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From the opening moments of last night's Apprentice it was clear that we had another bunch of jumped-up, arrogant, cringeworthy know-it-alls battling for a job with Sir Alan - in other words we are in for another excellent series.
Ian can't even bring himself to say the word 'loser', Jennifer rates herself as 'the best salesperson in Europe', Claire says she likes to crash through everything like her family's german shepherd dog and scary Sara doesn't like to beat her opposition, she likes to thrash them.
The first task saw the group split into male and female teams and given a load of fish to sell at a London market. Easy? Well, no. The teams struggled to tell their Monkfish from their Sea Breams and ended up selling the fish at a fraction of the actual value.
Other highlights of the first episode included sulky Ian pursing his lips and declaring that he hated losing, Lucinda's kooky dress sense (do health and safety regulations allow people to sell fish wearing a purple woollen beret?) and, of course, Raef's hair - what's that all about?
The award for best line has to go to Sir Alan's sidekick Nick who asked the boys' team "Did it strike anybody that a £5 lobster is bloody cheap?"
The boardroom showdown saw the girls triumph and drippy boys' team leader Alex chose to take Nicholas and Raef back into the boardroom with him.
Things quickly escalated into a class war with Nicholas declaring that the group had split into the educated and the non-educated. Alex was quick to point out that he also had a university degree which led Nicholas to point out more differences between the boys - he likes to talk about arts and culture and they like to talk about football apparently. The writing was really on the wall for Nicholas at that point and Sir Alan rightly fired him.
What did you think of the first episode? Who are your favourites and which of the candidates are getting on your nerves. Let us know...
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User comments
'words are my tool...' ... there are so many things i'd like to say to that even the sympathetic would find it difficult not to report abuse. I look forward to someone slapping him for saying something like that in future episodes.
Posted by: tjnadah on Thu Mar 27 01:25PM | Report abuseREAD THIS: The problem most people do not get is the fact that when 90% of people who speak with a posh accent automatically presume that beacause they speak that way, they are more intelligent and socially superior to others. Many of these types are from normal backgrounds but work on changing their accents to achieve this image. This is a social accent NOT a regional one - Accents are normally formed by regions, but this one was not. Therefore it is made up and FAKE.
Posted by: accommodatorsbhx on Thu Mar 27 01:26PM | Report abuseI think it really is all down to who Sir Alan would like to give some " private" 1 2 1 coaching to, clearyte @#$% have as good a chance as the @#$%!!
Posted by: garyfroggatt on Thu Mar 27 01:26PM | Report abuseYeah, I'm glad he got the boot. He was a right f***ing ponce! plus he looked like a sex offender :)
Posted by: nickcarabine on Thu Mar 27 01:27PM | Report abusePlease advise Alan Sugar that the program is a misnoma - he should be inviting young men and women to be his apprentice from backgrounds similar to his! Posh toffs and others that are already loaded should not be eligable to apply! For that reason he is Fired!
Posted by: tony.sugden176 on Thu Mar 27 01:27PM | Report abuseI loathed Alex. I thought he was a jumped up, egotistical bully. Nicholas and Raef should have been managed better, as should the entire team. I would have voted him to be fired.
Posted by: jessefozbom on Thu Mar 27 01:27PM | Report abuseI felt totally compelled to leave a comment re last nights apprentice. Nicholas was most definately the right person to go. How dare he try to influence his position by using class! Does he not realise that one of the most successful Apprentices came from a perfectly 'good and normal' working class back ground. I'm glad he's gone, though I fear for anyone who has him represent them in a court of law!!!
Posted by: jill_manning_uk on Thu Mar 27 01:27PM | Report abuseWhat a "Merchant Banker". Too far removed from the real world,sadly the establishment is full of prats like Nick.
Posted by: orezlatot on Thu Mar 27 01:28PM | Report abusePeter Harris (comment number 7) has got it it absolutely right. These guys couldn't have been the best ptential business people from 20,000 candidates which is a pity. It would be far more interesting and educational to watch people with some real business potential make their mark
Posted by: mike.dodsworth on Thu Mar 27 01:28PM | Report abuse"I'm the sort of person that likes art and culture," - what an idiot! Why make out your better than 'working class' when you're applying to work with someone who came from that background! I hate snobs.
Posted by: sarahthefairy on Thu Mar 27 01:28PM | Report abuse