Liam Snellin and Mia Collins were fired from the BBC's reality competition show, The Apprentice, on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in a dramatic double elimination that left fans divided. The entrepreneurs were tasked with launching an eco-friendly fashion brand, a challenge that would test their creativity and business acumen.
The episode saw Snellin, the founder of Comodo Work Wear, express disappointment when his teammates, Mia Collins and Anisa Khan, chose Jordan Dargan as the project manager. The team aimed to create a collection featuring a skirt, crop top, and jacket for men, but the designs ultimately failed to resonate with the judges.
Lord Alan Sugar, the show's host, cited Snellin's "despondent" attitude as a reason for his dismissal, but Snellin vehemently disagrees. In an exclusive interview with Yahoo UK, he stated, "I don't know how I could have sabotaged The Apprentice task when I didn't make the monstrosity of the clothes. To be honest, it was the other way round more than anything."
Snellin expressed frustration over the lack of synergy between the team's focus on sustainable fashion and the mental health narrative that Dargan wanted to pursue. "For me, making sustainable products was the task and that was enough of a story to build a brand around, and that's what I wanted to do," he explained. He believes that if he had been project manager, the outcome would have been different. "We would have won if I was the project manager. I was the right person for the job," he asserted.
The stakes were high in this episode, as contestants were not only competing for a chance to be the next business partner of Lord Sugar but also to secure a place in the final five. Snellin reflected on his previous success as project manager during the TV shopping week, stating, "It's not the first time that Lord Sugar said if someone is the expert in that industry, then those should be the project managers. He's said it himself, so I think even Lord Sugar agreed with me."
The boardroom confrontation was intense, with Snellin voicing his opinions passionately. "The last boardroom was intense but I'm not shy to say how I feel and my opinions on it," he said. He added, "I felt like there was a little bit of maybe they didn't want me to win twice in a row as project manager."
After the eliminations, Snellin shared that he holds no ill will towards Dargan. "We're all good now, me and Jordan, and there's no bad blood. It's all business. You have to shake hands at the end of it," he said. However, he remains critical of Lord Sugar's understanding of the fashion industry, suggesting that someone like Linda Plant, who has experience in clothing, would be a better business partner.
"It taught me that Lord Sugar doesn't know much about the industry that I'm working in and maybe that he isn't the best business partner for me," Snellin remarked. He emphasized that modern builders care about their appearance, countering Sugar's previous comments about builders not caring about how they look. "Every time you leave your house, you're representing yourself. So whether you're on a building site or in the office, you want to make sure you're looking smart and looking good," he argued.
In addition to his critiques, Snellin is looking ahead to his future. He is set to release his first women's wear collection, focusing on sustainable and upcycled fashion. "We're launching a whole upcycled collection of UK manufactured products, giving back to the people in the UK and hopefully making some cool upcycled products which will be really fun for you to see," he announced.
Meanwhile, Mia Collins, who was also eliminated, expressed her disappointment, stating, "I cried for days" after being axed. She felt the support from fans who believed in her potential, saying, "It's really touching knowing that you've got people that you don't know cheering for you at home." Collins, the founder of Prep and Perform, was equally disappointed about the team's choice of Dargan as project manager, feeling that it was a tactical move that ultimately backfired.
Fans of The Apprentice have taken to social media to express their outrage over the double firing, calling it "unfair" and insisting that both candidates were strong contenders. While some viewers supported Lord Sugar's decisions, others felt that Collins was a "great candidate" and deserved another chance.
The episode highlighted the challenges of balancing creativity with marketability in the fashion industry. Snellin and Collins both emphasized the importance of creating commercially viable products, with Snellin stating, "The whole point of upcycled fashion, or sustainable fashion, is to use as little material as possible, but to make as many products out of that material. And even that got lost. So, you know, the whole task was a shambles."
As the competition moves forward, the remaining contestants will have to navigate the complexities of business and creativity to secure their place in the final stages of The Apprentice. The show continues to air on Thursdays at 9 PM on BBC One, with episodes available for streaming on iPlayer.
