someone you would want to see win the show?

“Yes, 100% so because you're not allowed phones in there, it was so nice to get to know people on face value, you know like we used to be back in the noughties, because you didn't have any distractions. And yeah, for me, I'm obviously gonna say I want my favorite people to win the show. Like I said, everyone's got lots of business potential but for me, personally, I would love either Dean, Melika, Jana or Chisola to take that investment because they are amazing business people and just wonderful people.”

If you were to have gone further, what was your business plan?

“My business plan is an online platform, and I am actually going forward with this, just obviously a lot slower because I don't have a quarter of million, I'm doing it with my own money. So it's an online platform where people can upload designs onto mugs and then they'll earn a commission, and I'll sell it so package, send it, do everything but for every sale, they'll get a pound of that sale. So my best selling month, for example, is just a bit of text in a loveheart and I've sold over 3000 of that particular design. If someone had uploaded that, they could have earned 3000 pounds passive income through just uploading that one design. So my brand -myself, really - is all about positivity, making people laugh, making people smile, making people feel good and being able to give something back to the public to earn a passive income. I think obviously, when everyone's struggling at the minute, it's such a good goal to have.”

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So what's next for you after The Apprentice? You are continuing with that business then?

“I am, so it's my same business, but it's just leveling it up and my new website is being built as we speak and the support for it to be ready to launch in March. It's very exciting.

Is there a lesson from the show that you're going to carry forward with you in your business ventures?

“Just to back myself and vocalize it more so like going in, I did think I'm not a drama kind of girl, I'm just a normal person so I was a bit apprehensive. Was I maybe too nice for the show? Could I not back myself enough? But yeah, just to back myself even more and obviously be more vocal in my abilities, which I know I can do. I just don’t like people who are like show offy so I don't want to necessarily be that. I just wanted to go on the show to basically show people that a normal person can do well in business, that they don't have to be nasty to be in business like you can be a nice person and still be good at business.”

If Lord sugar happens to be reading this article, do you have a final message to him?

I do. Obviously it was lovely to meet you. Thank you for the opportunity, like insane, but of course, I will be using this first hfiring as fuel, because in a few years, I'd love the headline to be ‘voted first off The Apprentice but now making a million’ so fingers crossed that happens!”

The Apprentice continues on Thursday nights at 9pm on BBC 1. It is also avialable on Iplayer.