Howard put himself forward for PM in this task but was steamrollered by Debra so negotiated a role for himself that would show what he could do, which was quite canny.

His bits of the task seemed to go well and although the posters weren't good as posters, his concepts - such as including the rainbow flag, and not being too overt with the photographs so that gay people were made to feel like outsiders, were good. His pitch was good - it was let down by the rubbish posters and leaflets that lost them the task.

SAS said to Debra the only mistake she had avoided was bringing Howard back because Howard had performed well. So he was pretty canny in upping his own profile and he was also a team player.

The edit is certainly painting Kate, Yasmina & Howard as the top 3. I get the feeling the production team expected Debra to be The Chosen One, but she's underperformed badly, and that outburst against Nick will have marked her card too.

I don't get the love here for Howard at all, though he's admittedly the best male contender. Kate also comes across as a lightweight to me, but is consistent enough to make it through to the last knockings. I think Yasmina is the actual best candidate, but her tactlessness will let her down at some point.

Which Is my way of saying I think it's going to be Kate too, but by default rather than actual talent...

I agree about Kate - she can give a good impression in front of people, but while she has done well in previous tasks, she's not the amazingly fantastic candidate that some people are making her out to be.

I agree that Howard is probably a certainty for the final, and would be a worthy winner.

I agree I think Kate will win, BUT I think the contestants have been REALLY poor this year, the performance in the tasks has been appalling.
In most tasks it wasn't about one team doing well, but one doing even worse than the other, I personally would not want to hire any of them, very poor quality this year.

I thought Kate's pitch was very good. This is obviously something she is very good at and feels very comfortable doing. I'm not convinced she will win though. I think Yasmina has been the most consistent. A very strong candidate.

...unless it's sandwiches.

I also think that making presentations is not a stretch for Kate. She obviously does this sort of thing in her day job so its not a challenge for her. She handled the pitch very well but I don't think she has done anything completely out of her comfort zone. Though I think she took a risk with last weeks task which I think was blatant sabotage.

Kate is a strong contender yes, but she is not the runaway favourite. She wasn't very good in the first two tasks but has turned it around.
I personally think Howard and Yasmina are equally strong candidates and if they do another three way final this year that's who will be there.

Not a Kate fan but I have a feeling that she will be in the final as she is still living in London with pictures of her and Phil Taylor in the papers last weekend.

I think Kate's definitely got it in the bag. Sir Alan seems to have a real soft spot for her.

I'd like to see Howard as PM before I count him among the contenders. Kate is great and her beauty is a huge plus! At the moment I'm torn between Kate and Yasmina for the post.

Depends if you think rebranding the town for any minorty audience makes any sense - particularly regarding what the town has to offer (sandcastles and dodgems) the saleability of the concept given the local demographics/politics and the competition (in this case Brighton) Old folk as a theme would have had a bigger market but again would have driven other people away (Bournemouth mark 2 is a bigger market than Eastbourne mark 2)

As the team (Kate ? ) said they were rebranding it from "dreary, dead ,dump" to " exciting place with (empty) sandy beaches and lots to do"

Kate and Howard - best of a very bad bunch. Probably Kate to win.

This series, i have found it hard to avidly back a certain candidate, unlike the past series where i have had a clear favourite(s), but Kate is definitely the one who has shown more promise, potential and consistency.

Perhaps Yasmina is the dark horse but at the moment, i can't see anyone beating Kate.

Well if she does end up on top.....will you still be floopy123 or

Let's face it there are no amazing candidates this year - in terms of business talent it's probably the worst. For TV watchability it's up there.

Agreed. Looks like she plays a blinder in the home shopping TV task next week.

I hate to say it but Kate is the best of a bad bunch. She's not in the same league as Claire Young or the Badger but I think she's got this series in the bag. And - I apologise for bringing it down to this level - but it's been a few years since a woman won. And Surallan has overlooked Christina and Claire Young only to appoint seemingly weaker male candidates. Kate can only lose this.

Hmm...I think she may go next week.

Claire was no where near in the same league as the Badger or Kristina. She was just the best of a really bad series.

Possibly, possibly not. My point was that Surallan has overlooked good female candidates in the past two finals only to appoint a seemingly weaker male candidate.

While I think Kate is a great allrounder and easily top two, Yasmina looks to me to be the front runner at this stage.

Though I imagine that next week's shopping channel test might prove a stronger one for Kate than Yasmina.

Yep, when she was in the boardroom, he didn't really have any negatives to say about her when summing up, only 'Kate, you have done well in previous tasks', no but's like with everyone else.

On what basis. If her team fails, think Lorraine would likely go, especially as the sneak peak yesterday showed Lorraine struggling and mucking up.

If its the other team; James or Debra (most likely Debra).

Can't see how Kate would go over Howard and Lorraine.

That's one of the concerns I have for Kate too, although I really like her, and think she's a pretty good all-rounder.

Also, she proved that being "involved" with a good looking bloke can affect her business focus (ie the task in Liverpool). Would Sir Alan risk the possibility of this happening again in "real life", and with his own business and money, if she became his Apprentice?