Outspoken: Paloma Vivanco became the latest casualty of The Apprentice
Paloma Vivanco has become the latest casualty of The Apprentice, after her outspoken attitude in the boardroom left Lord Sugar fuming.
The 29-year-old contestant turned on her teammates following their failure in a fashion task.
And after firing Paloma, Lord Sugar said it was her attitude that had prompted her departure.
Not impressed: Lord Sugar fired Paloma because of her behaviour in the boardroom
The entrepreneur said Paloma had 'talked herself out' of the contest with her outbursts and left him unimpressed with her backstabbing.
After leaving the show, Paloma said: 'The key reason that Lord Sugar got rid of me was because I got a little too lippy in the boardroom.
'But I think it's his loss to be honest
Controversial: Paloma was very critical of teammates Sandeesh Samra and Alex Epstein
Facing Lord Sugar: Sandeesh and Alex narrowly escaped being fired
This week's task began when the contestants were woken early and told they would need to meet Lord Sugar at the Fashion Retail Academy and to pack an overnight bag.
When they arrived at the academy, Lord Sugar told them they would be creating a retail space in Manchester's Trafford Centre where they would have to sell two young designers' labels.
And while some of the female contestants were thrilled with the task, Stuart was less than impressed, adding: 'Fashion is the most boring thing in the whole world, it does absolutely nothing for me at all
Backstabbing: Sandeesh was stunned when Paloma said she wasn't capable of winning The Apprentice
No hard feelings: Paloma hugged Sandeesh and Alex after being fired
But Alex disagreed, saying: 'This is the perfect territory for me. Retail is like creating a hive of honey and getting people to the honeypot.'
And, having previously worked at the Trafford Centre, Alex claimed he knew the best place to set up their space's promotional area.
Lord Sugar appointed Liz the team leader of Synergy, while assigning Paloma as the leader of Apollo.
Deciding on stock: The teams were given a selection of designers to choose from
High end: Many of the labels were deemed too expensive for the task
Liz was thrilled with her appointment, explaining: 'I love fashion. For me, clothing is a big part of my personality. But retail is very difficult.'
However, Paloma was more confident, saying: 'I'm so confident, I'm so pumped up, I can't wait.'
The teams were then given the chance to look at a a series of young designers to choose two labels to showcase in their stores
The location: The teams were given the task of selling in Manchester's Trafford Centre
But things came to a head when Synergy and Apollo both wanted to introduce label Liquorice to their stores. However, the label eventually decided to go with Synergy because they were more 'enthusiastic'.
And while both labels wanted to stick to a budget store, Apollo were forced to go for eco-friendly label Junkie which makes clothes retailing at up to £300.
The contestants then travelled up to Manchester where they showed their teams their stock before calling it a night.
The next morning, the teams arrived at the Trafford Centre where they were shown their retail spaces.
The shop: Paloma's shop One quickly took form inside the shopping centre
Sparkles: Liz's shop The Collection was full of going out dresses
Synergy opted for the name The Collection for their boutique, while Apollo went for the title One.
However, things went from bad to worse when Paloma started to get annoyed with Alex for choosing the wrong promotional area for their stall.
She said: 'Alex claims to be an expert at retail but he chose the wrong location for the promotional area.
Promotional: Paloma's team secured an advert on the television channel in the shopping centre
Getting ready: Thousands of customers pass through the centre every day
'Alex is really doing my head in. I'm finding him a bit of a liability at the moment. I'm really finding him a hindrance.'
And in a bid to get more customers coming into their shop, Synergy decided to enlist the help of Stella, who stood in the window in a green sequinned dress to attract potential buyers.
It was the mixture of their budget party dresses and vintage fashion that worked for Synergy, and Lord Sugar's aide Nick Hewer added: 'I think Synergy has got its product mix absolutely right.'
As it got later in the day, both teams resorted to various methods to attract more customers.
As Synergy team leader, Liz called the heads of her label and asked permission to drop the price of the clothes, leading to the items being reduced by 20 per cent.
Making the sale: Chris worked well at selling a £300 recycled dress
Working hard: And Liz also did her best to sell as many of her dresses as possible
But it was Apollo who really made the most of the promotional options at the Trafford Centre by creating an advert for the shopping centre's own television channel.
All the team members worked hard to sell as many of the items as possible, with Chris even managing to sell a £300 dress made out of recycled ties, as well as several other items.
At the end of the day, both teams reduced the stock for the customers, and ended up with very little of the items left.
In the boardroom, Lord Sugar was joined by Hewer and his second aide Karren Brady as they revealed which of the teams sold the most stock.
Trying to lure customers: Alex didn't do too well with his advertising techniques
Model: Stella sat in the shop window in a bid to lure more customers in
Synergy were crowned the winners of the task with takings of £3,760, while Apollo trailed behind with profits of £3,223.
As the winning team were treated to a day out at Royal Windsor Racecourse, Paloma was asked which two team members she would be bringing back into the boardroom
Paloma attempted to shift the blame of the loss on the task on to Alex, adding: 'I find Alex 100 per cent responsible for the failure of the task.'
And while Lord Sugar said the team's failure to secure Liquorice as one of their fashion labels may have led to their downfall, Paloma insisted: 'I genuinely don't think we had an issue with the products here. I think with a little bit more sales effort we could have closed this.'
Celebrating: The winning team, led by Liz, find out they have won the challenge
Treat: And they were rewarded with a day out at Royal Windsor Racecourse
Paloma added that she was fed up with Alex's attitude throughout the day,
explaining: 'All I got was theory with you. You were a bit of an irritant the whole day as well. You were terrible at bringing business in - I was watching you.'
Alex also protested that he was being made a 'scapegoat', hitting back: 'I think you're lying your face off here to protect your position.'
The other person Paloma chose to bring back into the boardroom was Sandeesh.
Asked by Lord Sugar why Sandeesh was in the firing line, Paloma said: 'She's not as strong as some of the others and I think there are times when she hides behind a lot of the menial tasks.'
But Sandeesh added: 'I think you'll find that Paloma has been a lot more destructive than she has been constructive
Enjoying a meal: The winning team enjoyed a luxurious meal
Not so good: The losing team discuss where they went wrong
Before making a decision about who was fired, Lord Sugar said he could see Paloma was trying to cover herself.
He said: 'Whatever Alex has done, it cannot be that one little promotional area caused the failure of this task.
'Paloma, you are very cool and I think you have shown me in this boardroom that you take no prisoners, and I think it's the manner that you don't take any prisoners that is concerning me.'
And, making a decision about who he should get rid of, Lord Sugar said he was going to give Alex another chance.
Who's safe? The remaining contestants eagerly wait to see who is safe
He said: 'You sound like a disaster but I think you've been set up as the lackey.
You may be bloody useless, I don't know, but I'm going to give you another chance to prove that you're not useless.'
However, it was eventually Paloma who was the one leaving the show.
Lord Sugar told her: 'I don't like your last outburst and for my 40 years in business and my gut feeling I don't like what I've seen in the boardroom today.
'You've talked yourself out of this. If you'd shut up it might have been someone else going. Paloma, you're fired.'
Next week the Apprentice contestants will be given the task of creating a new brand of household cleaner.
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