Alan Sugar missed out by not hiring me, says fired Apprentice contestant Maura

Irish yoga teacher sure she was safe until tycoon gave her the heave-ho

After surviving nine weeks on TV’s The Apprentice, Wexford yoga teacher Maura Rath is out after Alan Sugar pointed his finger at her and said: “You’re fired.”

A high-energy telesales task ended with a dramatic double-firing, with Rath and team leader Raj Chohan blamed by the business tycoon for failing to secure a win.

But last night, Rath hit back at the decision, saying: “I definitely don’t think the right people went. I feel a little bit robbed. And I think other people will feel that too.

“It was said I was being too erratic and screaming, but I felt like I was just being passionate and giving it my all.”

The task put the 34-year-old in front of the cameras with Chohan, trying to sell a tent and other items to viewers.

Their teammates, Flo Edwards, Phil Turner and Paul Midha, directed from the gallery, talking to their selling partners through earpieces.

“I was just feeding off the energy that was coming into m year,” Rath said. “Flo was going nuts in my ear, dropping the price and quite panicked, and I was projecting that at quite a high tempo.”

While that “high tempo” attracted complaints from viewers, Rath was adamant the gallery team made bigger mistakes.

“They dropped the price too quick. Even Lord Sugar was like, guys, you were selling, why would you drop it?” she said.

Asked by Sugar who she felt was to blame for the task, Rath said it was 50/50 between the selling team and the gallery.

After her exit, she said there was a clear choice for who should have been fired.

“Phil should have gone,” she said. “He was behind on price and he didn’t take responsibility. He’s like a cat, but I think that’s his ninth life gone. I honestly thought after Raj was fired that I was grand. Then all of a sudden the pointing finger came out again.

“I think everyone in Ireland thought, ‘Maura’s going to win’, so some people are probably going to be a little bit disappointed in me, but, hey, I did my best.”

Over the course of nine episodes in the 18th series of the BBC One show, Rath delivered some must-watch-TV moments.

She might have been the one screaming at viewers in the telesales task, but there were plenty at home screaming at their own screens in week seven when she made some poor decisions while leading a tourism task in Budapest.

Not only did she make a last-minute swap in roles, deciding to lead a wine tour despite not having attended the information-gathering morning, but she also then tried to guide perplexed vineyard tourists in a yoga session. But far from being repentant, she said it was her favourite task and she was delighted she did the yoga class.

“That was one of the best things I did,” she said. “I got to plug Yoga With Maura. We didn’t get asked for one refund and a win is a win.

“I know people were l i ke , ‘ W hy did you make the change?’, but, to be honest, Flo knows so much about wine – there was no point me doing the wine-tasting. “I can hold a space and be in a field and make the most of it, and even though there might have been a few funny looks, we weren’t asked for any refunds, so no regrets.”

Condensing a 24/7 reality show into an hour-long weekly episode meant viewers got to see only so much.

Having tuned in everyweek to watch with family and friends, Rath said there were sides to some candidates that viewers did not see.

“Steve comes across quite stern, but he’s actually really playful and funny. And Raj was very loud and funny in the house, but I don’t know if that comes across on screen,” she said.

Rath insisted viewers have seen the real her.

“On The Apprentice I was me, and I feel I came across as me,” she said. “Obviously, there were times when I thought, ‘Whydid I say that?’, but I think you did get to see Maura.”

Rath’s time on TV has been positive for her business, with numbers growing for her online yoga studio and increased interest in her yoga retreats, though she said she still hoped to secure an investor.

“Lord Sugar has missed out by not hiring me,” she said. “My business is successful and I feel like he would have had an incredible partnership and the opportunity to have a business that’s making a change in the world. I do feel like it’s his loss.”

However, she said she had no qualms about appearing on the show.

“It was nothing like how I thought it was going to be, but it’s been just amazing for my business and I’m very grateful. I’d recommend it to anyone,” she said.

‘The Apprentice’ continues on Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One