Apprentice 'toff' Raef drowns his sorrows with a glass of bubbly after being fired

Floppy-haired property tycoon Raef Bjayou drowned his sorrows at the exclusive London club after becoming the tenth contestant to be axed from The Apprentice last night. 

Raef 27, was booted off the BBC show by Sir Alan Sugar after his team lost the challenge to make a TV and print advertising campaign for a range of tissues, which was screened to the head of ad giant Oglivy.

But the cravat-wearing  entrepreneur partied  VIP style at the exclusive London club accompanied by  Michael Sophocles.

Raef and his teamate Micheal leave the Makaki nightclub last night following Raef's departure from The Apprentice

Articulate Raef admitted he was disappointed to go in week nine, and believed team-mate Michael Sophocles who he rowed with in the boardroom should have been fired.

But they appeared to have buried their rivalry as they drank cocktails and champagne in the lounge that was especially saved for them at the club.

The two opponents developed a good friendship during their time on the show, but as Reaf learned last night, friendship means nothing when facing Alan Sugar.

Raef may have used his charm to impress the ladies in the club but failed to do so to Sir Alan in the boradroom.

In an attempt to save his own skin-something seems to do consistently - Micheal Sophocles attacked his friend saying Raef had no hand in the success of their task and would not back down as his friend retaliated.

Pointing the finger: Michael Sophocles- who boasted of having a theatre company- saved his skin by blaming Raef Bjayou for the task failure in the boardroom

Show over: Raef, who has a background in amateur dramatics, couldn't believe that he was booted out

Raef lead Team Renaissance members Claire Young, Helene Speight and Michael in their attempt to recruit weathergirl Sian Lloyd as the celebrity star of their tissue campaign.

After meeting Sian, a modest Raef declared: "After doing this you can do anything. You can be the next Fellini!"

Before showing Sir Alan the ad, teammate Claire said: "I'm embarrassed. I wouldn't show it to my family let alone the head of the biggest advertising company in the UK."

After watching Raef's ad, Sir Alan questioned what Sian, playing a mother, had to do with tissues.

Best buddies: Raef and Micheal role play their ad, but keep can't keep a straight face

He said: "You made the biggest error going. I don't know what your bloody advert was about. You don't mention tissues once in the voiceover. It would not sell many tissues.

"I am frustrated because you did ninety five percent of the work better than the other team. And we've got Speilberg and Fellini sitting over there."

Raef, who has a background in amateur dramatics, said: "Where it went wrong was that myself and Michael got carried away artistically. Artistically our product was superior but where it mattered commercially it failed."

Having a Renaissance: Raef and his team are worried about the reception of their tissues ad

"This is Sir Alan's show and it is his next apprentice and if he deemed it fit to fire me then yes it is fair. I don't believe in this fairness and non-fairness argument."

He admitted that after his first week on the show was that he was a 'complete pillock' but say he has turned around perceptions since then.

Raef said he had put himself up as a project leader early in the series to confront all the 'nay-sayers', who thought he 'couldn't cut it'.

He said: "When you are project manager it is very difficult if you lose a task. Because the culpability rests on your head."

Lucinda Ledgerwood and her interesting fashion sense constantly moaned about her team-mates even though they won the task

He said when he was in the boardroom, rival Michael had his 'Judas moment' by turning on him with 'utter nonsense'. But he said there was 'no hard feelings'.

The wannabe tycoon is tipping Claire Young to win the competition as she has been through the biggest transformation on the show.

He admitted that being on the show was 'nothing like the business world' as they are constantly followed by camera and that the product will be televised.

Grand ideas: Raef explains his advert idea to weathergirl Sian Lloyd

But he said it reignited the entrepreneurial spirit.

He claimed he was fired by Sir Alan Sugar because he was not "gritty" enough.

Raef said The Apprentice turned him into a "great leader", despite being axed from the show.

The contestant said that the fact that many of the most colourful characters have already been axed, showed that the series was purely about 'business acumen'.

The ever-confident entrepreneur said he was dropped by the business tycoon because he was not as "in your face" as his rivals.

He said: "I learnt a lot about myself on The Apprentice, about how I can improve myself as a businessman.

A less than impressed Alan Sugar said that behind the facade, Raef was full of hot air

"I learnt that as a leader if you are put in charge of a group of people, to use the legal jargon, the burden of proof is on you to prove what other people's skills are.

"It's important when leading a team to draw out the skills of other people, even when they might not be so forthcoming with those skills.

"A good leader inspires confidence in him, but a great leader inspires others to have confidence with themselves. That's what I did.

"Before going on The Apprentice I didn't give people the time of day if I believed their first impressions.

"That didn't bring out their skills. Now I try to prise those skills out of them."

He added of becoming the latest candidate to leave the BBC1 series: "I just think I didn't come across as gritty enough.

"The others are more in your face, and that's how Sir Alan got to where he is today."

Raef, a former school captain, has described himself as a "terrific conversationalist and raconteur with incredible charisma".

Winning team: Lee McQueen and Alex Wotherspoon celebrate their teams success

The founder of the Exeter University Debating Society claimed to "have never lost an argument yet".

On being fired by Sir Alan, Raef , who lives in north-west London and owns four properties, said: "That wasn't an argument. Defending yourself in an interview process is different."

Despite tipping Claire to win, Bjayou said: "I'd like Lee (McQueen) to win, he's got a hunger for it."

A disappointed Raef leaves the show after becoming the tenth person to hear Sir Alan say 'you're fired'