Jenna: I never watched Apprentice (From York Press)

Jenna: I never watched Apprentice

8:49am Thursday 17th May 2012 in Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

Jenna Whittingham has confessed she never watched The Apprentice before appearing on the TV show.

The 25-year-old beauty salon owner was fired by Lord Sugar after her team blamed losing this week's wine promoting task on the humorous advert she directed. The show jumping champion revealed she heard about the £250,000 investment prize on offer, but had no idea what she was getting herself into when she applied for the BBC show.

She admitted: "To be honest with you - this sounds really awful - but I haven't really watched every single series. It was a case of last year when they announced it was going to be the investment that I watched a few clips and put my application in because I genuinely wanted to get an investment."

The Lancashire lass - who hopes to expand her chain of beauty and clothing boutiques - also admitted her northern accent may have gone against her.

Lord Sugar's advisor Karren Brady told the Radio Times this week: "Her voice grates a bit, but I like her."

Jenna said: "When the process started I think it was a lot, having a very broad northern voice, and I think, of all the candidates in the boardroom, my voice came across very broad and northern, and probably a bit higher pitched because I was a bit nervous.

"I think it's a big shock to have a very broad northerner in there, but the northern charm obviously worked on Karren because she said that she liked me."

Jenna was convinced team-mate Stephen Brady would get the boot.

She said: "I was proper devastated when I got fired. I didn't think I was getting fired because, after I gave quite a good profile of why I should stay, I actually thought Stephen was going. So it was a massive shock to me really."