A WORCESTERSHIRE man competing in the latest season of The Apprentice hit the ground running in the first episode.

Joseph Phillips is one of the 18 hopefuls competing to win Lord Alan Sugar's £250,000 business investment this year.

The candidates met Lord Sugar in the boardroom where they found out they were being flown to Antigua where they were tasked with selling a bespoke tour to holidaymakers in the area.

During the meeting, Lord Sugar was talking to some of the candidates and  Mr Phillips was teased by Lord Sugar for calling himself 'James Bond of Business' on his CV. 

But as the task went underway, the other candidates hesitated to put themselves forward for the project manager (PM) Mr Phillips stepped up to the role and ended up leading his team to victory. 

The boys decided to put on a history and culture tour and managed to sell a number of tickets.

Despite the success of the team, the former student at Exeter University did not have the smoothest ride as some of the other contestants questioned some of his decisions at various points.

Although, the boys showed good sportsmanship by helping each other out, as Gregory Ebbs rescued Mr Phillips as he stumbled on what to say when answering questions from a tourist.

In the end, the boys won the first task after securing more profits than the girl's team.

Over on the girl's team, Lord Sugar was not impressed with their constant bickering, and aide Claude Littner said it was a constant issue throughout the task. 

 Victoria Goulbourne, who was the PM of the girl's team, brought back Marnie Swindells and Emma Browne. 

After a lengthy battle between the contestants, Emma Browne was the first candidate to get fired. 

The new season of the Apprentice airs on BBC1 at 9pm every Thursday.