The Apprentice (UK series eight)

Series Eight of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2012 from 21 March to 3 June on BBC One. Sixteen candidates took part, naming their teams Phoenix and Sterling, with Ricky Martin winning the series. This series was the first to have the final episode and it sister show's final episode, dubbed You're Hired, merged together as a two hour, special episode; the first half consisting of the final itself, and the second half consisting of the interviews with the finalists. In addition, two specials were aired alongside the series in its final weeks, and included the return of a new edition of "The Final Five" on 29 May, and the return of "Why I Fired Them" on 2 June.

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In an interview with The Sun following her dismissal from the show, Laura Hogg revealed that she had been informed of the murder of her former partner and father of her son, but kept this a secret from the other candidates, while also refusing to withdraw from the show and stepping up as project manager for the fourth task. She conceded that by the time she was fired, her head may not have been fully in the game by that stage.

It was revealed after her firing following the second task, that Maria O'Connor had been arrested by the police when she was 17, after they raided her house as part of a drugs bust along with her boyfriend, who was a drug dealer; after being released without charge, she later broke up with them. Although she later entered a new relationship with another, rumours circulated that she had entered into a relationship with Duane Bryan, but these were denied by O'Connor, who stated:

"Duane and I get on really well but he's just a friend, there's definitely nothing going on. I'm in a steady relationship with someone else and although it's early days I'm very happy."

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.

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