"I am disappointed for it to end this way."
On Thursday, February 12, 2026, Tanmay Hingorani became the fourth candidate to be fired from the BBC’s The Apprentice.
The third task of the business competition saw the candidates develop recipes from chicken and eggs, aiming to turn their food into profit.
Part of the task also included securing deals with corporate clients.
The team that worked with eggs was named Team Eclipse, while the chicken team was called Team Alpha.
One half of each team was to sell their product in the market to the public, while the other half served canapes at an event funded by the clients.
Tanmay Hingorani was in Team Eclipse, working with eggs.
However, led by Project Manager Carrington Saunders, Team Eclipse faced issues with negotiation, calculations, and recipes.
They decided to make carbonara as their main dish.
Most of the team members had dietary restrictions, which hindered their performance when tasting ingredients.
Carrington did not eat eggs, Kieran McCartney did not eat cheese, and Lawrence Rosenburg could not eat pork.
This left only Priyesh Bathia able to taste the food.
The task became shambolic in the kitchen, with candidates not knowing what to do and being unprepared for when their clients arrived with the guests.
However, in the marketplace, Team Eclipse were successful, selling out all their food.
While negotiating prices to their clients, Karishma Vijay initially led the strategy with £27 per person.
But she was frustrated when Megan Ruiter jumped in at £12.
Due to this, Tanmay believed that he could not go higher, and closed the deal at £11.80 per person – a decision that was criticised by Lord Alan Sugar.
The team were shocked when the business mogul announced that the corporate clients could have afforded £20 per person, but obviously took the opportunity offered by the negotiation to go cheaper.
In the boardroom, while Team Alpha made a profit of £742.67, Team Eclipse lost with a lower profit of £508.80.
Due to the failed negotiation, which if done correctly, could have secured her team a victory, Carrington opted to bring Megan and Tanmay into the final boardroom.
Although Megan was also in danger of being fired from the show, Lord Sugar ultimately fired Tanmay Hingorani for closing the deal at £11.80.
Off-screen, Tanmay said: “I think the first few tasks I had contributed quite a lot, and I tried to remain quite cool, calm and collected throughout those first two episodes.
“Ultimately, I am disappointed for it to end this way.
“When we went into the negotiation, I was looking forward to it.
“I see negotiation as an art form, but that negotiation didn’t become a very nice piece of art.
“Karishma started with a monologue which set the tempo, and then Megan came through and set the price ceiling by saying £12, and I shook the hand on £11.80 trying to salvage it.
“I did take the bullet in the boardroom and I do think it was unfair.
“But you win some, and you lose some, and I can’t do much about it now.
“I don’t think I deserved it. I think at the time, sitting in the boardroom, it was a lot closer.
“I remember in the moment thinking it could probably go either way between myself, Megan and Carrington.
“You could have even put an argument forward for Karishma and Andrea [Cooper], but in the boardroom, I was there, and I tried to keep composed, but I do think it was unfair.”
Speaking about who he felt should have been fired instead, Tanmay said: “Looking back, it should have been Megan.
“I don’t think there is even an argument for it to have been anyone else.
“Maybe Karishma or Andrea, but Megan makes the most sense.”
Divulging his experience on The Apprentice, Tanmay explained: “I have learnt that I can probably do anything now.
“I think I was already confident, but it has given me more confidence that I can do anything I want to do.
“I can put my mind to it and do it. It has also given me the confidence in my ability to work with people of different backgrounds and temperaments, as you know, some are fierier than others.
“It was good to handle big personalities. I also learnt that I am good at reading people and building rapport.
“Although the process taught me that there are moments where leadership means pausing the room when momentum is moving too fast, especially when decisions affect value.”
Tanmay Hingorani is an AI Product Consultant from Islington, London.
When asked why he deserved Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment, the 28-year-old said:
“I don’t just talk about ideas, I have the business and technical acumen to build them.
“I’ve proven in AI product consulting that I can turn vision into reality, developing digital products for major organisations that deliver measurable results.
“Like Lord Sugar, who began his career selling technology, I understand how to turn innovation into commercial success.”
“Our skills would complement each other, combining his business experience with my product expertise.
“I’m ambitious, pragmatic and focused on building something that creates meaningful value for customers and the hospitality industry.”
The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on February 19, 2026, at 9 pm.
The 16 remaining candidates will be tasked with creating a television advert and a social media campaign for bottled water.
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