Thursday night’s episode of The Apprentice aired on February 19, 2026, and with it came a familiar, if unwelcome, ritual: Lord Sugar’s pointed finger, a tense boardroom, and the abrupt exit of a hopeful entrepreneur. This time, it was Roxanne Hamedi, a pharmacist from Aberdeen and founder of the beauty brand Browtasia, who found herself on the receiving end of Lord Sugar’s trademark dismissal. Her departure marked her as the fifth candidate to be fired in series 20, episode 4, after a challenging task that left more than just one contestant feeling bruised.
The task—seemingly simple on paper—was anything but. The teams were challenged to create a new bottled water brand, sell it live on social media, and produce a TV advert to promote their product. With a guest appearance from rapper Big Zuu, known for his own sustainable canned water brand, the pressure was on for the candidates to impress not only Lord Sugar but also industry-savvy judges.
Roxanne, who served as sub-team leader for branding on Team Alpha (also referred to as North H2o in some reports), found herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The team, led by project manager Conor Galvin, struggled from the outset. Their branding was criticized as “boring,” and Lord Sugar didn’t mince words when he declared their advert looked like “a 10-year-old made it on his iPhone,” according to Press Association. The imagery, intended to target commuters, instead suggested a product for explorers, with a logo that Lord Sugar quipped “looks like a road sign on the M6.”
When the dust settled, Team Alpha had lost to Team Eclipse, whose own advert (featuring a shirtless, boxing Kieran McCartney) managed to win over the judges. The losing team—Roxanne, Conor, and teammate Rajan Gill—were summoned to the boardroom. It was there, amid bickering and blame, that Lord Sugar made his decision. “Roxanne, I think you have a lot to answer to. My gut feeling is that Roxanne, you’re fired,” he pronounced.
For many viewers, Roxanne’s exit seemed harsh, and she herself was quick to voice her disagreement. "It didn't feel good to be fired, just because I didn't think that I deserved to be. There was a lot going on that day and I feel like other people lacked accountability. So yeah, it wasn't a nice feeling," she told Entertainment Daily. She insisted that she was used as an “easy scapegoat,” adding, “Conor should have gone because he was the PM and I feel like he did throw me under the bus.” Roxanne also pointed to Rajan’s errors and Conor’s unclear guidance as contributing factors to the team’s failure. "He said that he wants something bold and clean and I believe that's what I delivered. So the instructions were very vague but I delivered what was asked for with clarity, simplicity and a creative touch."
Roxanne’s frustration wasn’t limited to the boardroom. She revealed she had been battling a cold during the task, admitting, “I was not in the right frame of mind.” Despite this, she stood by her creative choices, defending the branding as “professional” and with “room to build around it.” Reflecting on whether she could have done more to save herself, she conceded, “I guess I could have fought more in the boardroom, you know, called Rajan out on his lack of input, or reminded Lord Sugar that I’d taken creative risks and didn’t hide in the background. But I didn’t want it to come down to begging or being the loudest or most apologetic person in the room. I stayed true to myself and that takes integrity.”
Lord Sugar, for his part, was unyielding in his assessment. According to The Mirror, he blamed Roxanne’s “very, very poor” branding for the team’s loss. Yet, he also offered some words of encouragement to Conor Galvin, the project manager, praising his “spirit and determination” while warning him to focus in future tasks. The feedback for the team’s TV advert was equally blunt, with Lord Sugar describing it as “boring” and likening it to something made by a child.
The episode’s guest judge, Big Zuu, added his own layer of scrutiny. Given his background in sustainable water branding, the teams’ decision to criticize canned water—right in front of two canned water brand owners—did not go unnoticed. It was a misstep that further highlighted the lack of research and strategic thinking on display.
Despite her disappointment, Roxanne maintained a sense of optimism about her future. "I'm sad that Lord Sugar didn't believe in me, but I back myself 100%. I've got a lucrative business and I can't wait to prove Lord Sugar wrong," she told Press Association. She credited the show with teaching her “how to be resilient,” saying she left “with grace, dignity and my head held high, even if I didn’t get to say everything I wanted to.” In a final note of defiance, Roxanne declared, “But I do believe the universe has a bigger plan for me. This isn't the last that you're going to see of me.”
The stakes on The Apprentice remain high. The winner of this series will receive a £250,000 investment and the opportunity to go into business with Lord Sugar—a prize that continues to motivate the remaining contestants. For Roxanne, the abrupt end to her journey was bittersweet. She had hoped to expand her beauty business, specializing in combatting hair loss, with the investment. Now, she’ll have to prove herself outside the glare of the BBC cameras.
As the competition continues, viewers can expect more boardroom fireworks, creative clashes, and perhaps a few more surprise exits. The Apprentice airs every Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with The Apprentice: Unfinished Business following immediately after on BBC Two and iPlayer. Whether Roxanne’s claims of being a scapegoat will resonate with fans—or with Lord Sugar in hindsight—remains to be seen. But for now, she leaves the process with her integrity intact and her eyes firmly on the next challenge.