Apprentice loser slams accent 'stereotype'

Natalie Wood, 30, from Upminster in Essex, was fired by Sir Alan Sugar in the programme screened tonight after he told the mother-of-two she was "out of her depth".

But she criticised Chiles, who also presents Match of the Day 2 for the BBC, for asking whether her Essex accent held her back during the final task.

The blonde was hauled to the boardroom and left the BBC1 show in tears after her team made the least cash while selling modern art to the public.

Chiles, 40, who has a distinctive Brummie accent, asked Wood on the Apprentice spin-off show The Apprentice: You're Fired! whether her Essex accent had been a hindrance.

Wood, who completed an Open University MBA in business administration and a French degree before being selected for the BBC1 show, said: "He asked whether I'd been picked up over my accent.

"But how can you pick up on my accent when Sir Alan is sitting across the table? How can he say that?

"Essex is fantastic and I'm proud to come from Essex. A lot of people from Essex are very successful. I find it hard to swallow."

Wood, the sixth person to be thrown out of the hit show, said: "He asked me whether I felt my accent hindered me in my particular task, whether I feel that people stereotype me because of my accent.

"It's not my problem. I find the question very hard to take when Sir Alan, a multi-millionaire, is sitting opposite me with the same accent.

"It's a lame stereotype. It didn't offend me but it might offend other people that are thinking, 'what's wrong with an accent'?

"What are they trying to say, that speaking with a plum in your mouth is the best accent to have?

"He did say he had problems with his own accent but it is playing a bit of a fine line, stereotyping someone and prejudicing people. We all know what that does. I obviously just played it down."

Wood started out as a receptionist at a car dealership before moving into the City.

As a teenager she swam for England but gave it up before the 1993 Commonwealth Games to attend the London College of Fashion.

Wood, who lost six stone through WeightWatchers, said she had no regrets about taking part in the popular TV series.

She said: "I learnt a lot more about human nature. For example, I was very, very surprised and disappointed about some of Katie's (Hopkins) feedback. She never said anything directly. It was always behind the back. She's clearly playing a good game."

She added: "I'm absolutely desperate to get back out in the real world get back into business environment."

Wood, who has two sons aged one and two, said she believed pharmaceutical sales manager Kristina Grimes, 36, would win the third series.

"She absolutely rose to the task, 100%," Wood said.

"She's ruthless but not nasty at all. She's totally driven and the one person in there who's playing a good game."