He tried to keep in the background and keep his head out of the firing line, but it backfired on him - his whinging about missing his family was a pretty poor excuse and didn't fool me. He reminds me of those Big Brother contestants who promise to be outrageous in the auditions, then do absolutely nothing once in the house.

I get the feeling Ifti had a word with SAS (or a producer) before going into the boardroom, asking to be 'let go, due to family reasons' .. just a thought.
Last edited by Apple_Crumble : 04-04-2007 at 22:57

How long would he have been away from home for? Only 3-5 days surely?

I did find that odd. Why go in for this in the first place?

"You don't know whatcha got till it's gone?!" It did seem a bit quick and I also think Sir A had had the nod beforehand (unless he genuinely felt sorry for Ifti).

I think he did feel some sympathy for Ifti - however that was quite annoying - this is business - how did he get through if he was that sensitive?

I did think the family thing was a poor excuse.

He said he wanted to quit because his family meant too much to him, but surely it would have been better for them if he'd have stuck it out. There's no prizes for getting fired in the second week.

If Ifti really wanted to stay he could have come up with a better excuse, for example 'I just wasn't inspired by (project managers name), I found his way of management very hard to deal with. etc,etc'

Exactly, he could have blamed the management for his problems, feeling low, didn't get chance to shine, etc, etc.
Then come back next week.

The fact is he'd had enough and missed his family so much it crippled him.
The guy wanted out and got out, game plan....

Well unless the guy's been away from his family he doesn't know how he's going to feel after a few weeks does he?
I suppose it's the fact that they're not allowed any contact at all that done for him.

He sounds a bit like my mate, usually phones his oldest daughter (apple of his eye) at least once a day to say not a lot.

Exactly my point.

I think he was ready to go home. It wasn't a gameplan. He realised his heart wasn't in it. I wonder if he was struggling living with some of the more fiery characters in the house - it seemed to me there were so many arguments, only a few days into their time together.

I reckon he kept waking up in the night, and finding himself standing over Tre with a kitchen knife! (So he thought he'd better get out just in case he woke up a bit too late one night, lol.)

Ha ha. I think that one belongs in the "Slay Tre" thread. BTW does anyone esle here get the feeling that Tre's biggest business inspiration is Abraham Lincoln?

Although I was surprised by his reaction, I actually had some sympathy with him. Living with a group of strangers (who are actually your competitors) is not my idea of fun! Even Rory said it was very different to how he had imagined! I don't believe it was a gameplan either, he seemed more than ready to go home.

yes he did seem defeated - I think he did really want to go - and he got his wish!

Pathetic - should never have entered the programme in the first place

I think he was missing his tae kwando & there weren't any bricks to break.

I thought it was a pretty lame excuse. This task should have been right up his street, and he just bottled it. It's not like he hadn't had the opportunity to see previous series to know what to expect, and he should have done his homework and preparation better before signing up.

I think it's really crap that he took a spot on the show that someone else with real staying power could have taken instead, and I wish they'd made more of that on "You're Fired!"

So virtually asking to be booted out in the second week because he couldn't hack it was a gameplan?



Hmm, of course, why didn't I think of that.

He should have considered the implications a lot more before going in. It was very poor of him just to stop doing anything, even if he was missing his family. He let them down by that in my eyes.

But I cannot understand this need for isolation from family and friends during the recording in reality TV shows. Presumably it is to prevent them getting advice etc, but what do they do in all the time between tasks ?It does discriminate against people with young children.
In real business, yes you may have to spend periods away from home - but can call home. and would very rarely be away for weeks on end without seeing them at all (though I appreciate there are jobs where this does happen, such as army etc...)

I think Ifti is just thick. He would of been crap as a team leader. I found it funny when Tre was laughing when he said he missed his kids. lol.

He chatted bollox in my opinion. Week 1 when they were waiting for them to come back he said:

"From what I know of Andy, from what I know of him, he is a very good bloke, yeh, a very good bloke, and he deserves to be back tonight, from what I know of him"

You don't even know him!

I think Ifti was being pretty honest, and I think Sir Alan really appreciated that. As he said, it was "with regret" that Ifti was fired. It may have been a lame excuse - I think even Ifti himself acknowledged that - but if it was the truth, I respect him more for not trying to come up with a different reason as to why he wasn't involved more.

I think Ifti was out of his depth….I mean…he has qualifications in design and could contribute nothing to the task! His sad eye performance was just pathetic. The excuse about missing his son was ridiculous….and as the guy on the aftermath show said…if you want to be a billionaire before your 40 (as Ifti said in his carriage home) your likely going to be away from your wife for more than a few days!

If that was the reason for his poor performance……perhaps he might want to think about a career which is permanently based working from home.

I'm not sure where some of the OP's are coming from, but I can sympathise with Ifti and wish him well in the future. I don't think he took the decision to become part of the show lightly, no matter what some think. Given that he lasted 2 weeks away from his wife and son, showed he tried at least to put himself first. Ultimately his family won and I applaud him for this, which to me makes him a bigger man to admit they were wrong, then someone who makes excuses or tries to blame someone else for their failings (Tre ring any bells???)

Unfortunately, it makes for 'better TV' in the eyes of the TV companies. There's nothing they like better than to film people weeping down the phone to their loved ones, or watching videos of them with tears pouring down their faces. I partly blame the public for this - we're a maudlin lot, and unless we vote with our feet (or fingers on remotes!) these programmes will continue to display this kind of thing, because the companies think it brings in viewers ("the human angle", etc.). Personally it's the part of the programmes that I like the least - I feel a bit sorry for them but I've got really no interest in their personal lives, and that's not why I'm watching.