The pair fought tooth and nail throughout the BBC series to have a chance at winning the investment, convinced only one person could be successful in the endeavour. 

They battled nerves and dodgy brand issues to pitch their business ideas to a room packed with entrepreneurs in the final episode, at London City Hall.

But as the episode drew to a close, Lord Sugar left both candidates gobsmacked when he admitted once and for all that he couldn’t choose between them. 

“James, crowded market, but I’ve had some experience with a similar person of a similar age who is making a lot, a lot of money,” Lord Sugar admitted. “Sarah, sweets. I don’t have any experience of your business, ok. 

Viewers were totally unimpressed by the move and wasted no time in venting their frustrations on Twitter. 

“I did not waste my life watching the apprentice for 13 weeks for both of them to f**king win. I'm shook,” snapped one disgruntled audience member, while another agreed: “I have lost all faith in  #TheApprentice  What a cop out, @Lord_Sugar has ruined his whole show The worst two finalists ever... and both win?! Jokes.”

“I respect @Lord_Sugar but come on, what was that?? #theapprentice,” gasped a third. 

The surprising shift in the series’s format may come as a shock to fans, but Lord Sugar insisted he was only being “fair” by investing in both of them.

“Well, there I was. Torn, I just couldn’t choose between one or the other,” he confessed. “The only fair thing to do was to choose them both. Thing is, it’s now going to cost me half a million pounds. 

“This is a historic moment I suppose, in the 13 years we’ve been doing this. And it’s really because of what I said in the episode. I couldn’t make a decision, it had to be both of them.”

The Apprentice final is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.