Mona Lewis ('The Apprentice')

On this week's Apprentice the final eight contestants were given the challenge of rebranding the seaside town of Margate. Debra's Team Empire went for a gay theme, but their campaign posters and leaflets failed to impress a panel of locals and experts. Sir Alan claimed that the adverts looked like they had been created by "loonies", while James admitted the whole thing was "cod s**t". Sugar said that Debra was too "bossy", but argued that 28-year-old Mona Lewis was ultimately to blame. Was it the right decision? We called the former beauty queen to find out.

Do you think you deserved to get fired this week?
"Yes and no. Yes because I was ready to go and I was really missing my son. They were the toughest weeks of my life. I never thought I would feel that way, but I did. I missed my son's birthday and because I don't have any family in this country, I was forced to leave him with friends. I found it really tough and I was beginning to evaluate my position in the contest anyway. I was thinking, 'If I do go on to the end, am I willing to uproot and move to London?'"

Do you think you were at fault for the team's failure then?
"Not on this particular task. I think I did really well and I believe the responsibility lay with the project manager. I don't think Debra's management style is good and she certainly doesn't have any listening skills. She left us with only 20 minutes to do the leaflet and to top that blatantly lied in front of professionals. It is a professional programme and I don't think that was appropriate behaviour."

Is Debra as cold and ruthless in person as she comes across on TV?
"I didn't have a very good relationship with Debra from the beginning, when I project managed the first task. We all have issues and nobody's perfect, but what makes me laugh with Debra is the fact that she genuinely doesn't give a s**t. Any normal person would say something to a colleague, feel guilty about it later on and and try make up with them so they don't hurt or offend them. There isn't that trait in Debra. She really doesn't give a s**t. I admire that in her. Plus, she doesn't have anything to lose. I had a lot to lose because I'd given up my job, mortgage and left my son to get on the show. Whatever I did or said on the show, I had to think twice about."

You spoke out against the gay theme. Do you admit that you were wrong about that?
"I don't think that was a fault. The whole point of a brainstorm is that you throw your ideas down. People can't complain that I don't say anything and then moan when I express myself. I believed that we should have done the family theme because there is no reason to say gay people can't be classified within the family. You can be gay and have a family. You can be a pensioner and have a family. By choosing the family theme, we wouldn't have limited our market. As everyone will see, the other team went for the family theme and won! They got the Lotus drives, not us."

Sir Alan described James as a "court jester". What was he like to work alongside?
"I've never seen the funny side to James when I've been working with him. To work with he's quite annoying and is always in your way! But on a personal level, he is a such a lovely guy. He is the only gentleman in that house. We connected because we both have little boys. He is a really lovely guy and a lovely dad. As a person, he is a really nice guy."

You gave up quite a lot to be on the show. Does it annoy you that other contestants may be there for the showbiz side of things?
"It does annoy me, but we live in a tough world. Everyone has their agendas and everyone has key priorities. I'm not saying everyone should be thinking like me. I went in there very naive, thinking 'I want to enter the business world'. What other people want to do, that's up to them. They are grown mature people and they can do what they like."

Was it nice to hear Sir Alan give you a "with regret" when he fired you?
"It was nice to hear that after hearing how harsh he had been to other people, not only in this series but in previous ones as well. It's probably because he truly felt that I was a nice person and admired my qualities as an employee. But at the end of the day, there's only one job and I didn't quite possess all the qualities he was looking for to fill that post."

What are your plans for after the show?
"I'm not going to think too much about one thing. I've done quite a lot up to know. I've done modelling, worked as a TV presenter and have been self-employed. I have a lot of different skills to choose from. I'm not going to rush into anything and I want to make sure I don't compromise my work-life balance. I don't want to say yes or no to anything because it may come back and slap me in the face. But who knows? We're in a credit crunch at the moment and you should see my debts! I'm not going to say no to anything that might make my life easy."

There's been lots of stories in the last week about Phil and Kate. Did you notice that romance going on?
"Of course we noticed! What did I think? Well they are two adults, both single, nothing to lose, who fancied each other. You go through that process and by week seven...well you have needs!"

Do you think it's genuine love or are they milking their moment in the limelight?
"I don't know because as far as I know, Phil fancied Paula. Then after Paula got fired, he suddenly fancied Kate. If it is genuine fine, but I really think Kate could do better."

The Apprentice continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.