'No harsh feelings to Lord Sugar': Irish candidates reflect on The Apprentice experience
Ireland's Kevin D’Arcy and Emma Browne were the first two participants to go on The Apprentice this year
Us Irish love to see our own on the small screen – particularly when it means rubbing shoulders with the likes of business tycoon Alan Sugar.
For the 17th season of the BBC show The Apprentice, we had not one, but two fellow Irish people fight it out for a life-changing investment of £250,000 (approx. €280,000) from the billionaire.
Each week the contestants perform a range of tasks before each episode ends with Alan Sugar sending home one person and uttering his iconic line: “You’re fired”. Unfortunately, the first to hear those dreaded words this season was Irish contestant, Emma Browne.
The 26-year-old's departure came after the candidates headed off to the sunny Caribbean and got started on their first task. Despite her early exit, the Kildare native remains confident. The reason for being fired?
“I was too big of a competition, and they wanted to get rid of me,” she says via Zoom.
However, the senior account executive admits she was “devastated” to have been sent home.
“I felt like my world was crashing down,” she says of that moment in the boardroom. “I'm not an emotional person, but I was so emotional. I was like, ‘oh my god what have I done?’
That being said, she insists she does not regret going on the show. Growing up in Newbridge, watching The Apprentice was an annual tradition for Browne. So, when it came to being accepted as a candidate, she was delighted.
“It was one of the happiest days of my life. I’m not joking,” she says.
But as a viewer at home, she admits it is a lot more intense than she had expected.
“It's crazy. The lack of sleep, the intensity of the long day filming. But it's something that you'll never do again.”
While he was not exactly her favourite person as he was firing her from the show, Browne says she has always admired Alan Sugar and insists there are “no harsh feelings”.
“I actually wrote Alan Sugar an email three years ago, being like, I'm going to apply for your show in like two or three years, keep an eye out for me. He was definitely always someone I looked up to and still - no harsh feelings to Lord Sugar.”
The following week, the luck of the Irish had well and truly worn off as the second and final Irish contestant Kevin D’Arcy packed his bags and returned home to Dublin.
The 32-year-old may look familiar, having appeared in TV adverts for Lifestyle Sports, Ballygowan water and Green Farm Chicken slices – to name but a few.
“There's a bit of range. I can sell a bike or chicken,” the Blanchardstown native laughs.
The accountant has seen some success with his business, Orca Board which sells water sport equipment. The business started out as a lockdown project with his fiancée, Alana.
D’Arcy was also a viewer of The Apprentice and ironically, he decided to finally apply after watching fellow Irish man Conor Gilsenan on the show - who was also fired in week two.
“I probably just thought I’ve got to throw my hat into the ring and see if I could do a bit better. Obviously, I did the same - not worse,” he says from his home in Dublin.
Overall, the show was “a roller coaster of highs to lows” with plenty of laughs behind-the-scenes. His low, of course, was being fired.
“Coming out second and as the second Irish person out in the first couple of weeks, you definitely feel like you wanted to do better for yourself, but also for people at home watching,” he says.
“You kind of do feel like you let down those [viewers] just a little bit by not getting as far as you probably wanted to or should have.”
Nonetheless, he is still glad to have given it a go.
“I think I would have always been sat at home watching it on the TV, shouting at it saying I can do better than that….I think having gone through it, you realise that it's not as easy as it looks.”
Back in Kildare, Emma Browne remains determined to focus on setting up her glamping business and is currently seeking investors. As someone who is admittedly “money mad”, she is ready to put the head down and continue working hard.
As for D’Arcy, he’s prepping for a busy summer season for his business – and his wedding in April.
“I think if I had said to my fiancée that I'm going to do anything else in TV before that she would run a mile. So I’m definitely focusing on the wedding up until that point, and then who knows.”
- The Apprentice is broadcast Thursdays on BBC One
