The Apprentice axes candidate Gregory Ebbs after 'really pathetic' cartoon
Antiques dealer Gregory Ebbs is the latest business wannabe to be fired from The Apprentice, after a task to create a cartoon for kids, to be judged by industry experts, did not go his way
Gregory Ebbs is the latest contestant to be fired by Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice, after a disastrous kids' cartoon.
The online antiques marketplace owner was sent packing in the third episode of the latest season after the teams were tasked with creating a cartoon aimed at two to four-year-olds.
At the start of the episode, Lord Sugar summoned the ambitious bunch, all hoping for a £250,000 from the businessman, to Regents' Street Cinema for an exclusive screening, where he revealed they must come up with a cartoon for kids to pitch to the industry experts.
Gregory's team pitched a cartoon which showed characters playing a clapping game and highlighted the importance of being kind.
However, they had run out of time in the design stage and hadn't included hands. Children's presenter Angellica Bell, who was on the panel, also questioned whether the ad was fun, and said it seemed more like an "infomercial."
Lord Sugar questioned Greggory's involvement in the challenge, saying: "I think you went missing in this task, we almost sent Dora the Explorer looking for you."
Lord Sugar labelled the cartoon "really pathetic".
Gregory admitted to his team he didn't contribute much to the task, but he had done well in previous weeks. In the boardroom, he said he added some "valuable" contributions, but his team accused him of not trying.
The other team, which had created a cartoon showing a giraffe's first day at school, won the challenge.
Local councillor Gregory, who has also worked as a canon firer has become an unlikely sex symbol thanks to his time on the show.
He said: “I’ve had some very interesting comments. I’ve had lots of unusual messages.
“It’s quite a cool and weird experience. It’s really nice that people liked me on the show.”
Speaking before he was given the boot, Gregory said of his strengths: “I would say willingness to try different things and being slightly more unusual than most is a massive plus."
Last week saw a shock double exit, as the teams were tasked with selling bao buns, with a savoury bun to punt to the public and a bespoke sweet one to sell to a corporate client, and the team who secured the biggest overall profit would be crowned the victor.
The episode delivered kitchen explosions followed by grilling in the boardroom, which resulted in Lord Sugar raising his ominous finger to tell Dublin accountant Kevin D’Arcy he would be going home.
Yet the second episode delivered a twist as a fellow candidate and bridal boutique owner Shannon Martin decided to leave the show – before she had even found out her team won the task.
Shannon subsequently admitted the show was ‘the hardest thing she’s ever done’ but also added it was an ‘amazing experience’.
She said: “When Lord Sugar says it’s the hardest interview of your life, he’s not lying. I likened it to being on SAS: Who Dares Wins, but without Ant Middleton waking you up in the morning.”
