BB FANS

FRENCH KISS-OFF
THE APPRENTICE EXCLUSIVE: LOVE TRYST WITH KATIE GETS PAUL FIRED By Sir Alan Sugar


WEEK after week I take the Apprentices out of their comfort zone. But last night I added some extra spice by sending them off to France.

I wanted them to put on a good show for us Brits, with top notch food made by specialist producers. They were meant to impress the French who, as we all know, are particular about their grub.

I've told you before, but have to say it again. Apart from what Nick and Margaret tell me, I don't know what the Apprentices get up to on the tasks. It's not until I watch the show, just before you do, that I see what an utter disaster things can be.


Paul, the ex-Sandhurst guy, dished out instructions to his team as if he was ordering a battalion off to war. "We will meet at zero eight hundred hours, blah, blah."

It was all: "OK, chaps, we're flanked on the south by a fruit seller, on the north a chicken seller. Now look here and jolly well be alert, the French are everywhere and we will attack with a pincer movement armed with cheese and sausages."

It was made clear to Paul and his team that the best way to sell sausages was to offer samples to taste - also the norm at French markets.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the stupid contraption he came up with to fry them. What was he thinking?

This so-called intelligent man, who has led troops into battle, thought he was being clever, saving money by making something instead of spending £20 on a gas stove.

After spending a whopping £700 on produce another 20 quid wouldn't have made much difference, mate.

Then, blow me down, he buys breeze block slabs of Cheddar cheese in a cash and carry. Completely disregarding the fact that I'd told them to buy from small specialist companies.

You couldn't make this up. How the hell did he think he was going to sell cheap cheese to the French? Everyone knows they're connoisseurs of the stuff - talk about coals to Newcastle.

Kristina was the only one with her head screwed on. She was strongly against cheese, especially from a cash and carry. But her opinions fell on deaf ears with Paul.

To her credit she went off and found a place to cook the bangers, that's when they started to sell.

It turns out that Katie and Paul were carrying on and had struck up more that just a business relationship.

This was reflected in his decision not to hold her responsible for any of the failures and why she didn't end up in the boardroom, despite the fact they made terrible joint decisions.

The pair of them felt they were superior in brain power and were above the rest of their colleagues. So bloody clever they tried to sell pork sausages to a Muslim during Ramadan. Give me strength!

The pair of them were so smug and thought they were untouchable.

They were confident I would fire Adam and they went out of their way to place all the blame on him with their pathetic stance.

They said he lost the task by overspending on the marketing banner. Well, Adam may have overspent by £50 but Paul lost the task, and lost me £240.

Did they think I was stupid and wouldn't see what they were up to?

Adam may not be the brightest spark, and he's a bit of an itch you can't scratch, but he's a grafter.

I certainly wasn't going to let the lovebirds get away with this. I was angry with Paul for trying to pull the wool over my eyes in this conspiracy. This made it simple for me to decide he had to go.

Poor Adam was so shell-shocked from his sortie in France and the antics of his military leader Captain Mainwaring that he didn't know if I had fired him, too. He had to check with Kristina as they left.

Lohit was lucky with his daft idea to sell tea to a nation of coffee drinkers. On another day he would have lost. But it's not hard to win when the other team makes a big loss.

Lohit thinks he's smart not putting himself forward, hiding behind the bushes and just managing to say stuff at the right time.

That's why I picked him to lead in this task. His housemates like him so he doesn't get dragged to the boardroom. But I'm watching him.

In next week's show, I test the candidates' buying skills. This is one of my favourites. They have to find some strange things and there's lots of twists and turns which makes it a very a tight-run race.

THE Apprentice is on 9pm Wednesdays, BBC1, followed by The Apprentice: You're Fired, BBC 2, 10pm. Find news, video interviews, teasers and highlights of The Apprentice at http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice

THE KNOWLEDGE

SIR ALAN'S TIP OF THE WEEK: Be wary of mixing business with pleasure. Cupid can blind your judgement and you could end up making the wrong business decisions.

SHELLEY-OMETER



Lohit

As Sir Alan said, it's not hard to beat some one who made a loss. The Quiet Man won with marmalade.

Kristina

Realised selling cheese to the French was ridiculous and had rad idea of cooking sausages in a kitchen. Scarily focused.

Tre

Accused the French of being rude and Naomi and Jadine of being "really f***ing disruptive!" Pot/kettle?

Simon

"Semi-French connoisseur" didn't shine but kept his nose clean. Brent factor: 8 for saying "man" to Tre and Jadine.

Naomi

"Adam's past his sell-by," she sneered. Worried about going to women's jail - quite reasonable with hair that lovely.

Ghazal

Survived the Great Cheese Disaster. Not exactly dynamic but exemplary pouting while heading for women's prison.

Jadine

Grouchy, uncooperative and uninspired. But mostly just grouchy.

Katie

Grovelling to Paul was seriously pathetic, as was continually blaming Adam for spending £150 on a banner.

Adam

The house fall-guy but probably too nice/dim. Wasn't even sure that he hadn't been fired.

Paul

Worst crime - a habit of saying "OK, ciao." Dismissed soldier!
Mirror

What a pair of arrogant, nasty contriving posh twits Paul and Katie are!
They were working together to get Adam the sack even tho Paul showed his lack of leadership skill to the max last night., with her help I might add.

Paul's face when he was fired and Katie's face when Adam returned to the house was worth ten -years licence fee.

Sir Alan sums the pair of them up below...


It turns out that Katie and Paul were carrying on and had struck up more that just a business relationship.

This was reflected in his decision not to hold her responsible for any of the failures and why she didn't end up in the boardroom, despite the fact they made terrible joint decisions.

The pair of them felt they were superior in brain power and were above the rest of their colleagues. So bloody clever they tried to sell pork sausages to a Muslim during Ramadan. Give me strength!

The pair of them were so smug and thought they were untouchable.

They were confident I would fire Adam and they went out of their way to place all the blame on him with their pathetic stance.

They said he lost the task by overspending on the marketing banner. Well, Adam may have overspent by £50 but Paul lost the task, and lost me £240.

Did they think I was stupid and wouldn't see what they were up to?

Adam may not be the brightest spark, and he's a bit of an itch you can't scratch, but he's a grafter.

I certainly wasn't going to let the lovebirds get away with this. I was angry with Paul for trying to pull the wool over my eyes in this conspiracy. This made it simple for me to decide he had to go.

Poor Adam was so shell-shocked from his sortie in France and the antics of his military leader Captain Mainwaring that he didn't know if I had fired him, too. He had to check with Kristina as they left.

I think Katie comes out with some really nasty things, more or less saying, she wished that Adam and Kristina were dead! That's really nasty to say things like that.

I hate the way they all seem to be ganging up on Adam and they all seem to be thinking they are superior to him. Okay, so he has made a few mistakes, but he seems to be a hard worker and he does as he is told.

They all take him into the Boardroom because they don't like him and probably think they have more chance of staying against him.

As far as I can see Katie hates him and uses every chance she gets to undermine him. Adam may not be her cup of tea and that is fine but she comes across as if she wants to slap him for having the nerve to exist.

Paul: I'll sell to Sir Alan Sun

How it feels to be an Apprentice Sun

THE Apprentice, usually the BBC’s star pupil, had a glaring spelling error at the end of Wednesday night’s show. Viewers were invited to turn over to BBC2 to watch “Your Fired”. That, of course, should be “You’re Fired”. Boss Sir Alan Sugar, 60, won’t be happy...Sun

'LUCKY' KATIE HAS GOT TO FOCUS ON WHAT SHE IS MEANT TO BE DOING





Experts from the local business community who watched hit television show The Apprentice for the Echo were again unimpressed with Devon candidate Katie Hopkins.Katie, 31, of Rockbeare, near Exeter, was again on the losing team, and the experts said she was lucky not to be one of the three contestants called back to the boardroom to face Sir Alan Sugar.

The experts, who were asked to judge Katie's performance, feel it was affected by her friendship with fellow contestant Paul Callahan, who was booted off the show after his team made a loss selling English produce in France. But they said that they felt Paul's dismissal might turn out to be positive for Katie.

Derek Phillips, chairman of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said: "I think Katie was let off the hook this week.

"She was perhaps too opinionated and the relationship between her and Paul must have had an effect. She supported Paul almost regardless of what else was being said.

"I think it is good for Katie that Paul has gone.

"Now she ought to concentrate on making use of the team, including Adam.

"She should now hopefully blossom into a winning candidate."

Terry Matthews, co-director of Marlin Sports Cars in Crediton, said: "It was interesting last night because Katie got away with it again.

"I thought it was wrong that the two major French speakers in the team, Katie and Paul, went off together.

"She seems to be in awe of certain characters and Paul is one of them.

"We are all drawn towards people we can relate to and I can see why Katie was drawn to someone like Paul.

"But I was devastated when she said he was the only intelligent one in the house because she showed herself up to be quite a snob.

"In a way, she and Paul were in it together. He called her his first lieutenant. She was happy to be his puppy dog.

"The fact Paul has gone is going to be good from the point of view that she is completely on her own now and she will get to recover her thoughts and her friends around her.

"She and Kristina are going to be at loggerheads now, but she has got to sort herself out with everybody else.

"I look forward to watching it next week as I feel the dynamics of the group will change a lot."

Sara Randall Johnson, general manager for public affairs at Exeter-based airline Flybe, said: "I was shocked at her approach last night.

"On the programme afterwards, the Sun reporter said she wouldn't employ her because she is too opinionated and I agree.

"But from an entertainment perspective, I think she is great value, and that is what the programme is all about.

"Paul was a disaster and let her dominate everything. He didn't get his mind on what he ought to be doing.

"Katie should probably get back to concentrating on what she is there for, on winning it for herself, rather than on having other things on her mind." thisisexeter.co.uk

Motor mouth Adam quits Sun

At the risk of getting fired, Sir Alan is wrong www.telegraph.co.uk

It's four Sugars for Sir Alan Sun

THE Apprentice is set for some of its most explosive scenes yet tonight as wannabe Katie Hopkins lays into rival Kristina Grimes. She accuses her of being “a hard, evil, little wench with a forked tongue.” And she blasts Northerner Adam Hosker, saying: “He’s not the brightest in the house.” The episode of the BBC1 business reality show is screened at 9pm.


Sir Alan Sugar should enlist Sun

The Apprentice - BBC1 9:00pm - 10:00pm




Doing Sir Alan Sugar's shopping is far from a doddle, because you won't find teabags and carrots on his list. This week he gives the teams a list of ten items - including a unicycle, leather trousers and nigella seeds - which they have to buy for the least amount possible. So why does Adam, who's been in the firing line three times, volunteer to be project leader? His first job was stacking supermarket shelves, but that's not going to help him here. Heading the other team is Simon, who describes himself as "slightly erratic, creative and spiral in my way of thinking rather than linear". Headless chicken is more like it. One team wins the task by a minuscule 97p. But it's when the losing team members face Sir Alan the following morning that the mood turns really nasty. In one of the most heated and personal exchanges in the boardroom so far, even Sir Alan has trouble keeping track of all the knives being stuck in different backs. Apprentice devotees won't want to miss this week's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where the great man makes an appearance.

RT reviewer - Jane Rackham
radiotimes

SOW LONG ADAM..
Seed task saw him in the hot seat once again.. he had to go
Exclusive By Sir Alan Sugar

THIS week's task was one of my favourites - simple and with many elements which secretly tested the candidates' abilities.

I sent them out with a list of 10 items they had to buy below the guide price.

The rules were that they had to be back by a certain time, and they had to negotiate a price lower than the first one given by the seller. It was all about negotiation, and reading and understanding the rules.


How many times have you heard the expression "watch out for the small print"? The irony here was there was no small print - it was all bold capitals.

But both teams failed to grasp the rule on fines. Even smart people like Kristina and Katie missed that getting back late with all the goods was better than not having a particular item.

Not reading the rules meant Adam's team lost, but it almost cost Simon's team the task.

Adam has to be the unluckiest guy I've ever had on The Apprentice. He lost the Zoo task by £10, and this task by a measly 97p. Imagine what may have happened had he sold three more lollipops?

If he'd got the Nigella seeds he would have been fined £30, instead of £50, and won the task hands down. Who knows where he would be now?

Katie and Kristina worked well, despite not being the best of mates - Katie blames Kristina for me firing Captain Mainwaring last week. Yet they acted professionally and got on with the job, which is what you should do in business. They negotiated well and got some great prices.

Adam, however, made a fatal error with the Nigella seeds. He made the classic mistake of putting something you don't understand to one side, getting on with the simpler things and tackling the awkward stuff too late.

To be honest, I didn't have a clue what Nigella seeds were either. But if I was doing the task I would not have left until I fully understood what they were and where I could get them.

Adam started to worry about them too late. After thinking they were something you put on Astroturf, or some type of Chinese herbal medicine, he actually found the importer.

BUT he lied to me, saying he'd told Ghazal to ask the obvious question of where the importers' customers are located.

Adam really wanted this job. He pleaded with me to make him team leader last night.

I didn't like the way people were ganging up on him, trying to force me to fire him. He's not the brightest but he's a grafter and you need all types in business.

But he had been in that boardroom hot seat too many times. This time I had no choice but to fire him.

I was beginning to think he had a season ticket. If he was a Spurs fan he would have had his name engraved on the back of the chair.

Simon is very bright. He knew he only had to get a lower price than the first one offered - so he was happy to accept just £1 off to meet the rules and get the task done quickly. It was a dangerous strategy - he should have spent longer negotiating.

He messed up on the tiles, buying rejects and paying the first price asked. If he'd negotiated just a penny off he would have romped to victory, instead of just scraping through.

He did pull off a masterstroke with the dreaded Nigella seeds, though. After his team-mates located some, he spotted the importer's name on the packaging and was on the phone before the penny had dropped with Tre and Naomi - very smart.

This week I saw a side of Katie I've never seen before when she exploded in the boardroom. She had the hump over Paul leaving and was livid about their love affair being rumbled. Adam aggravated things, saying she wasn't focused and was pining for her beau. She tore into him.

Now you know why I never really punished Paul last week for carrying on in the house.

Getting involved with Katie was painful enough.

Wow, she is a real killer. And now poor Kristina is on her hit list after I let slip that it was she who spilled the beans on Katie's relationship with Paul.

Next week is another favourite of mine. It's an advertising task we do each year, an important part of my business.

Trust me, like a fine wine it gets better with age.



THE KNOWLEDGE

SIR Alan's Tip Of The Week: Don't leave the awkward stuff 'til last. Always sort out the task you are uncomfortable with first, then get on with the simpler things. Mirror

‘Cruel Katie won’t find work’