Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Apprentice stars ‘devastated’ after Shama Amin announces she’s quit BBC show three weeks in

‘She would have gone a long way in the competition,’ ‘You’re Fired’ host Tom Allen said

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 19 January 2022 03:05 EST
Comments
The Apprentice: Series 16 trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A candidate taking part on the latest series of The Apprentice has quit the BBC show.

In scenes that will be shown as part of Thursday’s episode (20 January), Lord Sugar will discover that Shama Amin is dropping out of the process.

In the episode, Amin, 41, tells Sugar, 74, that she has “made the difficult decision to leave the process” because of the pain she experiences with rheumatoid arthritis.

The physical demands of the show coupled with the pain have forced Amin to leave the series.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term illness that occurs when the immune system turns on the body and attacks cells that line the joints.

The condition often hits in teens or twenties and can be linked to genetics. It is more common in women than men.

Shama Amin has been forced to quit this year’s series of ‘The Apprentice’
Shama Amin has been forced to quit this year’s series of ‘The Apprentice’ (BBC/Boundless/Ray Burmiston)

Amin says in the episode: “Mentally, I was strong enough to carry on. But my body wasn’t allowing me to carry on. So I had no choice but to make a difficult decision like that.”

The businesswoman, who owns a nursery, praised the fellow contestants for “supporting” her.

Speaking on The One Show on Tuesday (18 January), Tom Allen, who hosts companion show You’re Fired, said: “It’s so sad because she’s absolutely brilliant and such a clever person and such a lovely person.

“And I know all the candidates were really devastated that she had to leave the process early. She would have gone a long way in the competition actually. I’m sure she’ll go on to great things.’

This means that two candidates will leave the competition in the next episode. Amin’s departure comes after the firing of Harry and Conor in the first two episodes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in