Do you think if Katie had not "stood down", there would have been a second all female final in a row?

Kristina was the only one to get 100% positive comments from the interviewers, so I doubt SA would have fired her. I really think that if Katie had not stood down, Simon would have been fired.

So really, Simon has Katie to thank
I suppose, then, Kristina would have won

Has this post fallen through a wormhole in the space-time continuum?

That would have been a better final and Kristina deserved to win that series

I know I would have loved to see that final!

No, I think Kristina was lucky to get into the final.

And to be honest, I found her no less bitchy that Katie, and not as competent.

Nope cos that whole thing was scripted...it was so obvious. Simon didn't do anything in the final task to outshine Kristina so therefore SAS wanted to hire him before that.

You forget that SAS doesn't actually choose the winner based on the final, rather on the 6 month work trial that follows before the final is broadcast
It is possible SAS was planning a 3 way final but we'll never really know what was in his mind...

I think he was going to turn around and fire Katie anyway if she didn't step down herself.

A Katie vs Kristina final would've been way better though, and either deserved to win more than Simon imo.

Agree 100%. Simon was MUCH better than Kristina...and I'm pretty sure Sralan has had no regrets.

Case closed.

Although I didn't think much of Simon during the series, in the final it seemed like he was a better fit to the job Sir Alan had in mind, so I think he would have been in the final ahead of Kristina.

It felt like the entire series was gearing up for a Katie v Kristina final, so having Simon in there was a bit of a damp squib.

Although, I didnt actually mind him winning over Kristina (I preferred Kristina overall, but Simon was more suitable for the job and did better on the final task).

Katie vs Kristina would have made the series actually perfect. I absolutely loved that series but that would have been awesome.

But Simon, in hindsight, was the best suited candidate. I'm a bit like him when I really want a job and, not being bigheaded, but when someone like him wants it that much, he'll be bloody good at it.

That sums up my feelings too.

had Sir Alan not already chosen Simon to go through to the final before Katie stepped down or is my mind deceiving me?

Sugar knew that there would be trouble with Katie and her kids - after Michelle Dewberry, he was nopt going to take that chance. He knew that if he pressured her a bit, she would back down - not least as The Apprentice was celeb route for her.

He was cleverer than Katie thought.

I personally think he wanted to hire Simon before that as he stated he was going into property and Simon was the perfect guy for that.