East Yorkshire gin maker gets fired first in The Apprentice

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Oliver MedfordImage source, Freemantle Media/BBC
Image caption,

Oliver Medforth from Driffield helps run his family's gin distillery in the Yorkshire Wolds

An East Yorkshire contestant has been been the first to be fired in the BBC One TV show The Apprentice.

Oliver Medforth fell foul of Lord Sugar after a mishap with his team's task of making brownies.

The Driffield-based entrepreneur, who admitted he had never been in a kitchen before, forgot to put flour in the mixture.

He helps run the family-owned Raisthorpe gin distillery in the Yorkshire Wolds.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, Medford said he entered the show with the hope of winning investment from Lord Sugar for a range of tonic waters.

"That was why I needed the investment, to get a little bit more plants and machinery to build the business and get it bigger than it is at the moment," he said.

Despite his early exit, he described it as a "fantastic experience."

"I met some people that I probably would never have met before," he said.

"Tim, Karen, Lord Sugar, I've got so much time for them and it was just great to be part of the experience. It was just such a shame I was out first."

Image source, Freemantle Media/BBC
Image caption,

Mr Medford, front left, admitted he had never been in a kitchen before

Passing judgement, Lord Sugar said: "Ollie, it's funny that you're amongst eight colleagues and quite a few of them didn't know what you did, and so I say no smoke without fire.

"It's a tough one, Ollie I'm sorry to say mate, you're fired."

Mr Medforth said despite the lack of flour, the brownies "tasted absolutely fantastic".

He said he felt he had been thrown under the bus and somebody else should have faced the finger.

"I think I probably shouldn't have been brought back into the boardroom," he said.

He added: "I didn't probably speak up as much as probably I should have done and that's one thing I've learned from that."

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