Irish viewers of the Apprentice fume as both Irish…

Irish viewers of the Apprentice fume as both Irish contestants are fired after first two tasks

Dubliner Kevin D’Arcy became the second person to be fired by Lord Alan Sugar on the latest instalment of BBC’s The Apprentice on Thursday night.

The 17th series of the show returned to screens last week, with 18 fresh faces competing to win a life-changing investment of £250,000.

Emma Browne from Kildare was the first to be sacked, but the only other Irish contestant on the show followed her this week.

Kevin D’Arcy, an accountant from the capital, was on the receiving end of the infamous 'You’re fired' line last night, January 12, after the boys’ team lost the week’s task.

The contestants were told that they would be manufacturing bao buns, with a savoury bun to punt to the public and a bespoke sweet one to sell to a corporate client, and the team who secured the biggest overall profit would be crowned the victor.

The task was ultimately a profit-based task and as Lord Sugar said in the boardroom: “Kevin, you sold the Bao Buns too low.

“You were more focused on revenue rather than profit and so it is with regret, you’re fired.”

Speaking about his regrets on the show, Kevin said: “I think I would have tried to put myself on the corporate team for the bao bun task, that’s where the ship sank, and I think those guys steered it straight for the iceberg.

“I was fired because I wasn’t able to deploy the lifeboats quick enough. I clearly watched Titanic over Christmas!

“As an accountant cooking is probably the furthest thing away from what I do day in, day out. Brad said he was a great cook, then put himself on the opposite team…”

Irish viewers were not impressed to see Kevin be let go so soon after Emma, with some taking to Twitter to vent about Lord Sugar’s decision.

One said: “Two Irish contestants gone in first two weeks? Thought last night’s was particularly wrong!”

Agreeing with this user, another said: “It seemed the two Irish contestants didn’t stand a chance regardless. Last night, in particular, was very harsh on Kevin.”

A third user asked Sugar: “What do you have against the Irish?”

The likeable Dub wasn’t the only one to leave the show last night, as another contestant made the surprising decision to withdraw from the contest.

Shannon Martin carried out the task with her fellow teammates, and before Lord Sugar could even reveal the winners, she made an announcement.

She told the boardroom: “Lord Sugar, if I may. I've made the difficult decision to leave the process.

"Unfortunately, I just don't feel like this is the environment for me. I want to say a massive thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity."

She later opened up on her decision to leave and said: “During the bao bun task, I was there in the kitchen thinking ‘Why am I here? What am I doing here making bao buns in a kitchen when I can’t cook as it is?’

“I just really felt like I couldn’t focus on the tasks because I was constantly thinking about what was going on at home.

“What’s happening with the business? Is everything okay? I knew in the back of my mind that, of course, everything would be okay, the team are amazing. But I’m a perfectionist.”