THE APPRENTICE quitter Dr Jana has revealed a tense row with Lord Sugar that BBC bosses chose to keep off the air before his dramatic departure from the show.
The cosmetic dentist, who had been a standout candidate throughout the series, shocked viewers when he announced his resignation in episode five.
Dr Jana Denzel has opened up about his personal reasons behind quitting The Apprentice[/caption]
But in an exclusive interview with Yahoo, Dr Jana has now lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes clash that led him to walk away from the process.
Dr Jana insists he had no doubts about his ability to succeed in the competition.
“I don’t think I would have been fired,” he said, before revealing that his decision to quit was not taken lightly but came after “deep reflection”.
The tension began mounting after episode four, when Lord Sugar claimed Dr Jana had been “very, very quiet throughout the process”.
This comment struck a nerve.
He admitted: “That one line is really what hit me. In task one, I set an Apprentice record at 48% in negotiations.
“In task two, I was put in charge of negotiations again and led us to a win. Task three was my best yet, but I only got a 10-second feature.
“It wasn’t me branding myself as the king of negotiations, my fellow candidates said it in the boardroom.”
Feeling that his contributions had been ignored, Dr Jana began to question whether he and Lord Sugar were truly aligned.
He added: “A business partnership is like a marriage – you have to be a good fit. If Lord Sugar can’t see my contributions when all my candidates can, then maybe we’re not a great fit.”
But this wasn’t the only sign of cracks forming between the two.
In episode three, Dr Jana had put himself forward for project manager but ultimately stepped back, allowing Carlo Brancati to take the reins.
The move didn’t go unnoticed by Lord Sugar, who later called him out in the boardroom asking: “Who puts themselves forward and backs out?”
Dr Jana defended his decision, explaining that he wanted to give Carlo a chance to prove himself, while sharing his belief that he would make it til a later stage in the process and have another chance to be the manager.
But Lord Sugar sarcastically responded: “Oh, Jana, you’re very modest, aren’t you?”
By the end of episode four, Dr Jana had already made up his mind to leave the process.
According to the businessman, show producers urged him to stay on and give it one more shot as project manager in episode five.
He told Yahoo: “Win or lose, I told my team I was walking away. We just had fun with it.”
Ironically, episode five marked the first time Lord Sugar publicly praised him in the boardroom.
That was the moment Dr Jana knew it was time to go.
He shared: “I had proven myself, so I thought, ‘That’s done now. Thank you very much. I’m out.’”
Following his departure, he was told that Lord Sugar actually liked his business plan, with a producer even offering to put it forward for consideration.
But Dr Jana had already moved on. The very next day, he returned to his dental clinic and began scaling up his business.
It wasn’t long before new doors opened.
Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, known for his role on Dragons’ Den, took an interest in Dr Jana’s venture and introduced him to investment manager Danny Gray.
Dr Jana revealed: “I’m in the middle of doing some deals with Danny, and we’re taking it to the next level from here.”
While his exit may have surprised fans, Dr Jana insists he has no regrets.
He told viewers: “The Apprentice wasn’t the right fit for me, but leaving was the best decision I could have made.”
