"I feel like I was my true self."
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Rajan Gill became the tenth candidate to be fired from the BBC’s The Apprentice.
In this episode, Lord Alan Sugar tasked the candidates with building demos and brands of a virtual reality fitness game.
They then had to pitch their products to potential investors.
Rajan was in Team Eclipse, which was led by Lawrence Rosenburg as Project Manager.
Lawrence failed to give his team a clear storyline of the game, leaving Rajan, Pascha Myhill, and Rothna Akhtar clueless as to what to develop.
Ultimately, the three candidates created a game where players had to defeat frog-like characters while exercising.
During the task, however, Rajan continued to highlight errors without offering solutions.
At one point, when Rothna asked him for his input, he said: “You bake some bread, I wouldn’t call you Mr Kipling.”
This remark was later termed by Baroness Karren Brady as “rude”.
Rajan also accused Pascha and Rothna of ignoring him in the brainstorm.
The creatures and logo in Team Eclipse’s game was criticised by the investors, and in the end, Lawrence’s team secured £55,000 of investment.
However, the other team won the task with a higher total of £205,000 for further development.
Lawrence chose to bring Rajan back into the final boardroom due to his lack of contribution to the task.
However, he also chose to bring Levi Hague back because of certain comments made about him by Lord Sugar.
This decision was severely criticised by everyone, leading Lawrence to regret his words, and he and Levi also had a tense exchange when they returned to the house.
Lord Sugar said: “I’ve got a gut feeling here. It may not be fair, but Rajan, you’re fired.”
Off-screen, Rajan Gill said: “Ultimately, Lord Sugar makes the decision based on the task and the overall performance.
“And I respect that. But no, I don’t think I deserve to be fired, to be honest.
“One of the things that Lord Sugar said to me before he fired me was that he felt like he didn’t really see much of me throughout the process.
“But if I had the chance to speak to him right now, I would remind him I was sub-PM twice throughout the process.
“I held, I think, three corporate negotiations throughout the process, of which every negotiation outweighed and smashed the other team.
“And I put my all into every single task, and I feel like there were some individuals who didn’t do that, and they should be facing the repercussions themselves.”
Rajan also admitted he felt Levi had done less than he did in the process.
He continued: “I feel like, in terms of consistency throughout the process, I didn’t really see much of it.
“I think he was sub-PM once in the first task in Hong Kong, and I feel like I put myself out there a lot more than [Levi] did.
“I feel like I was my true self. I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
‘One of the biggest things I can take back from this experience when I’m watching it on the screen is I can watch it and say, ‘You know what, that is my authentic self”.”
Speaking about his opinion on anyone being fired from The Apprentice, Rajan said:
“I always like to think that being fired does not define you as an individual.
“Let’s say you’re watching the Olympics – you wouldn’t say that the people who don’t win are losers.
“No, they made it to the Olympics. Being a part of the actual show is such an incredible accolade I’ll always keep with me.
“So yes, there’s definitely a level of bittersweet.
Looking back on it now, we were candidates at the time, but after the process, we’ve become the greatest of friends.”
Rajan also delved into his priority of working in sales over entrepreneurship.
He explained: “I think being in a 9-to-5 has so much stigma around it in the kind of Millennial age.
“I feel like the only people who complain about being in a 9-to-5 are the people who are only willing to do the 9-to-5 hours.
“I think being in a 9-to-5 and having a great corporate career is amazing.
“You know, you have that flexibility before 9 am and after 5 pm, whilst also having a structured lifestyle.”
Rajan also praised Karishma Vijay for her business acumen. Fans have also been rooting for her to win The Apprentice.
He gushed: “From what I’ve seen, I would hire Karishma.
“From watching the show, I feel like for every single task, there’s always an element of Karishma in there. I think she’s fantastic.
“She always has something to do with the success of the task.
“She always has a speciality within a certain area of the task.
“I think she’s really adaptable, and she’s very fair to work with. She’s a lovely girl.”
When he was asked why he deserved Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment, the 30-year-old pharmaceutical sales specialist said:
“The first rule in business is you invest in the individual – and I’m exactly that individual.”
“I have a proven track record running multiple businesses, I outwork everyone in the room, and ‘no’ simply isn’t an option for me.
“Media walls and TV mounting aren’t a passing TikTok trend; they’re the new standard in modern homes.
“I’m leading the shift by making premium, safe, and visually striking setups accessible to every homeowner without the inflated price tag.
“The demand is exploding, the market is wide open, and with investment, I will scale this into the dominant brand in the industry.”
The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursday, March 19, 2026.
The ten remaining candidates will be sent to the Isle of Wight to source nine items as cheaply as possible.
This task will be the second discount buying activity of the current series.
Lord Sugar describes it as a chance for the candidates to “redeem” themselves following the shambolic first task in Hong Kong.
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