Bookie's favourite Mia Collins has shockingly exited BBC's The Apprentice in tonight's episode after a successful 9-week-long winning streak. The Gloucestershire star, dubbed the "secret assassin" by Lord Sugar, was one of two candidates to exit the show this week in a devastating double firing.
Tonight's episode (Thursday, April 3) followed the contestants in a fashion challenge. Project Manager Liam (who was in charge of Mia's team) spearheaded the idea of a men's fashion line that explores self-expression and allows men not to be afraid to wear what they want.
During the challenge, he chose Mia to assist him in designing the clothes. Mia wanted to include a crop top and a skirt in the line as more men were being explorative. The team also designed a jacket with a colourful cape that drapes below when opened.
Defending her skirt idea in the boardroom, Mia said: "If we turned up with cargo trousers or a boxy T-shirt, how are we differentiating ourselves and show you can be empowered no matter what you wear." Lord Sugar replied: "Hmm…okay, maybe I'm missing the point because I’m a 78-year-old fart.”
How it happened: BBC The Apprentice live reaction as Mia hoped dresses for men would take her to the final five
In the end, the team secured six out of eight retailers and £1160 units. The other team got three out of eight retailers but scored a winning £2150 units. In a shocking reveal, Lord Sugar immediately tells the group that two people will be fired, leaving five people to head to the final. Liam was the first to receive the brutal 'point of death', leaving Mia, Jordan and Anisa to battle it out.
Fighting for her spot, Mia said: "You know I’ve put myself in positions of risk. I’ve shown in this process that I've got a strong acumen. I recognise I am largely at fault for the loss, but I am really proud of what I’ve achieved in the process." In a quick back and forth, for a moment, you think Anisa will be fired. However, with a defeated look on his face, Lord Sugar said: "Regretfully, Mia, I have to say you are responsible overall for the disaster of these designs. I'm sorry to say, you are fired."
In an exclusive interview with Gloucestershire Live, Mia reflected on her firing and said: "I cried for weeks. But do you know what I will say? I never expected to get as far as I did because I was a reserve. You instantly think that you maybe weren't as good enough as the other people.
"But in the first week, we had quite a long coach journey in Austria, and that's when we got to know people for the first time, and I remember talking to a few of them and thinking, 'my god, these guys are successful.' they're all so accomplished and so such strong competition. I was a reserve with a business that I'd closed down the year before and was working for someone else."
The 26-year-old added: "Despite not getting final five, I feel like I've won because I've learned so much about myself. I've had such amazing support and I got a compliment from Lord Sugar. it's not all bad." When asked if there wasn't a double firing, would she have stayed on the show?
She replied: "It really depends on who you're against because Jordan and Anisa had existing businesses, and at the point of task 10, they consider your business plans and your actual businesses. Obviously, I'm up against people that are running their business now. So, I think it depends on who you're up against. Anisa has a good understanding of how to articulate herself, and Jordan is an amazing communicator. That's my first time fighting for my life in the boardroom."
Mia continued: "I could have definitely fought harder 100%. I think it was an accumulation of nerves, not knowing the art of the boardroom and maybe banking on the fact I thought I had done enough in the last 10 tasks. So, there was maybe a little bit of complacency.
"But it's a learning point like you just cannot take your eye off the ball at any point. And I know that with bodybuilding and that is such a testament to how important it is to just keep in the game all the way to the finish line because you just don't know what's going to happen."
When asked if she had any rejects, Mia firmly said no but understood where she went wrong: "It was the concept I was trying to push. I didn't think about the fact that it was a case of whoever sells the most wins. I just had Jordan's story in my head and I just wanted to push it to create a range that really embodied what we were trying to do.
"And I lost sight of the commercial viability of it. I think what contributed to that, I had such an adrenaline rush for TV selling at the point of task 10, I was so tired. So I think I had such a crash after selling. (But) I'd do it again 100%. yeah, I back Jordan a lot. I think he's great."
She concluded: "I loved every single minute of the process. it's been like a life dream to get on it. And I thought I would do the Southwest more proud than I did, but yeah, the support has been amazing."
Expressing her final words to Lord Sugar, the Cheltenham native said: "I am thankful for all of the kind words that have been said about me by Lord Sugar, Baroness Brady and Tim throughout. They've introduced me to some friends for life, and hopefully, I can make a success of sales coaching off the back of it. So if I can do that, I didn't need to win the investment because I'll be a very happy person. that's okay."
Mia has launched a sales business called Prep and Perform, where she aims to use coaching methodologies to teach sales based on high-performance athlete-level discipline and a sporting mindset. Mia will help organisations channel that mindset into a corporate setting, whether for sales teams or leadership training.
The entrepreneur is also looking to offer one-on-one sales coaching and mentoring. Currently, the star is going into universities and offering support to students, transitioning from being a student into a graduate, working on employability skills, and how you can be the top performer on an assessment day.
Mia stated: "If I can impart some of the knowledge that I've learned from just being on The Apprentice and applying for it for students looking for graduate roles, then yeah, I'd love to."
The Apprentice is on for the next two weeks, airing on Thursdays on BBC One or BBC iPlayer. Check out Mia Collin's sales business Prep and Perform by clicking here.
