Jadine, You're Fired!

Did you expect to be fired after your team lost the trader task?
Well, I wasn't really putting up a fight, was I? I took the stance that if you don't say anything to fight your corner in the boardroom, you're pretty much certain to go home. Sir Alan saw that; he knew I was missing my daughter and he accepted that. I've got nothing to say against the boss, I think the decision came at the right time.

 

Sir Alan was quite complimentary as he fired you – did that surprise you?
I know; I didn't get attacked at all. He also threw me a bone – he asked why he should have me in his company, but I just sat there. I think he knows that I've tried to learn and grow throughout the show. There are loads of people not taking much notice of what Sir Alan says to them, but I really took on board what he said after week three and really did well.

 

In the first couple of episodes you came out all guns blazing...
I've always been a fighter, that's just my way. But when Sir Alan said early in the series that he'd heard that I was controversial, I thought, if he's going to be my boss and I want to impress him, I've got to show him that I have all kinds of skills. So I relaxed a lot but I didn't let it affect my performance – I was on the winning team six times.

Did you prefer working with the guys to the girls?
Yes. Sir Alan swapped me at the first task and I had to assert myself with the guys because I felt they were going to walk all over me but they didn't. When I went back to the girls on the third task, their work ethic was completely different – it was really slow, they had to stop and talk about everything, they were wasting time. I was getting so frustrated the girls just thought I was being pushy. They were planning to get me out in the boardroom that week.

 

Were you surprised by the amount of backstabbing that was going on?
Do you know what, I didn't realise it was going on when I was there. I wasn't involved in any of it – after I realised the girls were after me, I distanced myself and didn't look for any favours. I didn't know all that was going on. People would come back from the boardroom but they wouldn't reveal many details of what went on because you could use it against them. Everyone was always thinking about tactics, it was so tiring.

 

Should Tre have taken Simon into the boardroom? He didn't contribute much to the task.
Definitely! He should definitely have taken Simon into the boardroom. Simon has made a smart alliance with Tre and he played it cleverly because obviously if you don't go into the boardroom, you can't be fired. I think I performed well – I sold all three items and the money from the sales of the air purifiers was more than all the sales of the other two products added together. Considering I was feeling emotional, I think I performed pretty well; I was impressed watching it back.

Do you regret that you got upset and didn't make the evening meeting with your team?
No. We came home after a very long day but when you go home on The Apprentice, you can't relax. There's no time to wind down, there's no time to have a moment to yourself to think about missing home, because the cameras are always rolling. You just want to take five minutes to yourself but you can't. It was really important to me to have some wind-down time at the end of the day.

 

Who do you tip to win the series and be hired by Sir Alan?
My tip to win is me! I don't want anyone else to win it – sod the lot of them!

 

Do you regret taking part in The Apprentice?
No way. I learnt so much about myself, I grew immensely. I learnt to be a good business woman, and one that is willing to take instructions in order to do that. I proved my worth ten-fold.

 

What's next for you?
I've already been head-hunted by a finance company – I am going to head-up their new debt management department and employ a ten-strong team. And Grazia magazine has noted me as a having a good fashion sense which is fantastic!