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Wales Online
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Megan Nisbet

BBC The Apprentice's Karren Brady baffled as team continually miss 'clue' in shopping list task

This week on BBC's The Apprentice the teams were sent to Brighton and Hove for the famous discount buying task. The two teams were tasked with locating nine items and buying them for the lowest possible price during the episode that aired on Thursday, January 26.

Speaking to the candidates, Lord Alan Sugar said: "I'm sending you to Brighton and Hove. I want you to source nine items. You need to locate the items and buy them for the best possible price. The team that spends the least amount of money to secure the correct items will win."

The teams were then given maps and local directories along with the list of the items they needed to source. The products included a nautical barometer, a puppet from a Punch and Judy show, a lace frontal in ombre and fresh asparagus spears that had been picked that day.

Read more: BBC The Apprentice: Viewers put off watching as they accuse Lord Sugar of firing the 'only decent' candidate

Other items on the list included palourde, the 1974 Eurovision winning song on 45, a dozen Sahara desert roses, a resin life cast of a team member's body part and a handmade Sussex Trug.

While Simba's team decided to start further afield and work their way into the city centre, Denisha's team opted to start in the city centre. With their strategies sorted, the candidates went about sourcing their items.

The Apprentice star Karren Brady (PA)

While some were easy, such as a record store for the 1974 Eurovision winning song on 45, others were much harder, which Denisha's team found out while trying to hunt down Sahara desert roses.

Believing the item was flowers, the team set about contacting florists in the area to make enquiries about them, but despite multiple florists telling the team they hadn't heard of Sahara desert roses, the candidates continued to pursue florists.

What's more, one florist told the candidates they thought Sahara desert roses were fossils, which the team misinterpreted, believing she's said thistles.

Baffled by the team's efforts to continue trying florists, Karren Brady told cameras: "Not one florist has heard of a Saharah desert rose. They go into a florist, she says 'roses are my favourite, I've never heard of them', I mean if that's not a clue I don't know what is."

The candidates did later pick up on this with Sohail telling Reece and Denisha: "All of the florists... they don't know what it is, it's not a rose," however it was too late and they were unable to get their hands on them.

During boardroom negotiations, Denisha explained to Lord Sugar: "We were on the hunt for the Saharah desert rose, we rang every florist," before Karren interrupted and said: "The disappointing thing was even though 12 florists had never heard of them, you still thought they were flowers."

Before explaining to Reece: "It was fossils she said, not thistles." Responding Lord Sugar teased: "Roses are red, violets are blue, these aren't flowers, but I might fire you."

Later Karren told Lord Sugar: "The good news about Reeceis he asked all the questions, the bad news is he didn't listen to the answers."

Although both teams failed to secure all the items, it was Simba's team who won the task, spending £452.89, including fines of £150 for missing and incorrect items. Meanwhile, Denisha's team spent £511.50, including a fine of £200. For more showbiz and television stories sign up to our newsletter here.

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