The Apprentice: Maria O'Connor Fired After Falling Asleep During The Second Task (PHOTOS)

The Apprentice: A Problem Like Maria

Lord Sugar had a trying week on The Apprentice, despairing of all the women in the room from the looks of things, but he finally settled on one, telling Maria O'Connor, "You're Fired!"

The writing was on the wall for the 20-year-old, who runs her own Greek restaurant, when she fell asleep in the car on the way to the second task of the series. While the rest of her team deliberated over which home gadget to design and market, Maria took the opportunity to steal forty winks, something which didn't go down well with the other girls.

"It was a thought out discussion and you were asleep," shouted project manager Jane, when it came to the final showdown in the boardroom.

Maria, who had previously sworn she would have five restaurants of her own by the age of 25, was having none of it...

"I fell asleep for two seconds, I was so tired," something she changed her mind about a few seconds later to.. "I was thinking." The other girls didn't bother answering this one.

Lord Sugar had had enough. He was obviously disappointed in more than one member of this group, but finally decided to plump for the woman of whom he said, "she just wants a row."

He said, "Maria – I’m not clear what in fact you did in this task, Maria – You’re Fired.”

The girl who narrowly avoided dismissal was Jenna, who'd made such a balls-up of the accounts during the earlier pitch. But, as she pointed out, no-one else had stepped up for the task, so she felt she'd done her bit just by trying. She even named and shamed... Katie "who didn't get involved in anything", so that'll be good for team-building next week.

The girls could do worse than invest in a calculator, or perhaps an abacus, before the next task, if they are to avoid another showdown befalling them. The boys have yet to face the final showdown in this series.

Meet this year's contestants in the slideshow below...

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