FANS of The Apprentice were left baffled last night when they noticed THREE major stars had gone missing.

The fired candidates returned for the final episode to help Harpreet Kaur and Kathryn Burn compete for Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment.

However, eagle-eyed viewers at home were quick to notice that three of the former contestants missed out on the final show.

Curious fans flocked to Twitter to speculate where their favourites – Aaron Willis, Sophie Wilding and Francesca Kennedy Wallbank – were.

"For real, where is Aaron though," one wrote within minutes of the show, which saw the two finalists start a new business, hitting the screens.

"Why are none of the good candidates even at the final? So weird," a second chimed in, as a third echoed: "Aaron and Sophie are MIA?

"How did they decide who did and didn't come back for the final episode? Wish Aaron was back."

Taking to their social media pages, fans began to hound the business hopefuls over their absence from filming that day.

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Aaron, 38, explained on Instagram that he had a valid reason to miss out on the show, which saw Harpreet, 30, crowned the winner.

"To be quite honest it was pure selfish reasons, I was fired and I had to be back into the house a week later to do the final," he wrote.

"I was always aware that if I was to get to the final, I would have missed mine and Vicki’s anniversary and we always said if we miss the anniversary then we know that you’re in the final. 

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"Now I’ve been away from my wife and kids for 10 weeks and when I got fired, I missed my family so much and wanted to spend more time with them, obviously.

"So the thought if me going back into the house for another week or spend quality time with Vicki and spend my anniversary and my family will always come first in that respect.

"So sorry that I’m not on there but I spent the anniversary with my wife."

Meanwhile, Francesca, 26, also took to social media to explain her absence – posting a snap of her soaking up the sunshine.

"For everyone asking if I'm back in the final tonight…unfortunately I wasn't able to make it as I had already booked a much needed holiday," she added.

Sophie didn't comment on her absence, keeping a quiet social media presence during the final last night.

On Thursday, Harpreet Kaur was crowned the winner and granted Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment.

The 30-year-old from West Yorkshire beat Kathryn, 29, in the final boardroom showdown to realise a lifelong dream.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, she said: “I’m just ecstatic. I’m so happy. I’m proud of myself. I’ve worked really really hard to get to this point.

"Since the age of 18 I’ve just been at it full time. I’ve never stopped, and I feel this is the moment I was waiting for.”

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