FIRED Apprentice candidate Liz Locke has claimed Lord Sugar booted her off the show in order to keep rival Stuart Baggs in the competition - because he sees him as a “mini-me”.

Bookies had tipped the glamorous investment banker to win, but she was fired after a boardroom battle with Baggs and Stella English.

It came after Locke finished on the losing team, led by vocal Baggs, in a task which saw the rivals compete to sell bus tours of London.

Locke said: “In that boardroom I felt a sinking feeling as I felt Lord Sugar looking at Stuart with a kind of admiration - a bit like he saw him as a mini Sugar. It was really bizarre.’’

She added: “But fair play to Stuart, he had fantastic boardroom strategy which has got him through to the interviews, so I can’t really knock him for that.

“I think his main attribute has been schmoozing Sugar in the boardroom. He seems to have pushed the right buttons and knows what the right things are to say to tug on his heart strings.”

Locke, pictured in some papers this week after a star-studded comedy show, insisted she applied to be Lord Sugar’s apprentice to get ahead in business, not to achieve celebrity status.

But she added she was now considering new career opportunities - perhaps including TV work.

She said: “I went on the show for a job, I have always been very focused on having a successful career.

“I’m open to all opportunities. I was very good at maths and science at school and went down that route through university and accounting. But I learnt that I’ve got a few more strings to my bow.

“I really enjoyed getting involved in more creative tasks - so I’m looking forward to cracking on and developing a successful career for myself.”