Sorry if this has been done before.

Does anyone think that Philip might be mimicking Simon who won series 3? I am watching series 3 again on youtube and Simon was very quick to put himself in the limelight including breakdancing in an advert in one task. The big difference is that Simon was very intelligent having graduated from Cambridge and being able to speak fluent French etc. What do you think?

The big difference was Simon was basically nice to other people, didn't shout down their ideas and was a good team player. Alan Sugar picked him in the end because he liked him and he was a good all rounder.

If he thinks he's anything like Simon he's deluded as well. Simon was a prodigy whereas Phil's an oaf.

Both are very unpleasant, manipulative characters hiding behind a superficial air of affability and charm. It's a very good comparison.

When you said Simon, I thought you were confused with someone else. I don't recall him ever being quite obnoxious or strooppy just becuase things didn't go well for him, or acting aggressive towards other who disagreed with him. However I didn't think he deserved to win.

Are we talking about the Simon who set up Andy and Adam to be team leader and second-in-command in the first task, there-by getting Andy fired? Who gave a piece to camera in which he made it clear he was doing it, not because he thought they'd be good, but because if those two were in the boardroom the rest of them would have more of a chance? He was Machiavellian. He spent the rest of the series hanging onto Tre's coat-tails.

For me, Philip is much stronger than Simon, but he may be almost as Machiavellian.He always seems to praise his team leader, even when his leader is Nooral. I especially noted the way he praised Kimberly's leadership at the start of the boardroom, then put the boot in when it was just three of them facing the chop. That was neatly done.

If you believe that, Simon's 'strategy' or whatever worked, whereas Philip's (ahem) won't!

Haha still laugh thinking about Simon on the home shopping task! How did poor Naomi -who did well that week, get fired over that plonker! Although I cant say he wasnt likable other weeks

I couldn't believe that Simon beat Kristina in series 3 but there you go. I think he still works for Sir Alan so I guess that is all that matters. The main dsifference between Simon and Philip is level of IQ. Philip has some good ideas but he puts them across in completely the wrong way. You can be visible in all tasks without putting peoples noses out of joint to the extent Philip does.

Exactly. I maintain that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In terms of Alan Sugar getting what he wanted in an employee, Simon is the only success. He still works for him and he hasn't gone off blabbing to the press/doing the media circus like most of the others.

Philip? affability and charm - you're having a larf! I would say that James is more like Simon, in that respect. I also think he's more intelligent than either Philip or Simon, even if he gets stuck on communication sometimes.

I completely agree.

Well he seems to be OK when he's calm and not moaning. It's just that we are not being shown much of that side of him.

As always, it could be the edit but unlike characters who merely appear to be doing nothing (and could be doing a lot off camera) there is no way Philip did not have the rants we've seen or do all the moaning we've been shown.

Um, Tim was a success too, by all accounts. Michelle didn't work out, but that was a combination of personal tragedy and Sir Alan's role for her not being viable. Apart from some charity work, she's avoided the media circus. As has Lee, who is also still working for Sir Alan.

We don't know whether Philip will win or what he'll do if he does. Historically, it's people in second place who do the media circus. For example, Ruth started appearing on Big Brother, chat shows etc, and had her own TV show on Sky. Katie did IACGMOH.

I thought Tim only worked there for a year - ie the contract. I seem to recall reading more than I wanted to know re Michelle's love life etc and some were "exclusives" so I beg to differ on her participation in the media circus. The whole 'no viable role' was just a face-saving formula, no? Both sides knew what the job was when she took it on.

According to this news item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6474075.stm Tim stayed until March 2007, about 2 1/2 years.

Michelle was hounded by the media who were interested in the scandal and tragedy with Syed. She also chose to write a book about abusive parents, a subject she feels strongly about, and gave interviews on the subject. Perhaps you are thinking of that. I class it with her charity work.

When she took Sir Alan's job on, she just knew it was recycling. The first part of it was evaluating whether there was a business case for it. So far as I know, her job wasn't given to anyone else. Sir Alan accepted she was right and the idea wasn't viable. Obviously they could have found a different job for her, so it's fair to say she didn't work out. She's the only one who didn't, though.