David Hasselhoff left The Celebrity Apprentice Australia after three episodes due to family commitments in the US, it has been revealed.
Viewers of the Nine Network programme saw the actor leaving the Mark Bouris-hosted show in the boardroom during Wednesday night's broadcast (April 25).
Hasselhoff told his fellow contestants: "I have to leave. It's not business-related, it is a personal commitment that I made to my family and it involves honour... it only came up last night."
An unhappy Jason Akermanis said: "I can't tell you my disgust when he just said, 'Hey guys, I'm out'. You're leaving us in the lurch and if we lose this - if we don't win this challenge - there's four dudes and three of them [have to] come to the boardroom."
A spokesperson for Nine told the Adelaide Advertiser: "David revealed to [Mark] Bouris and contestants that he had made a promise of a personal nature and had been called on to honour it.
"Although it turned out The Hoff could only participate in the series for three challenges, he made an enormous contribution to the money raised for charity in the first few episodes, helping to raise, with his fellow celebrities, in excess of AU $500,000 (£320,000)."
Comedian Fiona O'Loughlin and former MasterChef contestant Marion Grasby have already been eliminated from the competition.
