The Apprentice: Fired contestant laments axing after Queen honour

Harry Mahmood received a Queen's honour for his community work

The first contestant fired from the latest series of The Apprentice says it is a "shame" Lord Sugar failed to see the same potential in him as the Queen.

Ex-pharmacy manager Harry Mahmood, 35, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2021 New Year Honours for his work in the West Midlands during lockdown.

Mr Mahmood said he had got "a lot more credentials about me" that Lord Sugar "didn't get to see".

He was one of 16 entrepreneurs competing in the BBC show.

He said of his medal: "I was very shocked to get the phone call from the PM's office to say 'Harry, Her Majesty the Queen would like to honour you in the New Year Honours' - I was like 'is this a joke'?

"It was nice that people decided to nominate me to have that award.

"If Her Majesty the Queen can see the potential in me, and me representing the community I am in and inspiring others, then it is a shame Lord Sugar couldn't see that in me as well."

The Apprentice returned to screens on Thursday, with Lord Sugar aided by Baroness Karren Brady and previous winner Tim Campbell who was filling in for Claude Littner.

Ahead of the series, Mahmood had described himself as the "Asian version of Lord Sugar" and said he hoped to work with the Amstrad founder to become "the bad boys of the bath bomb world".

But he failed to impress in the first task set for the candidates which saw them asked to create a marketing campaign for a cruise liner.

The series continues on BBC One and iPlayer, with the remaining 15 contestants bidding to win investment in their business worth £250,000.