The Apprentice contestant Howard Ebison has insisted he is not just a 'nice guy' after being fired by Sir Alan Sugar for being ordinary. Sir Alan said after firing the 24-year-old retail business manager: "A very tough decision there to fire a very nice guy, but I haven't got time for just ordinary people." But Howard has hit back, saying: "It's not about being nice, I think the way that some of the contestants behaved has been appalling and totally unprofessional and I think it would be a mistake to confuse niceness with being professional." But the aspiring Apprentice refused to elaborate on the 'appalling behaviour' of his rivals. He said: "They've done it all by themselves, they don't need me to stitch them up." Howard insisted he had no problem with any of his teammates turning on him in the boardroom to protect themselves. "I think anyone who believes that they've made strong, deeply-rooted friendships during the filming of The Apprentice is naive because you do need be able to criticise anyone at the drop of a hat," he said. Howard was booted off the show by Sir Alan after heading the Ignite team, with Kate Walsh and Lorraine Tighe. They lost the shopping channel task when rival team Empire outsold them by less than £200. He was accused of choosing safe products and not taking risks.
