The Apprentice fired candidate Sabrina Stocker interview: 'I'd like to go into kids TV presenting'

Tonight’s episode of The Apprentice saw five candidates whittled down to two as this year’s final inches ever closer.

The remaining contestants were put through the dreaded round of interviews with Lord Sugar’s trusty advisers, and sadly, it was the end of the road for Sabrina Stocker.

Despite boasting some of the most impressive stats of any candidate this series, Stocker – who owns a tennis events company – was given a positive send-off by the tycoon.

We spoke with the optimistic Sabrina about her immediate feelings after being fired, what she struggled with most participating in the BBC series and her future aspirations.

Has it been surreal watching yourself on TV?

I’ve been cracking up watching it and have one hundred per cent needed a drink every time I see myself. But it’s been fun. I’ve made an event of it with friends and family.

What was your immediate reaction when Lord Sugar fired you?

I had a really positive firing. Although I was disappointed by his decision, he said I’d go really far and to keep going, so for me that was a pretty nice way to go as far as being fired goes.

Why do you think he let you go?

I think in the business plan that I put across, I focused a lot of my energy on things running without me there as opposed to the actual plan. So looking back, I guess I would have communicated my ideas a little bit more in-depth.

Did you have a game plan from the start?

You know, I had my internal game plan in my head – and obviously, I was trying to win the tasks. But it was just a lot of fun from the very beginning.

What do you think you added to this year’s process?

Well, I describe myself as bouncy – I have loads of energy that could fuel a jumbo jet – so I definitely brought the positivity.

Are you happy with the way you were edited?

I’ve spoken a bit of sense and applied logic to some of the decisions I made which I think has come across really nicely from the show. The social media impact has been really really positive.

You seemed more unafraid of putting your neck on the line and becoming project manager than most of your fellow candidates.

I think in business you have to takes risks. I was project manager three times and sub-team leader three times. You’ve just got to go for it. Why not? The majority of the time we won as well, so it proves that I was doing something right. Although throughout the process it looked like nobody listened to me, they must have done because they wanted me to be project manager multiple times.

What was the hardest part of the experience for you?

I’d say the hardest part was probably the lack of sleep. You have so much going on every single day – the tasks as well as the social side – and I do enjoy my sleep, so having a little amount of it was tricky.

We rarely saw you get emotional – was that difficult despite being so exhausted?

I mean, you’ve got a choice to get into arguments or to just drive on and keep going forward. You don’t have to be a bitch to be good at business; you can literally just put your energy into it – and it’s the same with events, or hosting anything. If you don’t bring the energy, you’re never going to get anywhere.

Who would you say you were closest to on the show?

Kayode and I got on really well. He’s an absolutely amazing guy. I was really gutted when he left.

It must have been harder and harder to say goodbye the better you got to know your fellow candidates.

Yeah, your heart kind of throbs a little bit. But, at the end of the day, we know what we signed up for. It’s a competition – it’s either you or them, and you’re always going to choose you. That’s how we looked at it.

What did you learn about yourself?

Probably to have more confidence to keep going. I also found out I really enjoy presenting, so that could be a potential opportunity in the future. I think I learnt that if you’re persistent enough, you’ll get it right no matter what anyone says.

What sort of presenting would you like to go into?

Anything to do with sports or to do with kids, even though I feel like I’d have more energy than the kids around me!

What’s been the most surprising consequence of appearing on the show?

I have been offered multiple investments which is really exciting. Furthermore, I have partnered up with the LTA [the governing body of British Tennis], and we are launching a new course to get more organisers and young people into event hosting which would make tennis more accessible. So rather than just focusing on my business, we’re now focusing on something that’ll affect people at large.

I was going to ask what’s next for you – it sounds like you have a lot on!

Yeah. I’m a busy bee at the moment. Hopefully, CBeebies is gonna drop me a DM.

The Apprentice final airs on Sunday 17 December at 9pm on BBC One