It was the first time in the firing line for Trafford businessman Azhar Siddique on The Apprentice this week, but he survived to fight another day.

Both teams were set the challenge of developing a gourmet fast food snack, then selling it from a mobile kitchen.

Azhar and the rest of Team Phoenix had attempted to sell expensive meatballs to a football crowd in Edinburgh, but their £298 profit wasn’t enough to beat rivals on Team Sterling who brought in £320 with gourmet Scot pot.

Project Manager Adam Corbally took Azhar and Katie Wright into the boardroom to face Lord Sugar, but he chose to save Azhar, saying: “Azhar – I’ve expressed my opinion about you not speaking up, you’ve certainly come out of your shell a little bit here today and what you do say actually makes a bit of sense compared to some other people.”

It was Kate who lost the boardroom battle and exited in the famous black cab.

Azhar, 33, is the founder and managing director of a Trafford Park based catering and refrigeration company. He has been dubbed a ‘thrill seeker’ as he enjoys shark diving and has two pet sharks.