Edna was given the finger by Lord Sugar last night, and we spoke to her about her relentless objectivity – there’s a good chance she’s actually a robot, sent back from the future, that doesn’t feel pity, or pain, or remorse. And that absolutely will not stop, ever, until it secures its place as Lord Sugar’s new lap dog, that is, unless it gets fired – her background in ‘business psychology’ and her flirtation with Alan’s aide, Karren…
You lost by £6, which must have been frustrating.
Yeah, I was tempted to say here’s £6 and open my purse, but then I realised I had no money on me…
Who do you think should have gone?
It’s easy to point the finger at the project manager, but I think in this case Zoe should have been fired… There was no leadership, there was no vision, there was no strategy, there was no clear direction; It was shambolic. Even Lord Sugar said she’d fallen apart. I think she was very lucky to not have been fired.
So, do you dislike her now?
The fact that she wasn’t fired is not her fault. I wouldn’t dislike someone because they were lucky. Given my background as a business psychologist I’m able to objectively analyse situations.
What does a business psychologist do?
A business psychologist analyses behaviours in the workplace, interprets them, and then predicts behaviour – we design questionnaires.
So if you’d have made it to the CV round do you think you’d have excelled?
Absolutely! You would have seen me in my element. But alas, it’s not to be.
Given your insight, who do you think deserves to win?
That’s a really difficult question, it depends, the person that would have to put in the most effort; I don’t think I know enough about each person and their day-to-day lives to come up with that judgement.
Okay, so who do you think is going to win then?
Ah ha, now that’s the question. I think the person that’s very personable, who doesn’t alienate the others, who is the perfect diplomat and who is quite charming. I think the people who fit the bill are Jim and Helen.
What did you think of Nick ?
I really liked Karren, she kept giving me little winks, especially when I won the task. So I thought she was quite nice. Their role is to be a little bit removed, so they can objectively analyse the task at hand. They gave us constant constructive feedback. That’s why I went into the process, because that’s typically my role; giving other people feedback based on what I’ve observed. That’s what they did to me for six weeks in a row and I’m very grateful for it.If you act on that feedback and allow it to empower you I think that’s always going to be a good thing – they say that feedback is the breakfast of champions.
Is Alan as cutting in real life as he comes across in the show?
He struck me as a very passionate, authentic and insightful individual and I’m thinking that’s how he comes across on the cameras as well.
What made you decide to enter the process?
I wanted a challenge and I feel like I have an entrepreneurial flair as well. With that in mind I thought I might be stretched and stimulated in the process, and the fact that they were looking for a higher calibre of contestant to bring a business idea to Lord Sugar was quite enticing.
Coming back to the other contestants, you said you didn’t dislike anyone, was there anyone you particularly got on with?
Again I think I was being really objective when I was in the house. I don’t particularly like somebody because they’re nice to me. I don’t particularly dislike somebody because they’re not nice to me. I’m able to look at it objectively and work out why somebody was behaving in a particular way.
Given your background did you find the boardroom less stressful than the other contestants?
It was extremely stressful in the boardroom because it was my first time on the losing team. Up until then I was always on the winning team, I’d been project manager, I really had a lot of accomplishments. It was highly stressful, highly intensive. It was a jungle in the boardroom. You really had to fight your corner, and I don’t think I gave the best account of my practical experience which ultimately led to my downfall.
