Who was fired on The Apprentice? First candidate eliminated on series 18 as boys lose corporate retreat task

The first candidate on The Apprentice 2024 has been fired as the BBC competition to find Alan Sugar’s next business partner got underway tonight (February 1).

The 18 candidates selected from a pool of tens of thousands of applicants took part in the first team challenge of the new series, with the cast transported to the Scottish Highlands.

With the candidates split into teams of boys and girls, and the all important team names chosen, the eager entrepreneurs got stuck into the challenge. Virdi stepped up as project manager for the boys team, but ended back in the boardroom when his team underperformed.

Who was fired on The Apprentice tonight?

Oliver Medforth was the first contestant to be fired by Lord Sugar following the Highlands corporate away day task which the boys team lost.

Oliver is a 27 year old sales executive from Yorkshire, who describes himself as a ‘selling machine’ and bragged that he would dominate in any sales based tasks. His business experience includes running five stores of his family-run gin distillery company, and establishing a soft drink to pair with their product.

However, ahead of the show airing, there was already doubt as to how far Oliver would go in the competition - Gambling.com told The Express that he could be the first to be fired as Alan Sugar “isn't a big fan of a bragger who can't back up their boasting in the tasks”.

In the first episode Oliver found himself on the losing side when his team failed to impress with their Highland corporate retreat package, losing to the girls. Project manager Virdi decided to bring Steve and Oliver back to the board room with him to face Sugar’s wrath.

In the end, management consultant Steve and Music producer Virdi were given a second chance whilst Oliver became the first casualty of the board room.  

Oliver will feature on The Apprentice: You’re Fired, the aftershow hosted by comedian Tom Allen, where he will discuss his brief experience on the series. You’re Fired airs immediately after The Apprentice at 10pm on BBC Two.

How many contestants are left on The Apprentice 2024?

Following the first firing of the series, there are now 17 candidates left in the show, all hoping to make it to the final and take home a £250,000 investment from Alan Sugar.

The series will air every Thursday evening for the next 12 weeks, with at least one candidate being fired in each episode - the last two candidates will go head to head, with contestants who were fired across the series returning to help them, on the grand final on April 18.