YOU'RE FIRED! It's all over for Hampshire's The Apprentice candidate after he was fired last night by boss Alan Sugar.

But was it love that caused his downfall?

Sir Alan booted Southampton's Paul Callaghan out of The Apprentice boardroom after learning of his relationship with fellow contestant Katie Hopkins.

The ex-Army lieutenant of Ocean Village ended up in the firing line when his team lost a task selling British produce in a French market.

In a boardroom showdown, rival Kristina Grimes told Sir Alan the task was ruined because project manager Paul and Katie had a personal relationship.

Viewers have watched the pair's relationship bloom on screen, from outrageous flirting to holding hands and hugging.

Things are said to have reached a climax following the dog task, when the couples were on the winning team and celebrated with drinks at Sir Alan's £4m Notting Hill mansion.

In last night's episode Sir Alan demanded: "Are you telling me they're carrying on inside the house?" before opting to fire Paul rather than Kristina or car salesman Adam Hosker.

Paul, 27, insisted today: "I was totally robbed. It was so unfair.

"Based on the task in isolation, you could say I made fundamental mistakes, maybe I bought the wrong sort of produce.

"But if you look at the three people in the boardroom and take our overall performance into account, it was obvious that Adam should have gone."

The former King Edwards School pupil said of his relationship with Katie: "We were mates. We got close. There was no bonking in the attic, though, that's for sure. Maybe we should have done it anyway, considering I ended up getting fired!"

Paul's team ended up making a £225 loss thanks to his doomed plans to flog cash n' carry British cheese to French punters - and his attempts to sell pork sausages to a Halal butcher during Ramadan.

Sir Alan told him: "I am very disappointed. I had more in mind for you, I really did. I really thought that you were a contender. I think this has been a bloody disaster.

"You're a total shambles. You're fired."

There are now nine remaining contestants vying for a six-figure salary job with Sir Alan's company Amstrad.