The Apprentice: You're fired! We spoke to Sarah Byrne about her time with Lord Sugar and who she thinks will win

The first episode of The Apprentice has come and gone, as has Sarah Byrne – the first candidate to be fired by the merciless Lord Sugar.

Byrne, who runs an acting academy for children, sat down with The Independent before the episode aired to discuss her time on the show, as well as who she thinks could end up winning the series.

Looking back, do you still think Lord Sugar made the wrong choice?

Yeah, he definitely made the wrong choice. I put 100% effort into the task. I got two items. They said that I was disruptive, but at the end of the day without the items we would have failed even more than we did. He definitely made the wrong decision and I shouldn’t have gone.

Sarah Byrne on ‘The Apprentice’ (BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring)

It got pretty heated in the boardroom. Do you maintain any hard feelings?

I’m not that kind of person. Once something’s said it’s forgotten about. I don’t hold any grudges at all. We were in a very stressful situation and there were things I said in the moment, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m friends with everybody.

Did you think that Jasmine thought she was better than you because you were working class? You mentioned it multiple times.

Yeah, I think there was some prejudice at times. Maybe that’s how it came across, but looking back, you’re under a lot of pressure, you have hardly had any sleep, and you’re very sensitive to certain situations.

If you had to pick one boy and one girl for the win who would you back? And why?

I’m backing Sabrina and Kayode. Sabrina is so much fun, and we just got on so well. When times were hard and stressful through the tasks, Sabrina was there to make me feel better and have fun with. And Kayode, I like that what you see is what you get with him. He’s not afraid to say what he believes.

The Independent spoke with Claude last week, and he said women are more difficult to work with in the first week than the boys, and it’s only when the teams merge that they start to prove themselves. Do you agree? If so, do you think it’s because women have more to prove in business than men do?

There’s a lot of big characters within the girls. Everyone wants to be the boss. I do believe that it’s hard the first week to bond. And I do sometimes think women have more to prove. But, I also think times are changing, and that’s for the better. I’m really happy about that, being a woman in business. I think, when my daughter grows up, things will be even better.

There was a small moment that may have been perceived as casual sexism in the first episode. How did you find the boys team?

It’s hard, because we didn’t really work with the boys’ team. I’m not sure who said what, but I’m sure they meant it as a light-hearted comment.

What’s next for you?

Obviously, I want to carry on in the media. I’m hoping to do some more acting, and work, and expand on the drama school. I’m opening a new management company, which is going to create opportunities for young people in the arts, which is great. Presenting. You know what, I’m just hoping it’s going to create a lot of opportunities for me and open lots of doors.