The Apprentice fired candidate Kurran Pooni interview: 'Lord Sugar made the right decision'

This year's biggest character speaks out after being eliminated from the process

The next candidate to be fired from The Apprentice was perhaps this year’s most controversial character.

For their sixth week in the process, the candidates attempted to create their own budget airling – a task that both teams struggled to soar in.

However, it was 22-year-old Kurran Pooni who came rocketing out of the competition, one week after narrowly evading elimination. “I wish you a lot of luck,” Lord Sugar said, before pointing the finger in his direction.

We spoke to the aspiring actor who gave refreshingly candid views on what the series will lose without him and why it’s a good thing he got fired.

I really didn’t expect you to get fired at this stage of the process.

You’re joking me, right?

I just thought you’d be kept in for a bit longer as you’re one of this year’s strongest characters, but going by your response it seems you’re not surprised...

I would say it was the right time for me to go. Lord Sugar made the right decision. I’ll hold my hands up and admit that. This was my do or die moment – when this task came through, I knew if I lost I’d be out, and unfortunately, I lost. I didn’t expect Lord Sugar to allow me to go on another week. He gave me another chance in last week’s episode and I didn’t win. I was already rehearsing what I was going to say in the taxi the moment we were told we’d lost.

Is there anybody still in the process you’re surprised has made it this far?

I think everyone who is still there at the moment are the right people to be there. I think Lord Sugar’s made all the correct decisions so far, including me being fired.

What do you think this series will lose now you’ve gone?

I think… [pause] I think with me no longer being on the screen, there will be a… [even longer pause] I think I added value to the show and now I’m gone, it may not be as entertaining because everybody was looking forward to seeing how Kurran was going to mess up or what stupid thing Kurran was going to say or do. Now that’s gone, I think the show becomes far more business-orientated.

Did you expect to be the ‘villain’ of this year’s series?

You know, I really didn’t expect it. But as the process went on, I kinda realised I was, but I really didn’t think I was going to be that guy this year. But, you know what? I’m happy to have been that person because it takes more energy to hate someone than to love them. Still, I was number four trending on Twitter the other day.

Camilla described you as having the acumen of a garden pea…

Well, what I would say to Camilla is there’s a frozen pea in every freezer….

Do you have any regrets?

Last week, I had an ace up my sleeve that I was saving for a rainy day, and when I got back into that boardroom it was a thunderstorm. I had to whip out that ace on Rick [Monk] and it brought me another week and allowed me to be a project manager. Imagine leaving the competition without being a project manager! That would be disastrous. I made it on the show, I’ve done everything I wanted to do and now I’m out so I’m happy.

Every year, there’s lots of talk of candidates using the show as a way of getting other jobs. Did you have any ulterior motives for participating?

Primarily, I went on the show to win a £250,000 investment, because who wouldn’t want that. Secondary to that, I was keen to build a profile for myself that may potentially propel my acting career because ultimately I want to go down as one of the greatest actors of all time. This is just a small, small stepping stone for me getting there.

How are you planning to achieve that ambition?

I’m seeking representation. I need a good agent behind me who believes in my vision. Most of my acting experience derives from the theatre so I’m more than happy to go back on stage and tread the boards. Alternatively, I’d like to get a good Netflix season in the bag. Who knows? I need to now demonstrate that I am an actor.

Would you say there are any candidates acting their way through the series?

I don’t think anybody’s acting in the competition. The first thing on your mind is handling the task at hand: figuring out who’s gonna say this pitch, draw that shoe, talk to the designers – all these things. You just don’t have the time to process a particular way to behave in. it’s impossible.

Who are your favourite actors?

I would say Robert De Niro is up there. I was watching Christopher Walken the other night, I really like his vibe. I’m into my cult gangster films.

Is that your dream role?

No, my dream role would probably be a villain – a London-based villain – because I’ve always played the bad guy in all of my theatre roles. It’s not necessarily more fun, it just comes easier to me.

How’s your arm doing?

It’s fully recovered. I drunk lots of full-fat milk and now I’m back to the gym.

Did your injury make it harder to participate in the tasks?

Listen, the hardest thing about having this broken arm was not being able to tie my hair up. I had to get someone else to do it for me. Also, we had 20 minutes to get ready in the morning – it took me 10 to do up my top button!

The Apprentice continues every Wednesday on BBC One