Two Apprentice contestants have been compelled to exit the contest instantly following a shocking double dismissal.

Lord Sugar's BBC programme returned this evening (Thursday 29 January) with a fresh group of hopefuls competing for a £250,000 investment in their enterprises.

Amongst them are a former Geordie Shore personality and an actress aspiring to emulate Tim Campbell and Harpreet Kaur's success.

Nevertheless, they appeared to struggle from the outset after the teams were flown out to Hong Kong to tackle the notorious "treasure hunt" task.

Stretched to breaking point, both squads failed to satisfy Lord Sugar, with one section of the women's team unable to reach the destination in time after missing out on finding many of the products, reports Wales Online.

In the boardroom, Lord Sugar was left incensed and eventually decided to dismiss project manager Nikki Jetha and subteam leader Georgina Newton.

Speaking following her dismissal, Nikki confessed she felt "disappointed", stating: "I did not get to show more of me and what I'm capable of, but I definitely don't feel defeated. You know, I stepped forward, I took a risk, and I own the outcome."

She continued by stating she didn't think she warranted dismissal, remarking, "I was brave enough to stand up and take on a challenge during the first task. It was, you know, unfamiliar territory. Not knowing the process, let alone the country, and not having internet and things like that. But I did the best I could do under the pressure, with limited information, and I'd rather be fired for stepping up than staying safe in the background. There's a saying that ships are safest in the harbour, but that's not what they're built for."

Nikki proceeded to acknowledge she would have approached things quite differently, though "that's just the luxury you don't get, unfortunately".

She added: "I trusted my instincts, I made decisive calls, and I'll do that again. I guess I did something that many people think about, but they don't actually stand up and do."

The mortgage adviser and mother-of-two remarked: "I had fun on the show, I learned a lot about myself, I'm definitely bolder than I think I am. And I hope it shows other mums that you don't have to put yourself last, and you can still go after more.

"And I've just proved to myself and everyone out there that you can be a mum, a wife, a businesswoman, and you can have it all if you put yourself out there and try. I was the only one with a young family on the show this series, and it was a big achievement for me, being out of my comfort zone. My kids were two and one when I did the show. But that didn't stop me, and I still pushed forward."

Nikki had also summoned the subteam leader and actress Georgina to the boardroom, but her positive attitude failed to impress Lord Sugar.

Following her dismissal, she confessed, "I was devastated. I spent two weeks feeling sorry for myself, but then I picked myself back up, put myself back together and then cracked on, ready for the next thing. But I was really sad."

When questioned about what she gained from the experience, she continued, "So I've been performing in theatre all of my life. I've always played a character, and I think for a lot of my life, I've hidden behind being somebody else, and being in this process, it's the first time I've ever done anything just as Georgie. And I think what I realise the most from this is that I am enough just as I am. I can hold my own. I'm enough, and I think that's a really lovely takeaway."

Whilst it was an unexpected double elimination and Lord Sugar harshly challenged the contestants, he previously revealed a "heated exchange" had been removed from the BBC edit.

He said: "It's a classic task, and you'd think it was quite simple, wouldn't you?"

He continued to clarify that prior to the competition commencing, individuals were dispatched "to do a dummy run," guaranteeing the task would have been achievable.

Having witnessed the candidates struggle, Lord Sugar acknowledged: "I was a bit disappointed."

He added: "It was quite shocking, I expressed my displeasure, from what I recall, you see a mild disapproval from me but there was actually more of a heated exchange when I told them how disappointed I was."

The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursdays at 21:00, with The Apprentice: Unfinished Business airing straight after on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.