The Apprentice (UK series ten)

The Apprentice UK

◄ ►  Series Ten

The Candidates Name Left Show       Mark Wright Week 12 Bianca Miller Week 12 Daniel Lassman Week 11 Roisin Hogan Week 11 Solomon Akhtar Week 11 Sanjay Sood-Smith Week 10 Katie Bulmer-Cooke Week 10 Felipe Alviar-Baquero Week 9 James Hill Week 8 Lauren Riley Week 7 Pamela Uddin Week 6 Jemma Bird Week 5 Ella Jade Bitton Week 4 Sarah Dales Week 4 Steven Ugoalah Week 4 Nurun Ahmed Week 3 Lindsay Booth Week 3 Scott McCulloch Week 2 Robert Goodwin Week 2 Chiles Cartwright Week 1 Hired Runner-up Fired

Series Ten of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2014 from 14 October to 21 December on BBC One; the BBC's decision to start the show in the middle of Autumn was to avoid it clashing with both the FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that were taking place in Summer that year.^[1] In addition, while the series opened in the same manner as the previous series with the first two episodes a day apart from each other, the final episode was not aired during the Christmas week but on the Sunday before it, to avoid clashing with the BBC's Christmas schedule. The series was Nick Hewer's final as Lord Sugar's aide, after he officially announced his decision to depart that year, while the show marked its tenth year by involving 20 candidates instead of the usual 16, making it the largest number of candidates to appear in a series within any incarnation of the program worldwide. Furthermore, Ricky Martin, winner of Series 8, returned to the show as an interviewer for Week 11 in the place of Margaret Mountford.

Owing to the show being ten years old, a special episode called "Ten Years of The Apprentice", was shown on the 13 October before the series began, which looked back over the previous nine years of the show. Two more specials were aired alongside the series, towards the final weeks, and were new editions of "The Final Five" on 16 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 18 December. Like the previous series, the final episode was merged with You're Hired to form a two-hour special on BBC One, which was shown on a Sunday.

Candidates

20 candidates competed for the chance to go into business with Lord Sugar, ten men and ten women.^[2] The decision to have 20 candidates without increasing the number of tasks meant that double or even treble firings could occur during tasks on more than one occasion. The initial men's team was named Summit, while the initial women's team was named Decadence, which was changed to Tenacity in the second task after Lord Sugar disapproved of it. Six candidates - Chiles, Robert, Lindsay, Steven, Jemma and Lauren - never had the chance to be Project Manager.

Weekly results

     The candidate was in the winning team; for Week 11, they managed to pass the interview stage.

     The candidate was in the losing team.

     The candidate became Lord Sugar's new business partner and won The Apprentice.

     The candidate was the runner-up.

     The candidate won as project manager on his/her team.

     The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team.

     The candidate was brought to the final boardroom.

     The candidate was fired.

     The candidate lost as project manager and was fired.

Episodes

Week 1: Ten Years of Selling

• Air Date: 14 October 2014
• Summit: Felipe (Project Manager), Daniel, Robert, Mark, Chiles, Solomon, Steven, Scott, James and Sanjay.
• Decadence: Sarah (Project Manager), Bianca, Pamela, Nurun, Lauren, Ella Jade, Katie, Roisin, Jemma and Lindsay.
• Task: Sell products taken from each beginning task of the past 9 years of the show. Most profit made, wins.
• Task Review: Both teams decided to convert two items into new products and seel the rest of their items as they were - Decadence opted to use their coffee beans for a coffee stand, Summit converted their sausages into hotdogs, and both opting to sell branded T-shirts. Whilst Felippe attempted to divide his team with good balance, Sarah failed to do so, instead dividing her team by the place they were sitting in the initial meeting. Decadence managed to sell well, but Sarah's performance throughout the task infuriated the girls, while a failure to provide money for the T-shirt branding cost time and led to the finished products being sold for a loss. Summit, however, while stronger, were let down by Robert and Chiles; Robert insisted on buying expensive garnish for the hot dogs, costing both money and time, missing the lunchtime trade, while Chiles led his sub-team poorly and ignored the T-shirts, choosing to prioritize other items instead. Both of these mistakes cost Summit victory.
• Result: Summit had a profit of £696.70, while Decadence had a profit of £753.50.
• Winner: Decadence - By £56.80.
• Reward: A VIP cabin on the London Eye; the reward was the same as the first episode of the first series to mark the tenth series of the show.
• Brought into the boardroom: Felipe, Chiles and Robert.
• Fired: Chiles - For his poor leadership of his sub-team, selling nothing, trying to scapegoat Steven for the task's failure, and for his fatal decision to prioritize other, less valuable items over the T-shirts.
• You're Fired Panel: Katherine Ryan, Greg James and Dale Murray.
• Notes:
  • Each team was given items that had been either used or sold for the first tasks of previous series, and included: flowers, lemons and potatoes, coffee beans, balloons in the shape of fish (in the place of actual fish), cleaning supplies, sausages and T-shirts.
  • Lord Sugar was so displeased upon hearing of the girls' team name that he ordered them to change it. Nurun, who suggested it, admitted she had only vague understanding of its meaning, before Nick commented about the many negative connotations associated with the word.
  • Sarah's leadership was lambasted by her colleagues, who were frustrated by her baffling decisions and suggestions, poor organisation, her refusal to participate in sales, and trying to take credit for the work of others. Even more bizarrely, she even attempted to sell their cleaning products to London Zoo for £250, falsely claiming it to be a £50 discount, then admitted that they would most likely be unsafe around animals. It was strongly implied that Sarah would've been fired had her team lost, as none of her colleagues had anything positive to say about her or her leadership.
  • In the boardroom, most of the men (specifically Felipe, Chiles, Daniel and Scott) attempted to blame Steven for his disruptive attitude; only James openly came to his defense. Steven loudly challenged this, and both Nick and Lord Sugar agreed with him; Lord Sugar pointed out that despite his annoying personality, he had been the most vocal in opposing Chiles over the T-shirts, whilst Nick accused Chiles of setting up Steven as a scapegoat to shift blame from himself. Felipe was tacitly warned not to bring Steven back - "if people are brought back for the wrong reason, I will frown upon it".
  • Although he was not brought to the final boardroom, Scott was berated for his poor selling and lack of presence, being described by Lord Sugar as "The Poodle of Petticoat Lane" (a play on "The Wolf of Wall Street," who Scott compared himself to). By contrast, Daniel was noted as the being the best salesperson of the task.
  • James too was berated for having repeatedly interrupted Mark's pitch despite warnings not to and getting confused in a later pitch, but he was never in any danger of being fired, as there were other people (notably Chiles, Robert and Scott) who had committed far worse errors.
  • After Chiles was fired, Lord Sugar initially considered firing both Felipe and Robert, having considered both to be responsible for their team's loss - Felipe was heavily criticised for his failure to sell anything (despite admitting he was better at managing than selling), and for allowing Robert to push for expensive ingredients for their hot dogs (which Karren commented as being revolting a week later on You're Fired); Robert was mostly criticised for the hot dog fiasco. The margin of defeat, and the fact that it was the first week, led him to decide to give them "the benefit of the doubt" and send them back. After Robert left, Sugar commented that he wanted to see more qualities from him other than his creativity, else he would heavily consider firing him.
  • For this week's You're Fired, three previous candidates from past series were invited to comment on the first task alongside the usual three guest panelists. A majority of the audience and one panelist agreed that Chiles deserved to be fired, while the other two panelists felt Robert should have been fired.
  • It was not shown in the main show that Chiles was fired with regret, but on You're Fired it was revealed that he was. In addition, on the Why I Fired Them special, Lord Sugar stated he was disappointed in dismissing Chiles, feeling that he had lots of potential, but ultimately had decided that Chiles' fatal decision regarding the T-shirts was too unforgivable to allow him to continue any further in the process.

Week 2: Wearable Technology

• Air Date: 15 October 2014
• Summit: Scott (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Robert, Mark, Solomon, Steven, James and Sanjay.
• Tenacity: Nurun (Project Manager), Sarah, Bianca, Pamela, Lauren, Ella Jade, Katie, Roisin, Jemma and Lindsay.
• Task: Design and pitch a piece of wearable technology to three retailers. Most orders received, wins.^[3]
• Task Review: Summit initially decided to make a shirt with a built in video screen, but were told that the idea was not remotely feasible for the target price point, meaning they had to create a new idea and brief the designer in a short space of time. Their new idea, which Scott had no involvement in, was a jumper with a built-in video camera covered in LEDs that lit up when the camera was running. Feedback was negative; the retailers strongly objected to its gaudy design, the potential invasion of privacy, and the fact that the camera being on the chest could make girls feel uncomfortable. The first pitch also revealed that the camera had been installed sideways, and Daniel made a colossal blunder by saying it he personally would not wear it in public. On Tenacity, Nurun struggled to lead; in order to appease everyone, she attempted to combine various ideas, but her lack of strength resulted in Katie taking over the manufacturing briefing. Their jacket - which had solar panels on the shoulders, a built in phone charger and heat pads - arrived much later than Summit's due to the high number of electronics it required. The retailers also had trouble with this product, yet despite Nurun stumbling through the final pitch, one retailer felt that Tenacity's had potential, while all of them hated Summit's.
• Result: Tenacity secured 250 orders, while Summit secured no orders.
• Winner: Tenacity - By 250 orders.
• Fired (after the result): Robert - For refusing to step up as Project Manager against Lord Sugar's advice, making no positive contributions to date, and for indicating he would only lead a task if it involved high-end, luxury goods.
• Reward: Jetpack flying across the Surrey Docks.
• Brought into the boardroom: Scott, Daniel and Solomon.
• Fired (during final boardroom): Scott - For his nonexistent leadership, failing on a task he had some knowledge of, taking a backseat after his initial idea was rejected and for taking no responsibility for the failure of the task.
• You're Fired Panel: Josh Widdicombe, Daniel Hirschman and Karren Brady
• Notes:
  • Before the briefing ended, Lord Sugar strongly implied that Robert should lead Summit, due to his creativity and interest in fashion - his business plan was fashion related. However, he quickly avoided the role since he only wanted to work with "high-end luxury goods" rather than a mainstream product. As a result, Lord Sugar fired Robert immediately after the task result was announced, recognising that the rest of the men would have just blamed him anyway. Robert thus became the first candidate to have been fired (outside the interviews), before the cafe scene. Lord Sugar then announced that at least one more candidate would be fired for the failure, before dismissing the remaining men.
  • Solomon, despite having a background in technology, refused to become Project Manager, having claimed he was only involved in social media and had no expertise in fashion. He also offered an idea that was considered feasible in retrospect, only to be shot down very quickly by the team. Lord Sugar accused Solomon of bottling out, warning him to be stronger in future, but spared him since far more serious mistakes had been made by others. Daniel was heavily criticised for blowing his pitch and for admitting he had little faith in the product, but Lord Sugar also decided to spare him, feeling Scott was more directly to blame for the loss.
  • Although Scott stepped up due to recently attending a conference about wearable technology, when his initial idea was rejected, he immediately took a back-seat, having his team make most of the decisions, and brushing aside anyone who said he was not giving them guidance. Most of the men, particularly Mark and James, heavily criticised him for avoiding responsibility. Ultimately, Robert ended up making more decisions than Scott despite his refusal to lead.
  • Though Tenacity won, Lord Sugar and Karren made it clear they were unhappy with their performance, warning them they had simply been lucky. In addition, Lord Sugar sympathised with Nurun after her team gave a poor review of her leadership, since she had little expertise in comparison to Bianca, whom he felt had set Nurun up to avoid being Project Manager herself; while the You're Fired panel felt that she had been undermined by having leadership thrown upon her, they agreed that she should still have led better. Although it was indicated Nurun would have most likely been fired had Tenacity lost, Bianca was given a severe warning, while Sarah and Lindsay were singled out by Karren as the least effective contributors.
  • Lord Sugar deemed Summit's jumper one of the worst products ever designed on the show, declaring that "even the shoplifters would bring it back." He also warned both teams that there had been "a lot of ducking" in regards to the Project Manager role.
  • For this week's You're Fired both the panel and the audience were unanimous in agreeing with Robert's firing, whilst one disagreed with Scott's firing; both who agreed said the decision was close between him and Daniel. Although Karren agreed with the decision to fire Scott, she did commend him for stepping up when no-one else was willing.
  • On You're Fired! Dara Ó Briain said that Robert was the first ever candidate to be fired without ever being brought back into the boardroom. In reality, Jenny Celerier from Series 4 had been fired before any boardroom choice was made.

Week 3: Home Fragrance

• Air Date: 22 October 2014
• Summit: Roisin (Project Manager), Bianca, Mark, Solomon, Nurun, James, Sanjay and Lindsay.
• Tenacity: Katie (Project Manager), Felipe, Sarah, Daniel, Pamela, Steven, Lauren, Ella Jade and Jemma.
• Task: Sell a brand new range of home fragrance products to the public and businesses. Most profit made, wins.^[4]
• Task Review: Summit created a luxury brand called "Beach Dreams", with Roisin focusing on using expensive, high-end ingredients. She also told the teams to lower their prices only if they were not selling, but both sub-teams soon disregarded this. Despite a good start, problems soon arose; James' sub-team performed badly thanks to Nurun and Lindsay selling little, while Roisin forgot about an agreement made with a hotel on their diffusers, selling those off to a gift shop for less than half the original price. James also sold vast amounts of stock at less than half the original price. Meanwhile, Tenacity created a line of products branded "British Breeze", with Katie ensuring costs were kept low, although she went against her team's market research as a result, causing one product to be unappealing. In sales, a large deal was made thanks to Ella Jade, but their sub-team soon struggled due to the high price. Despite having unsold stock, Katie's focus on profit margins proved decisive.
• Result: Tenacity had a profit of £1,584.09, while Summit had a profit of £1,569.32.
• Winner: Tenacity - By £14.77
• Reward: A trip to a spa.
• Fired (during internal review): Lindsay, with regret - For openly admitting she was out of her league in the competition, her dismal performance in the process, and for making only a single sale in the task.
• Brought into the boardroom: Roisin, James and Nurun.
• Fired (during final boardroom): Nurun - For lacking any assertiveness, selling poorly despite her market stall experience, and for her poor performance as Project Manager the previous week.
• You're Fired Panel: Jo Malone, Sara Cox and Hugh Dennis.
• Notes:
  • In a rare occurrence, Karren had to intervene in this task, when James forged a "recommended retail price" on Summit’s advertising board. She pointed out it was unethical for a one-off sale, and instructed him to remove it immediately.
  • Sarah's performance was notably criticised in the boardroom; her involvement in sales was non-existent, and she attempted to make bizarre suggestions to her sub-team that frustrated Lauren and Daniel. Katie, despite doing well with profit margins, was also criticised for ignoring their market research by creating products based on her personal tastes. Daniel, meanwhile achieved the highest sales figures on Tenacity despite Steven interrupting his pitch, forcing Daniel to settle at a lower amount of units.
  • As Tenacity won narrowly despite having unsold stock, Lord Sugar remarked that had it not been a one-day sale they would have made more money the next day, hinting that had they lost, Lord Sugar may have granted them the win anyway.
  • In the initial boardroom, after the results, Lindsay came under fire from almost the whole team, Karren and to some extent Lord Sugar for being ineffective in all three weeks. Much to everyone's shock, Lindsay openly admitted she could not handle the competition and that she was out of her depth. With some sympathy, Lord Sugar quickly fired her before continuing with proceedings.
  • When reviewing Summit's loss, Lord Sugar was not especially critical of Roisin; despite her average sale price being £9.50 (less than half of the original price) and her mistake with the diffusers, he felt that her leadership had been rather good, and James' sub-team was more deserving of blame. James was consequently lucky to escape, having irritated Lord Sugar with his behavior, and since he had been responsible the misleading advertisement, poor handling of the sub-team, and setting prices too low. He was only saved by his sale figures. Nurun was not so fortunate; while Lindsay had been the worst seller, Nurun had barely done better, and came under heavy scrutiny considering she had previously operated a market stall.
  • On You're Fired! whilst Lindsay's firing was supported by the audience and the panel, it was more mixed for Nurun. A majority of the audience agreed that Nurun deserved to be fired albeit being more split, but two of the three panellists disagreed, both of whom felt that James should have been fired for his behavior and poor control over the sub-team. Lindsay also admitted on You're Fired that she would have quit the show had she not been fired at that moment. Although Nurun was not shown to be fired with regret on the main show, it was revealed on You're Fired! that she was.

Week 4: Online Video Channel

• Air Date: 29 October 2014
• Summit: Solomon (Project Manager), Bianca, Mark, James, Roisin, Jemma and Sanjay.
• Tenacity: Ella Jade (Project Manager), Felipe, Sarah, Daniel, Pamela, Steven, Lauren and Katie.
• Task: Launch an online video channel and promote an original video, collaborate with a well-established channel and also pitch the channel to get a link from a major website. Most views received, wins.
• Task Review: Tenacity decided to base their videos around Katie’s fitness instructor experience, with Felipe starring as a "fat daddy" who she helped to get fit, while Summit based their videos around comedy sketches in which James played a mad chef who was fed unusual items of food by Roisin. Tenacity found themselves having problems with their first video, which came out badly due to Ella Jade's poor directing, and, thanks to a serious blunder by Sarah, was released without a description or title. The major website, Buzzfeed, chose to not link with either team; Summit's concept was liked but seen as for a younger audience than intended, while Tenacity's pitch was wrecked by Steven, before coming under fire for an offensive concept. Because of this, the YouTube channel partner was the deciding factor of the task; while Ella Jade chose a channel more directly related to her content, Solomon decided to go against his team and picking a more popular channel as opposed to one related to food.
• Result: Summit got 3,532 views, while Tenacity got 3,314 views.
• Winner: Summit - by 218 views
• Reward: A trip to a volcanic spa in Reykjavík
• Brought into the boardroom: Ella Jade, Sarah and Steven.
• Fired: All three of them for the following reasons:
  • Steven - For blowing his pitch to the major website, barely contributing to the tasks and for failing to amend his volatile personality.
  • Sarah - For being a weak performer throughout the process, failing to use her background in developing the concept, forgetting to give a description for one of the videos, her team's complete lack of faith in her, being unable to take criticism, attempting to shift responsibility for the video's description to Lauren and for her awful managerial skills and dictatorial leadership in the first task.
  • Ella Jade - For her poor directing, poor leadership, inability to take criticism, lacking real business experience and for failing in a task that was tailored to her business plan.
• You're Fired Panel: Sarah Wood, Matt Edmondson and Romesh Ranganathan
• Notes:
  • After Lord Sugar moved Jemma over to Summit, he appointed Ella Jade and Solomon as project managers, based on their business plans. Lord Sugar also warned Jemma to step up as he felt she had contributed nothing to any prior task (despite suggesting Tenacity as the new team name).
  • As neither team's video were linked by Buzzfeed, the key factor in the results was the YouTube partner each team went with. In light of this, Solomon's clear decision to pursue viewing figures, instead of going with a channel with more related content, was commended by his team and Lord Sugar when the results were announced. Although Tenacity were more complementary about Pamela's collaboration with their YouTube star, Lord Sugar was not overly impressed by their efforts in the task.
  • Although Steven insisted that he would be project manager on the next task, Lord Sugar simply refused to accept that this would happen with his abrupt personality, calling him a "lost cause" before he fired him.
  • Sarah's firing came due to unanimous condemnation from her team, the testimony from Karren and Nick about her overall performance, and the truth of her experience of dating sites coming out as being nothing more than signing up for free trials. Lord Sugar also realised her inability to accept criticism; in particular, Sarah maintained she was an excellent Project Manager in Week 1, despite her team constantly insisting otherwise.
  • Having failed on a task that ought to have showcased her skills, Lord Sugar chose to dismiss Ella Jade; she had to be told three times that she was fired.
  • This was the first time in the show's history that a treble firing occurred (outside of the interviews) and also the first instance that no candidates came back from the boardroom, which resulted in Lord Sugar informing the remaining candidates of his decision by telephone, much to their shock.
  • On You're Fired, the audience felt that both Steven and Sarah deserved to be fired, although the vote was fairly close in Steven's case and near-unanimous with Sarah, while the panel was split 2-1 with both candidates. Ella Jade did not take part in the show due to a personal bereavement; her father had died in the week of the recording, so the vote on her firing did not occur.

Week 5: Coach Tours

• Air Date: 5 November 2014
• Summit: Sanjay (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, James, Roisin and Jemma.
• Tenacity: Daniel (Project Manager), Felipe, Pamela, Mark, Lauren and Katie.
• Task: Set up and run a coach tour, taking Londoners out to two tourist sites, with refreshments included. Most profit made (including sales on tours, and tips), wins.
• Task Review: Tenacity designed their coach tour to visit Blenheim Palace and Oxford, charging high for tickets, while Summit designed theirs to visit Hever Castle and Canterbury, but focused on lower ticket prices. Mark's negotiating secured good discounts for their tour sites, while James spent too long pushing for a discount from Hever Castle that they would not agree with, despite Jemma's warnings against so. Summit's tour proved to be disastrously bad as traffic delayed their start, James forced a sing-along upon their customers, Jemma was ill-prepared for the tour of Hever Castle and the group got lost in Canterbury, cutting their visit to their second site. Tenacity's tour received far better feedback from customers, mainly because of Lauren's exceptional tour of Blenheim Palace, which made up for Felipe's rather mediocre performance in Oxford and the substandard refreshments they offered. Overall, Tenacity's focus on higher ticket price and low costs ensured their victory.
• Result: Tenacity had a profit of £1,037.99, while Summit had a profit of £813.70.
• Winner: Tenacity - By £224.29
• Reward: Abseiling from the Orbit sculpture in London.
• Brought into the boardroom: Sanjay, Bianca and Jemma
• Fired: Jemma - For a lack of presence, making no significant contributions to the five tasks, lackluster defense in the boardroom, dismal performance in Hever Castle and for her uninspiring CV statement (calling herself as "always the girl that nearly wins").
• You're Fired Panel: Ruth Badger, Sarah Millican and Alex Brooker.
• Notes:
  • To even out the teams after last week's treble firing, Mark was moved over from Summit to Tenacity.
  • James was so aggressive in his efforts to secure a high discount at Hever Castle that they rejected each one he asked for. In addition, Sanjay's ticket price was considered to be a random figure, while Bianca made a serious error by giving a group of tourists she pitched to the upper hand, after stating it was their "last pitch of the day".
  • Although Daniel had done his best to keep costs down, his team condemned him as a poor leader before the results were announced, feeling Mark was the major contributor; Daniel had a minimal sales strategy, failed to sell anything, and offered a poor quality lunch, which Nick deemed unsuitable for a luxury tour. After the result was announced, Pamela openly denounced his leadership, while the others continued to ostracise him during the reward and at the house. It was heavily indicated, had Tenacity lost, Daniel would have been fired.
  • Bianca had to break up a major argument at the house between Daniel and Mark, who were arguing over who was responsible for winning the task - Mark accused Daniel of lying repeatedly about his sales. On his You're Fired! appearance after the Interviews episode, Daniel claimed that this task marked the beginning of the feud between him and Mark, which continued until the end of the series.
  • In the boardroom, Karren called Summit's tour "the coach ride from hell." James was lambasted for his numerous errors, particularly a forced sing-a-long that was panned by both Karren and the passengers. Despite this, he was noted to have sold a vast majority of refreshments (the only redeemable quality of the tour), which played a large role in Sanjay not bringing him back. Lord Sugar, however, gave James a severe warning before he left the boardroom, noting that had James not had such a key part in sales he would have overridden Sanjay's decision and fired him anyway. It was also heavily indicated that James would have been fired if he was brought back into the boardroom instead of Jemma.
  • In the initial boardroom, Jemma attempted to place the blame on Bianca for her errors, but in the final boardroom she instead claimed that Sanjay was responsible; he retaliated by accusing her of merely being opportunistic. While Lord Sugar noted Bianca's error as a "fireable offence" and highlighted Sanjay's questionable pricing decision as the main reason for the failure of the task, he decided they ultimately had more potential over Jemma to be his business partner, though Sanjay was warned that he had no more room for error.
  • For the first time in the series on You're Fired!, the audience disagreed with Lord Sugar's decision to fire Jemma, along with all three panellists. Two believed that Sanjay should have been fired for setting the price too low and not bringing back James, although they also felt that James was equally deserving of dismissal.

Week 6: Board Game

• Air Date: 12 November 2014
• Summit: James (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, Roisin and Sanjay.
• Tenacity: Pamela (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Mark, Lauren and Katie.
• Task: Design a brand new board game, then sell it to retailers across London. Most sales made, wins.
• Task Review: Tenacity went with a dating board game, which they named "The Relationship Guru". It soon became clear that most of the team disliked the idea, but Pamela ignored the negative feedback from market research and the game's test group (the latter felt the game was offensive and sexist), while most retailers hated it, due to the questions Daniel devised. Pamela had issues with him throughout, along with Lauren, who was critical of the product but failed to suggest a solution. Meanwhile, Summit struggled for ideas initially, but eventually chose an educational geography game designed by Roisin entitled "GeoKnow", with its format being very well received by both their market research and their game's test group. When selling their game however, Summit struggled, partly due to James' leadership and 'fire selling' tactics, but mostly from Bianca; she offered exclusivity in the borough of Westminster to a small retailer for only 6 units, thus hampering subsequent sales in the area. Despite this, the issues in Tenacity's game proved decisive in the results.
• Result: Summit had sales of £2,080, while Tenacity had sales of £1,101.25.
• Winner: Summit - By £978.75
• Reward: Playing football with David Seaman
• Brought into the boardroom: Pamela, Daniel and Lauren
• Fired: Pamela - For ignoring market research, backing an awful and flawed concept with a doomed premise, trying to place blame for the failure of the task solely on Daniel's questions, her inability to take criticism and for not bringing Mark back into the boardroom.
• You're Fired Panel: Ade Adepitan, Rachel Lowe and Tiff Stevenson.
• Notes:
  • Lord Sugar took issue with Mark's performance, accusing him of taking a backseat by leading sub-teams, taking credit for victories and shifting blame from himself if they lost. Further weight was added by the fact that Mark had pushed Pamela to be Project Manager over himself, and then condemning the concept he had initially suggested as soon as he got feedback from the market research. While his impressive selling spared him the broadroom, Mark was warned to take responsibility for his decisions next time.
  • Many members of Summit felt that James' leadership style was very dictatorial and that he had not learnt from previous mistakes; Bianca was most vocal, denouncing his leadership in the boardroom after having quarrelled with him throughout the task. However, Lord Sugar took a more favourable view, as he was impressed that James had stepped up and tried to take his advice on board. He further added that Bianca's actions with the exclusivity offer had undermined him as Project Manager. Bianca admitted she had meant to say postcode rather than borough when making the offer. Despite his praise, Lord Sugar did warn James that he still had a lot to learn.
  • In the final boardroom, Pamela repeatedly insisted that the basic concept for Tenacity's game was sound and that the only problem was that Daniel's questions were too vulgar. Lord Sugar disagreed, noting her refusal to accept criticism of the concept was further proof she was not worthy of investment. When she appeared on You're Fired, Pamela did concede that the product was poor and admitted she had been trying to keep the team united in the face of tension between Daniel and Mark.
  • Daniel came very close to being dismissed, due to his hand in creating the playing cards; many of them were regarded to have inappropriate or sexist content, while serious concerns were raised about his attitude, with Lord Sugar calling him a "fantasist". Lord Sugar also strongly considered firing Lauren, accusing her of sitting back like Mark, yet ultimately allowed her to continue, warning her she needed to prove herself. He later stated to his advisers that he felt that Mark and Lauren were playing a "game", and if they continued to do so, he would fire them.
  • On You're Fired, though it was generally agreed that Pamela deserved to be fired, the panel theorized that Mark had set her up from the beginning and would have been just as deserving to be fired had he been brought back.

Week 7: Advertising - New York

• Air Date: 19 November 2014
• Summit: Bianca (Project Manager), Solomon, James, Roisin and Sanjay.
• Tenacity: Mark (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Lauren and Katie.
• Task: Advertise a brand new soft drink in the United States; one team designs it and a digital board advert in London, while the other half does market research, a video advert and then pitches it in New York. Lord Sugar chooses the winner.
• Task Review: Tenacity went for a health drink named "Aqua Fusion"; while the concept was considered a good idea, the reception to the taste was rather lukewarm. Furthermore, their branding was considered bland, and their video advert came out badly thanks to Felipe's poor directing, while the pitch led by him and Lauren was considered dull. Summit, meanwhile, came up with a fizzy drink named "Big Dawg"; while Bianca's sub-team found the taste overpowering, it was well received by their market research. Though their pitch started off slowly, it generally went much better than Tenacity's, having a much more attention-grabbing campaign, despite a flaw in their brand's logo and their much poorer video advert. Despite feeling Tenacity's advert was marginally better, the executives decided that the rest of Summit's campaign had been far superior, and Lord Sugar declared them the winners.
• Winner: Summit - For having a better concept and branding to their product, despite their advert being worse.
• Reward: Meal at top floor of Tower 42
• Brought into the boardroom: Mark, Daniel and Lauren.
• Fired: Lauren - For giving a boring presentation, failing to heed a warning from the last week to step up and because Lord Sugar felt she was "not right for him."
• You're Fired Panel: Richard Reed, Claude Littner and Katherine Ryan
• Notes:
  • When Bianca was deciding who in Summit to take with her overseas, James remained quiet about his knowledge of cocktails and bar experience until he was in New York. Sanjay believed he did this just to secure a place on her sub-team.
  • While Tenacity's loss came from several factors, Lord Sugar said the overuse of yellow in their branding was the chief reason. When Mark attempted to blame Felipe and Lauren for the poor pitch, Lord Sugar countered by pointing out that he had put forward "two bloody lawyers", without truly considering the merits of each team member. Furthermore, Mark was accused of lying about his credentials in order to become PM; both Daniel and Katie later implied that had they known Mark was misleading them, they would likely have voted for Lauren. However, on You're Fired! it was noted Lauren had been just as bad, her exaggerating her claims of brief visits to New York as giving her broad 'local knowledge'.
  • While Mark was clear in his decision to bring Lauren back into the final boardroom, he was more conflicted about choosing Daniel, even saying he regretted it and insisted that the choice was not for personal reasons. However, Daniel reacted badly to Mark's criticism, prompting Mark to say he should not have been as hesitant. A major row then ensued, but despite both admitting their mutual dislike, they agreed that Lauren was more at fault for the task's failure.
  • Although Nick declared that he had thought Mark had a good management style, there were clear issues over his allocation of roles and his decision to become PM; it was felt that he had stepped up simply to avoid being criticised for not doing so. Daniel, meanwhile, came under fire for the poor advertising, despite the fact Katie had helped, and was berated for not showing the business skills he claimed to possess. Lord Sugar decided that Mark and Daniel had at least tried to stand out and Lauren was still hiding, despite the warning given last week.
  • Lauren now holds the record for being the longest lasting candidate to be fired without managing a task; Rebecca from series nine held the record, after she didn't lead any task by the sixth week she was eliminated from the contest. Lauren also became the fifth consecutive woman to be fired this series, equalling the longest consecutive run of eliminations of the same gender in the show's history. In a rare instance after the firing, the camera went straight to Lauren's exit interview.
  • On You're Fired, both the panel and the audience disagreed with Lord Sugar's decision, feeling that Mark should have been fired for his performance. While she was not shown to be fired with regret on the main show, Lauren revealed on You're Fired! that she was.

Week 8: Country Show

• Air Date: 26 November 2014
• Summit: James (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, Roisin and Sanjay.
• Tenacity: Felipe (Project Manager), Daniel, Mark and Katie.
• Task: Choose and sell products at the Royal Bath and West Show; two items never sold at the show before, and a high-ticket item with previous success at the event. Most sales made, wins.
• Task Review: Tenacity chose to sell a handbag made from flatcaps, and a bike trailer that provided a child seat for a cyclist, while Summit were forced by James to go with a hanging chair and folding wellingtons, despite wanting the trailer and a pet tracker. Both teams also wanted to sell the hot tubs; Tenacity won the right to do so, after James gave off the wrong impression about Summit to the vendor (along with calling them the wrong name), which forced him to go with lawnmowers instead and lie about the choice, in an attempt not to affect the morale of the team. Tenacity did quite well during the event thanks to Mark and Katie, who sold the hot tubs very well, while Daniel and Felipe struggled with sales for the other items, partly due to Daniel constantly arguing with Felipe over who should sell the hot tubs. For Summit, things went poorly; Roisin and James managed only to sell a single lawn mower each, with Roisin's sales tactics being better, while the other sub-team struggled to sell, due to them still being angry over the product selection, while Sanjay in particular sold very little. Thanks to Mark and Katie's strong efforts selling hot tubs, Tenacity won by a large margin.
• Result: Tenacity had sales of £30,115.25, while Summit had sales of £4,757.50.
• Winner: Tenacity - By £25,357.75
• Reward: Boxing masterclass with Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ogogo
• Brought into the boardroom: James, Sanjay and Roisin
• Fired: James, with regret - For his atrocious leadership, going against his sub-team, failing to secure the hot tubs, lying to the sub-team (albeit for good reasons), bringing Roisin back into the boardroom for mostly personal reasons, failing to amend his immature and arrogant attitude and for still having "a lot to learn".
• You're Fired Panel: Dale Murray, Joe Lycett and Nick Hewer.
• Notes:
  • The new products the teams could sell at the event were - Foldable Wellies, A Gutter Cleaning Robot, A Fashionable Outdoor Swing Chair, A 'Flat Cap' Handbag, A Pet Tracker, A Bicycle Trailer, and A Flushable Cat Box. The High End Items that had sold well at the event were: Hot Tubs, Lawn Mowers, and BBQs.
  • Daniel pushed to sell the hot tubs, though Mark and Katie were ultimately chosen, causing Daniel to maintain a negative attitude throughout the task. He reasoned that he had helped win the hot tubs for the team, though in actuality, Katie had led the successful pitch. It was remarked later that Mark had been largely successful in selling the hot tubs, and hinted that had Tenacity lost, Daniel would have been fired.
  • Lord Sugar commented in the boardroom that James had made "all the wrong decisions" compared to the Board Game Task. His choice of new products earned huge criticism from the other sub-team during the day of selling, as the customer base they encountered would have been ideal for their choices. Furthermore, his failure to secure the hot tubs led to him lying about his decision to take on the lawnmowers. Roisin, tiring of James' attitude towards her and their team, finally exposed this when he would not admit the truth, since she was the only team member with him when the deal fell through. Despite his otherwise heavy criticism of James before his firing, Lord Sugar did wish him luck, believing with a little more experience he would have success.
  • Throughout the task, Katie had to keep the rest of Tenacity in line - she had to tell Felipe to negotiate for lower prices, inform Daniel he was being too aggressive when picking out the high end items, and break up an argument between Daniel and Felipe when the latter put Mark in charge of the hot tub sales with Katie. The argument continued without her, and Karren frowned on this heavily, noting it was making their sales much more difficult. This behaviour led Lord Sugar to label Katie a "mummy" figure.
  • In the final boardroom, Roisin responded to questioning passionately, conceding that she might have been restrained, but had always contributed, and lambasted James for being aggressively negative whenever she offered constructive criticism. Despite initially demanding she speak up, Lord Sugar was somewhat dubious about James' decision to bring her back to begin with, since she had the joint-highest sales figures for Summit. Sanjay, by contrast, was told by Nick he had not featured in any of his notes made regarding this task; he admitted to being the worst salesperson, as he only shifted three pairs of Wellingtons, and his efforts to defend his track record were not well received. Lord Sugar told both Roisin, and especially Sanjay, that he expected them to step up in response to the firing of James, who had always tried to contribute.
  • On You're Fired, both the panel and audience overwhelmingly agreed with Lord Sugar's decision, and James himself accepted he had probably run his course. They also believed that Mark had engineered his efforts to sell the hot tubs, as he had stated during the show he was not prepared to trust Daniel with something so crucial, though this clearly proved to be a good idea.

Week 9: Ten Years of Discount Buying

• Air Date: 3 December 2014
• Summit: Sanjay (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon and Roisin.
• Tenacity: Daniel (Project Manager), Felipe, Mark and Katie.
• Task: Buy a set of listed items (from the last nine series of discount buying), negotiating for lower prices. Lowest amount spent (including fines) from £1,000, wins.
• Task Review: Tenacity did their research quickly before heading out, with Mark and Katie proving to be excellent negotiators for their assigned items, only failing with the rope; despite it being free, it was twice as long as specified. Despite the other pair working better than the previous task, Daniel and Felipe were charged a lot for the diamond, and only managed to get a paper skeleton in a box because Felipe believed the list had not specified a proper one. Elsewhere, Summit spent a lot of time researching the items at Sanjay's insistence, who then further slowed the team down by randomly picking places to go in spite of his research. His dreadful performance overshadowed Roisin's good negotiations on their diamond, not only forcing Bianca to overtake several pitches, but causing them to be late to the boardroom. Despite their late arrival, Lord Sugar fined Tenacity during the results for both their skeleton and their rope, effectively winning Summit the task.
• Result: Summit's total cost was £644.97(including fines), while Tenacity's total cost was £709.59 (including fines).
• Winner: Summit - By £64.62
• Reward: A group trip to Silverstone where they raced against each other.
• Brought into the boardroom: Daniel, Felipe and Katie
• Fired: Felipe - For believing his paper skeleton purchase would work, showing limited business skills, and for his somewhat poor track record throughout the process.
• You're Fired Panel: Mike Soutar, Nicki Chapman, Romesh Ranganathan
• Notes:
  • Both teams had to find items that had been either bought or sold throughout the show's history, which were: a diamond, Kosher chicken, a skeleton, oud oil, Nigella seeds, old rope, tea, scallops and a Belfast Sink.
  • Lord Sugar remarked that Tenacity's good performance on the task, securing all the items and returning on time, was effectively ruined by the purchase of the paper skeleton. The consequent fine of £310 left Summit in disbelief; Karren had to clarify that they had indeed won. As the other members of Summit felt that Sanjay had been a poor leader, it was clear that he would have been dismissed had Lord Sugar not fined Tenacity.
  • In the boardroom, Felipe was quick to defend his purchase, stating that the material of the skeleton had not been specified, until Lord Sugar said that he would never have allowed it. Although Daniel claimed he had had concerns over the purchase, and Mark and Katie both stated they were furious it had cost them the win, Nick was critical of all three in regards to Felipe's decision, stating that Daniel was "just one pace behind" and Katie and Mark knew more than they were letting on. However Lord Sugar decided that, as Felipe's idea had single-handedly cost them victory, he could not allow it to pass.
  • While discussing the final three, Karren remarked that Mark, who Daniel had clashed with throughout the process, was only allowed to return to the house because Daniel had wanted to prove he had matured over the process, and so Katie was brought back instead. Mark himself said he was amazed Daniel had not brought him in, despite Katie criticising him severely and calling for Mark to be brought back.
  • Before and during the final boardroom, Katie lambasted Felipe for trying to weasel out of the responsibility of the skeleton and Daniel for bringing her back. Although Lord Sugar pointed out that she could have cut the rope down, he felt Katie was the least responsible for the loss, since this mistake would not have cost Tenacity the win. This, along with her valiant defence and otherwise impressive track record made Lord Sugar assure Katie she would not be fired.
  • After Felipe was dismissed, Daniel came close to being fired, but although he had been in the boardroom four times, Lord Sugar felt he deserved one last chance, owing to his good negotiation and the positive feedback from the team, and for the fact that Lord Sugar felt he had "achieved something" with him.
  • On You're Fired, both the audience and one of the three panellists disagreed with Lord Sugar's decision, believing that Daniel should have been fired simply for a lack of integrity, as he attempted to distance himself from the skeleton fiasco to get Felipe fired. Felipe himself admitted he had no hard feelings towards his firing on You're Fired simply saying "These things happen."

Week 10: Premium Pudding

• Air Date: 10 December 2014
• Summit: Roisin (Project Manager), Daniel, Bianca and Solomon.
• Tenacity: Katie (Project Manager), Mark and Sanjay.
• Task: Create a new range of premium puddings, then pitch it to three major retailers. Most orders received, wins.
• Task Review: On Tenacity, Katie decided to create a line of exotic trifles, branded as "Trifle Different", but she lacked proper knowledge of ingredients, using saffron in a flavour which was then poorly received by a majority of the retailers during their pitches, who also felt that the packaging for it was felt to be too bland to be used on a premium product. Not only did they get poor feedback, both Katie and Mark produced poor pitches for their product, the latter due to being nervous and stumbling while making his. On Summit, Roisin went with a line of tea-themed cheesecakes, branded as "TeaPot". Although there were some issues surrounding the taste of the tea and how much to use, their flavours were felt to be quite good during the pitches; while the first pitch went poorly, the subsequent two afterwards were far better, their product receiving good feedback for its concept. Overall, Tenacity's performance and product undid them in the task.
• Result: Summit received 25,500 orders, while Tenacity received 13,500 orders.
• Winner: Summit - By 12,000 orders
• Reward: Macaroons and Martini cocktails on the yacht that was used in the film The World Is Not Enough.
• Brought into the boardroom: Katie, Mark and Sanjay
• Fired (at start of final boardroom): Katie, with regret - For failing to demonstrate the ability to make her business plan work, creating a poor trifle, and for delivering a poor pitch.
• Fired (at end of final boardroom): Sanjay - For offering a questionable business plan, poor market research, delivering a poorer pitch than Katie and for his generally very mediocre track record throughout the process.
• You're Fired Panel: Ed Byrne, Gaby Roslin and John Vincent^[5]
• Notes:
  • Before the task briefing ended, Lord Sugar had Daniel and Sanjay change teams, before then appointing Katie and Roisin as PMs, citing that their business plans involved the food market.
  • Karren was so appalled that Katie lacked any knowledge of the ingredients she was using, particularly their flavours, that she voiced concerns over her being a viable investment. In the boardroom, she said the use of saffron in one product had made it "inedible" and "fit for the bin". Lord Sugar also felt that the excessive use of such an expensive ingredient demonstrated a poor grasp of costing.
  • In the boardroom, whilst Roisin's management of Summit was agreed to be very solid overall, Daniel and Solomon complained about being assigned minor roles. Before the results, Nick commented each had done well to overcome this; he commended Solomon for putting himself forward to do branding, and Daniel for intervening in the second pitch, which was well received by the retailer despite Roisin being unhappy for him going against her orders.
  • After discussing Tenacity's loss, Lord Sugar questioned the team about their business plans, and was quick to reveal that Katie's was one he would not work with, owing to her serious lack of experience in understanding the restaurant business (despite her trying to counter this), though both he and Karren wished her good luck after her firing. After her dismissal, Sanjay came under fire, partly because he had little experience of the industry he wished to enter, and since Mark pointed out that his figures were completely unrealistic and not feasible. Lord Sugar decided Sanjay's proposal was unlikely to make any money, and he was "deluded" if he thought it could; Karren did wish him good luck before he left.
  • Mark's pitch was by far the worst in the task; not only did he stumble and become confused, he became so nervous that a member of the retailer panel had to offer him water when he began to cough badly. Mark openly admitted in the boardroom that he was compromised by the overwhelming situation; Karren earlier described how he pitched by stating, "...his worst nightmare... it's come true". This, along with both his branding and his track record, nearly appeared to get him fired, but Lord Sugar informed him that, although he could have fired the entire team, he would give him one last chance, as his business plan seemed strong.
  • Roisin was extremely shocked when Mark returned alone to the house, initially shocked that Katie had been fired along with Sanjay.
  • On You're Fired, both the panel and the audience unanimously agreed that Sanjay should have been fired, although they felt it was mostly down to his track record throughout the series as opposed to this particular task. For Katie, only one panellist agreed with her firing, while the others believed that Mark should have been fired instead; the audience vote was evenly split, but was only just against her being fired. Katie, however, did reveal that her plan to use her professional fitness background^[6] and go on to open a healthy-eating restaurant could still be possible, but she would not pursue it, while Sanjay also revealed he was not going to pursue his business plan either.

Week 11: Interviews

• Air Date: 17 December 2014
• Semi-Finalists: Daniel, Bianca, Mark, Solomon and Roisin.
• Task: The five remaining candidates must undergo a gruelling interview process from four of Lord Sugar's top advisers – Claude Littner, Mike Soutar, Claudine Collins, and the winner of Series 8, Ricky Martin;^[7] Lord Sugar decides on the two candidates who advance to the final.
• Candidate Reviews: Despite his track record, including Ricky stating that some of his interview claims were deceitful and Lord Sugar knowing how crowded his plan's market would be, Mark was unanimously praised as his business plan, to support websites by getting them higher on search engines, received very positive reports for playing to his strengths. Bianca also received positive reports, as her business plan, to make hosieries tailored to skin tones, was felt to be good, although she had to adjust her plan during the interview process after Claude felt her proposal as offered was over-ambitious, while Claudine felt that she had little personality as she had constantly mentioned professionalism in her CV. Despite not getting along with his fellow candidates, Daniel got positive feedback for being hard-working, but his CV was riddled with false claims, most notably for an award that did not exist, while Claude also deemed his business plan to be poorly constructed with little knowledge of his figures. Although his business plan was an extension of his existing business, he did have the credibility of having started a business in that area already, and without the online element, was proposing a viable business model. Roisin's business plan, to create a line of healthier ready-meals, was seen as heavily flawed with a concept that was falsely advertised and already existed, along with an unrealistic financial model; Claude revealed that it would use up Lord Sugar's investment in two months and would require more money just to survive; however Claudine and Ricky commended her as a person and as an employee. Solomon got by far the worst reports as, although he was liked by the interviewers, Claude, who was extremely positive about his application, felt his business plan was very weak by the fact that it contained a mere eight pages, two of which was covered mostly in pictures of his logo, thus branding it 'a bloody disgrace' before he threw Solomon out of the interview.
• Decision: Lord Sugar fired Solomon almost immediately from hearing his interview feedback, feeling he was far too young and naive. Roisin went next as the flaws in her business plan were too serious to ignore and she still refused to admit her financial figures were unrealistic. After sending the candidates outside for one final deliberation, Lord Sugar initially struggled to choose two from the three remaining. Lord Sugar decided to give Mark and Bianca a chance despite Mark's weaker track record in the process, and Bianca's lack of manufacturing experience, as their plans were stronger and Lord Sugar felt they had more potential, with this resulting in Daniel being fired.
• Fired:
  • Solomon - For writing an awful business plan, failing to give crucial figures, and for being too naive and inexperienced to be taken seriously.
  • Roisin, with regret - For providing an unsound business plan, planning to spend all of Lord Sugar's money in the first two months and for overestimating the potential or her business plan.
  • Daniel, with regret - For being the weakest candidate of the remaining three, having the weakest business plan of the remaining three, having too many second chances, and for never truly demonstrating his claimed sales expertise during the series.
• You're Fired Panel: Matt Edmondson, Katherine Ryan and Julie Deane^[8]
• Notes:
  • During Bianca's interview with Ricky Martin, Bianca broke down crying after he pointed out that she had little personality, something she had been criticised for throughout the day. Claudine had previously told her that she seemed to be hiding behind "a mask".
  • Claude labelled Solomon's CV and application form to be one of the best he had read, as he had not boasted about his abilities unlike the other candidates, yet in contrast he found his business plan to be the most appalling he had seen in the show's history and furiously ended the interview prematurely; Solomon became so distressed that he forgot where the door was. Both Claudine and Mike Soutar were critical of him, with the former stating that he came across like an excitable puppy, whilst Mike, upon reading his CV claim that he was someone from the "ideas generation", had Solomon's phone brought from the house and asked him to pitch some "money-making ideas" which resulted in him describing Online shopping and a Hotel. However, Lord Sugar did note that Claude felt he had promise in his future, but was too naive to be given an investment. Nick wished him luck as he left.
  • When Mike interviewed Roisin, he provided her with two products that already made use of her supposedly "unique ingredient", much to her astonishment. Furthermore, Lord Sugar did not agree with her proposal to get further financing from banks, pointing out that he did not want to spend "other people's money" as it defeated the whole point of the offer, and that the chances of getting a huge investment were virtually nil.
  • Daniel's claims of being a good salesman was scrutinized by Mike, as he had falsely claimed to have received an award at the company he worked for, and Mark had been the best salesman during the process whilst he was sixth. While Daniel argued that the task of Week 8 had caused this, he was rebutted by Mike, who said that Mark would have beaten him regardless.
  • Although Claude and Ricky gave Mark positive reviews in the boardroom once the interviews were over, they were still critical of him. Claude described his business plan as playing to his strengths but also felt it was bland and unoriginal whilst Ricky called some of statements in his CV "deceitful.". Ricky was also unconvinced as to why he should go to Mark's company when there were thousands of other digital marketing companies.
  • Lord Sugar had a tough decision with the final three. Mark was close to being fired due to his poor presentation from the previous week, not winning as Project Manager in the process and having the worst track record, along with Ricky's concerns he was more suited to selling under command as opposed to managing. Daniel attempted to point out risks in both Bianca's and Mark's business plans, but his problems were considered to be too difficult to surmount, especially given his own erratic performance. Lord Sugar nonetheless wished him the best after firing him and commended Daniel's changed attitude. Daniel, being part of the last three, wished both Bianca and Mark good luck with the finals.
  • When Daniel and Solomon were fired, a different style of background music was played with strings.
  • On You're Fired, the panel and audience unanimously agreed with Lord Sugar's decision to fire Solomon, though one panellist felt he had potential to be a success. They also agreed with Daniel's firing, as though he had done well in the process, his business plan was considered quite poor, while Daniel admitted that his feud with Mark during the series had been the driving reason for his efforts to stay, and had likely ensured he made it so far. Meanwhile, the panellists did not agree with Roisin's firing, as they believed her performance had been exceptional and that her business plan only needed tweaking to be successful; until her firing, she had been considered a favorite to win. It was also suggested that Roisin should have been afforded the opportunity to scrap her business plan and offer an entirely new one (as Neil Clough did the previous series, who Roisin had been likened to), though Roisin herself admitted she would probably have still stuck with her original one.

Week 12: The Final

• Air Date: 21 December 2014
• Finalists: Bianca and Mark
  • Bianca's team: Bianca (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Lauren and Katie.
  • Mark's team: Mark (Project Manager), Sarah, Solomon, James and Sanjay.
• Task: The two remaining candidates must create an advertising video for their company and give a speech about it at an evening party at Victoria House, with Lord Sugar present.
• Task Review: Mark's company, a business to support smaller growing companies, was called "Climb Online"; despite Sarah's pleas against the name, Lord Sugar liked it. It was soon identified that the business would be within a crowded market; Mark decided to offer a personalized service to give the business a USP. Bianca's company, which would sell tights and hosiery of varying skin tones, was named "True Skin". Bianca quickly fell into trouble for her pricing strategy and number of colours. As a result of this, Bianca ended up changing a lot of her prior decisions, though this was not helped by the poor design of the brand. Bianca nonetheless delivered a good pitch, and the concept was agreed to be excellent, yet questions were raised again regarding her limited manufacturing experience and the price point, as Bianca wanted the product to be a luxury brand. Despite getting off to a slow start, Mark also delivered a smooth pitch, though James and Solomon's entertainment was panned. When questions were raised over the crowded market, Mark demonstrated his experience and knowledge of the industry, even impressing Lord Sugar. In the final boardroom, he questioned both businesses at length; all agreed that Bianca's idea was good, but had a lot of small problems, like her limited experience. Lord Sugar noted that he could easily do this (Nick told him that the business would appeal to his tastes), but it would require much of his attention. Mark was praised for choosing a business he was knowledgeable in, though there were still questions regarding the crowded market, and the money that would have to be spent on staff. In the end, Lord Sugar decided Mark was a stronger candidate with a more solid plan, and that the crowded market would not bother him.
• Runner-Up: Bianca - For being inexperienced in manufacturing and retail, offering a far too high sale price, ignoring her team's market research, concerns about the demands on his time that her business would require, having too many variations, taking professionalism far too seriously and for being a weaker manager than Mark.
• Hired: Mark - For offering a solid plan he was already an expert in, being overall a much better candidate and manager than Bianca, having smaller start-up costs for his proposed business, a stellar sales record in the process and for having more potential.
• You're Hired Panel: Dale Murray, Ben Miller and Romesh Ranganathan
• Notes:
  • Roisin was originally going to be brought back to be part of Mark's team, thus bringing back all the fired candidates from Week 7 and onwards. But due to undisclosed circumstances, she did not return, so Sarah was brought in as a replacement.
  • In the initial team discussions after Bianca formed her team, Daniel commented that although he had not liked being fired, he was glad to have the chance to go against Mark in the finals; Lord Sugar humorously remarked upon this later on.
  • Mark struggled with filming his video and preparing his pitch, which he owed to stress. Karren became concerned that the problems from his last pitch would resurface, but Mark quickly hit his stride once he began speaking. In the boardroom, Mark praised the efforts of his team's contribution, particularly Sanjay for his editing, and for being his "guardian angel"; Sanjay had been just as positive with Mark's leadership, while Karren had noted that his team all showed great support for him, despite some worries that Sarah could hold Mark back.
  • Bianca's leadership of her team was somewhat poor; she failed to listen to feedback from the market research or to Lauren when she gave a suggestion on pricing; she felt lowering it below £20 would detract from it being a "luxury brand". She also chose to send the rest of the team away after they traveled halfway across London when she and Katie were making the promotional video, as she didn't want too many opinions. While Lauren was privately critical of her leadership, Nick was notably critical of her as well, noting that she was failing to listen to the market.
  • Even after the pitches, Bianca's pricing still remained a concern; it had been criticized by market research, industry experts, and Lord Sugar before the boardroom, and Sarah also said the price was excessive when she heard about it. In an interview made sometime after the show, Bianca did admit that she would change the price of the tights.^[9]
  • Lord Sugar once again had a difficult decision; while Nick notably told him that he was a 'product' man, and that Bianca's idea would be extremely lucrative if it succeeded, he commented that he would have to hold Bianca's hand "100%" of the time through the manufacturing process rather than be an adviser. Between the two, Lord Sugar's decision to go with Mark was "a big gamble," and was a choice made by the "devil in me", along with him wishing to open up into new markets.
  • On You're Hired, Lord Sugar further commented on his decision by admiring the strength of Mark's experience to found his company, his ruthlessness, while commenting that Bianca had a good concept; Karren also remarked that she had a bright future ahead. Also, Ella Jade, who was able to take part in the filming after her father's passing earlier in the series, was interviewed briefly and shown her highlights; she commented that she had enjoyed her time in the process before her firing.

Criticism and controversy

Candidates

Inclusion of twenty candidates

Right from the start, there was criticism at the inclusion of having 20 candidates, which was a remarkable jump from previous series and the highest number of participations in any incarnation of the show worldwide. Many viewers remarked there was less room for getting to know the candidates and some, like Jemma Bird, had almost no screen time whatsoever despite remaining in the competition for weeks at a time. Viewers also complained that this was leading away from the business side of the show, and was instead becoming more "reality" by inducing "shock firings".

Solomon Akhtar

It was revealed midway through the series that contestant Solomon Akhtar had allegedly made a sex tape with an ex-girlfriend. The revelation was made by a friend of Akhtar on social media site Twitter, however this was later deleted. Akhtar initially admitted to the BBC that the revelation was true,^[10][11] but since then, he has denied the rumours.^[12]

Following his firing Solomon reportedly stated that he could never be Lord Sugar's business partner, even after Lord Sugar fired him because Lord Sugar was "boring" and had "no personality", he also claimed that Lord Sugar wanted to go into business with someone as equally bland as him. He said “Lord Sugar just wants somebody who is boring, who is going to do what he tells them to do and is not very risky. I think I was just too much fun. Lord Sugar is boring. He wants to make money, he’s very money-orientated. I want to make money having fun and having a personality in business, Lord Sugar doesn’t have a personality, he’s just very bland. I think that’s why me and Lord Sugar didn’t get on." Solomon also lashed out at finalist Bianca Miller stating "Bianca has this weird, boring, no personality, persona. So they will literally love each other till the end of time, because they’re exactly the same. They both have this public facing image, that’s corporate and really boring, they’ll get on really well."^[13][14]

James Hill

Candidate James Hill became embroiled in controversy after it emerged he had a criminal record, having been convicted of assaulting two men back in 2008. He received a six-month jail sentence and was ordered to pay £500 in compensation, and £775 in costs.^[15][16] Hill created even further gossip after it was revealed that he had been in a relationship with fellow candidate Lauren Riley during the filming of the programme.^[17]

Daniel Lassman

Contestant Daniel Lassman was shown to have spent almost £30,000 at a bar in Essex after the competition. He was pictured with a group of women, while his fiancée sat on his lap pouring drinks down his throat. In the same report he described other contestants as "a bunch of tossers".^[18] He was later caught spending 130,000 out of his 200,000 wedding budget on a Ferrari.^[19]

Sanjay Sood-Smith

Openly gay candidate Sanjay Sood-Smith reportedly received homophobic abuse, primarily on Twitter, during his time on the show. Sood-Smith also complained about the "outdated attitudes" from other candidates regarding the matter.^[20] It was also revealed Sanjay had been attacked at university for his sexuality and had to move schools as a result of bullying including being nicknamed "Sad-Gay Sod Smith" when he was eight years old.^[21][22]

Pamela Uddin

Candidate Pamela Uddin was reportedly bullied as a child owing to her Pakistani heritage and her mother said that she was picked on because of her stammer. The bullies reportedly attacked her and called her a "Paki", her mother Regina told the Sunday Mirror her daughter’s troubles began when she split from the toddler’s Pakistani father and they moved from their home in Germany to Waterford, Ireland. And to add to her bullying she was unable to read until the age of 12.^[23]

Results

Week Seven

In Week 7, James Hill thought up the name of Big Dawg for his team's energy drink. After the episode aired, it was revealed that there was already an energy drink in the United States with that name. While it was acknowledged that production knew about this, they chose to let the team use it anyway as there was no British trademark. They also stated that the candidates could not have known about the name as they are unable to access the Internet.^[24]

Week Nine and Felipe Alvair-Baquero

The decision by Lord Sugar to revoke the paper-made skeleton bought by Tenacity, raised controversy amongst fans of the show moments after Week 9 was aired. His decision, which resulted in Summit winning the task after Tenacity were fined for their purchase, was deemed by fans to have been unfair while being bias against Felipe Alvair-Baquero, who was subsequently fired for taking a gamble on the purchase. Fans argued that Tenacity's skeleton technically fitted the task's briefing because there had been no proper specification made by Lord Sugar about what kind of skeleton that the teams had to purchase.^[25][26] A similar view about this decision was revealed on Gogglebox, a popular program which looked at the current week's popular television shows, in which its viewers reacted negatively to Lord Sugar's decision and also thought that it had been unfair.

The following series saw a similar issue arose when, in direct contrast, Lord Sugar allowed a team to win with its purchase of a rubber dinghy despite it not being the genuine article required.

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.^[27]

Note: During the 2-hour final, the show was shared with the The Apprentice: You're Hired, and as a result the figures are lower than expected. The first hour was the main show whereas the second hour was You're Hired. Original overnights for the final put the first hour at one million viewers more than the 2-hour average.^[28]

Specials

References

External links

• Official site BBC