Yahoo News Fired Apprentice candidate exposes co-star's tactics
When Apprentice favourite Kayode Damali was fired from the competition last week, it was clear that the remaining candidates needed to step up their game if they wanted to claim Alan Sugar's £250,000 business investment.
Project manager Jasmine Kundra, Sabrina Stocker and Tom Bunday were the three contestants who found themselves back in the boardroom after failing to impress as art dealers, and it was Jasmine who ultimately left the competition.
"I relied too much on the fact that I had made sales and Tom didn't sell anything, despite claiming that his family are in the art world," Jasmine told Digital Spy exclusively.
"I thought that would speak for itself, but that moment of complacency cost me dearly because Tom made his final plea at just the right time. That's what Alan Sugar heard in that moment, and therefore I lost my place in the process.
"I should have fought my corner harder, and I could have stayed if I had said a final plea."
And it wasn't just Tom's behaviour in the boardroom which the 34-year-old believes cost her. At the beginning of the task, the tree surgeon accused Jasmine of failing to let him get a word in edgeways when they were speaking to the artists: "I was a little bit blindsided by that because I thought that, even though I was frustrated working with Tom, it's not like we clashed to the point where we couldn't work together.
"I think that was Tom just getting that bit in early so that if we lost, he would have that to fall back on. I think it was a bit of a strategic play on his part, and it worked because he's still in the process."
Jasmine also had a few thoughts about one other teammate in particular: "I could understand what Sian [Gabbidon] was saying when she said she had difficulty working with Sabrina.
"We got on very well in the house, but in the same way that most of us wouldn't choose to work with our best friend, sometimes that can be a recipe for disaster.
"I learned that on the task when we were doing the airline advertising. I found it difficult. I did it my way and she criticised me for being too dominant and taking over. And I'd just kind of given up and resigned myself to the fact that we aren't a good mix working together.
"Sabrina is not the kind of person who is going to back down when she thinks she's right. But if I believe that I'm right, then I won't back down."
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It's that determination and drive which often seemed to count against the Learning and Development Manager during her time on the show: "I've been accused of taking the process too seriously, of being the fun police and not knowing how to relax and have a laugh.
"Well, a quarter of a million pounds is no laughing matter to me, so I stand by the fact that I took it seriously."
And those weren't the only criticisms that were levelled at her.
"I was told many times by men in the process that I talk too much," she explained.
"I was told that in the boardroom, on task, and I just think it's unacceptable.
"I think women who are very assertive, who know exactly what they want, definitely get labelled as bossy, and lots of other adjectives. In 2018, there's no place for it.
"And it starts really early. We say it's in business, but we're all guilty of it. We say it to young girls if they show leadership skills. We don't say 'Wow, you are showing signs of leadership'. We say 'You're really bossy and you mustn't be like that', but we never say that to little boys.
"It's not just in business, as a society we're guilty of that and we need to change. It's so wrong."
She added: "I'm still sort of in denial, like Lord Sugar's going to call me and say actually Jasmine, I've had time to think about this and I think we would work really well together.
"Obviously, that call hasn't come yet."
And who does she want to win?
"I'm actually really rooting for Tom and Sabrina now," she said.
"Secretly I'm hoping that they both get to the final, because then I can tell myself that technically I came third."
The Apprentice continues next Wednesday (November 28) at 9pm on BBC One.
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