Viewers of BBC’s The Apprentice were left shocked after Lord Sugar failed to praise any of the teams on the show

The Apprentice fans were left shocked at a ‘show first’ during the latest instalment of the BBC programme. The show returned to screens on Thursday (20 March) with a new episode, which saw the remaining candidates tasked with creating and advertising their own hot sauce.

One team was made up of Mia, Anisa, Emma, Liam and Jordan, while the second consisted of Amber-Rose, Deano, Melica, Max and Chisola. The teams had to pitch their hot sauces to a panel of industry experts, which included Levi Roots.

One team’s basic branding and recipe failed to impress the experts, while the second team’s advert was scrutinised by Lord Sugar.

In the boardroom, Lord Sugar became frustrated with both teams as they attempted to justify their mistakes.

As candidates tried to blame one another, Lord Sugar brought the proceedings to a halt and made a shock announcement.

He branded both teams’ work “pathetic”, calling the products “garbage”, before adding: “This leads me to conclude, there is no winner here. Both teams have lost this task.”

Fans at home were stunned by the announcement, with some wondering if it was the first time that both teams had lost in The Apprentice history. Taking to social media, many shared their thoughts on the brutal twist.

“There’s a first #TheApprentice,” one person wrote on X, as a second added: “Both teams lost #TheApprentice,” and a third wrote: “Omg plot twistttt #TheApprentice”.

A fourth viewer put: “Both teams lost? #TheApprentice,” and a fifth wondered: “Both teams losing, is that an #theapprentice first?”

After some deliberation, Lord Sugar asked Amber-Rose, Deano, Melica, Mia, Anisa and Emma to remain in the boardroom after allowing Liam and Jordan to leave, with the pair safe from elimination.

Eventually, it was decided that Melica would be fired due to complaints about her being “disruptive”, while Emma was also fired, following comments about her lack of contributions to the task.

Emma said she was “proud” of where she’d reached in the competition and was exiting with her “head held high”, while Melica admitted she was “disappointed” to be leaving and felt Lord Sugar was “making a big mistake” by firing her.

The Apprentice airs on Thursdays on BBC One at 9pm