Fired Apprentice contestant Trishna Thakrar has said she regrets the “mistake” of altering the colour of her team’s gin after it cost them the task.

The six remaining candidates were full of Dutch courage during Thursday night’s episode as they were tasked with creating their own brand of the popular spirit.

The recruitment manager was sent packing by Lord Sugar after Team Titan’s gin was rejected by members of the alcohol industry who deemed its colour off-putting.

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She told the Press Association she was “gutted” to be exiting the show at such a late stage.

“To be so close to the final and not get there was hard to take.

“I felt I had more skills and was more of an all rounder than some of the others left but I’m still delighted to have got to week 10 and to have been part of all the tasks.”

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Asked if she regretted her suggestion she said: “(It) was a mistake that cost me and our team orders.

“I thought it would make it stand out and offer something different but with gin being very traditional I shouldn’t have suggested a colour at all and should have kept it clear.

“However; it was up to the project manager to decide which suggestions to take on board and which not to, and having no suggestions herself, she decided to go with the colour so I feel some responsibility should also lie with her.”

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Trishna also accused project manager Grainne McCoy and fellow team member Frances Bishop of “teaming up” in the boardroom.

In order to win a place in the last five, both teams attempted to create their own blend of the alcoholic drink and pitch them to a wine merchant, a mainstream supermarket brand and a pub retailer.

Team Nebula, led by Courtney Wood, opted for a raspberry-infused gin which received more than £70,000 of orders.

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Grainne and Trishna (BBC)

They comfortably beat their rivals who managed to collect just £5,280 in orders after industry experts rejected their product.

Earlier in the episode, Trishna’s teammates fell out after she encouraged Frances to confront Grainne rather than air her frustrations in private.

She said Frances was “calculated” throughout the process.

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The 29-year-old added: “It had got a stage where I felt she needed to be called up on it. I don’t regret doing that as she had a tendency to criticise the project manager when they were not present but didn’t vocalise her opinions directly to them.

“To prove a point she called the PM and expressed the concerns that she was happy to speak about behind her back.”

Lord Sugar fired Trishna after telling her “the failure of this task had a lot to do with the colour” of the gin.

Although she conceded she was to blame, Trishna said she felt she “had done enough in previous tasks to get to the next stage.”

:: The Apprentice returns next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.