Lord Sugar axes Natasha after fast food fiasco

Apprentice hopeful Natasha Scribbins has said 'adios' to a place in the final after her team's Mexican restaurant failed to whet Lord Sugar's appetite.

The contestants had been tasked with setting up their own fast food restaurant, but Natasha ended up with too much on her plate after claiming her degree in international hospitality management would help her team win the challenge.

Industry experts, including a representative from McDonald's, awarded Venture's Caraca's restaurant an average score of four out of 10, while Lord Sugar blasted the chicken fajita he was served by saying: "The last time I saw something like that was when my son's dog puked."

Her departure leaves Susan Ma, Helen Milligan, 'Jedi' Jim Eastwood and Tom Pellereau to fight it out in the final of the BBC One series on Sunday, battling for the chance to be Lord Sugar's business partner.

Venture lost out to team Logic, led by Helen, whose MyPy pie business won the task with an average score of seven out of 10.

In the boardroom, business adviser Karren Brady admonished Venture for the 'real carnage' of their restaurant and a 'lack of a system that worked'.

Recruitment manager Natasha, from Taunton, claimed she should not be held responsible for the team's failure, saying that her degree was 'a long time ago' and that she had never wanted to be a restaurateur.

But Lord Sugar replied: "I did a degree in first aid, I didn't enjoy doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but I have to do it when it's needed to be done."

Firing her, he said: "Natasha, I can't reconcile some of the things that have happened today... you started off like a house on fire but I have found you a little lacklustre in the last few weeks."