Just posted on another apprentice thread that they give little smiles to each other in the boardroom, but Sugar looks really creepy when he does it.

I felt for her, it was like she'd been waiting for her lack of knowledge to catch up with her. She has no one else to blame though (unlike Jamie) She was ill prepared for the interviews and had no answer to the questions about why she hasn't grown her business. She said she was happy with it as it was, it looks like she was happy with a business so simple to run she wouldn't have to read any books or go on any courses, which is fair enough, but it's going to be an issue on the apprentice. Tata

As long as SrAlan doesn't get all teary eyed over a "rough diamond" type - like he did with Bull in a china shop Baggs last week....

Yes, but the only reason that they did not like her was because they knew that she was their biggest threat. Especially the likes of Liz, Laura, Chris and Jamie!

I really hope that Joanna and Paloma get behind Stella next week and they do a great job. With both Joanna and Poloma, she has a great chance. I think that these 3 are the strongest candidates this year and if Paloma had kept her mouth shut in the boardroom and did not put the other members in the boardroom down the week that she went, she would probably be in the final. Because LS was really fond of her from the beginning, just like he has been Stella!

Stella has this in the bag at this stage and will only lose if she majorly ****s up the final drink task.

Q: 'Why should I hire you?'

A: My performance at week 2.

Stella took on the entire pack of male egos, all vying to be alpha males, and handled the lot as though they were pussy cats.

And she led that team from failure the previous week, to victory.

To be fair, Sugar gave her that task. But she did handle it brilliantly.

Completely agree.


I hope they can put aside their differences and work as a team. I'm not sure how long was between the last apprentice task and the actual final but I hope it was enough for them to grow up and learn how to act professionally. They'll just make themselves look bad if they don't.

Stella's boardroom speeches never sound rehearsed to me. She always comes across as convincing and she speaks from the heart.

Why, then, has she been branded a cold fish?

She's far from it. I think Sugar et al. are guilty of stereotyping Stella based on the job she currently holds.

I cannot even recall what she said to be honest

Me too. Nine years at the same bank and climbing the ladder is a good pointer - and Lord Sugar will not have overlooked that. She could be a major asset to him and if she wants to, she could still be there in 10 years time.

I like and understand the Margaret Mountford comparison made earlier in this thread.

They've tried to pigeon-hole Stella as a robotic corporate type because she happened to work for a Japanese bank, and Japanese companies are renown for instilling the notions of corporate loyalty and discipline on their employees at all levels. That doesn't mean she isn't flexible, and the past several weeks Stella's proven that she's adaptable to most situations.She isn't bland either. She's just smart and knows when to keep her mouth shut, unlike the pathetic histrionics performed in the boardroom by other candidates, notably Paloma, Stuart and the blonde one with the glasses etc..

Can anyone help, I have a bet with colleagues at work and I think Stella should win, but every year I get it wrong so shall I go for Chris. Any help please it costs me lunch if I lose.

Yes, a very William-Hague-sounding voice...

Unless Chris wears high heels I can't see him winning. I hope he does too though. Stella has been far too smug.

Indeed but the speaking clock is useful

All I hear when he speaks is Stuart following that sale up with 'And I was the winning project manager on the lahst tahsk...'

To be honest, while Stella has tried to throw herself into "extrovert" activities - modelling in the beach and boutique tasks and singing "Knees up Mother Brown" on the tour bus, it's painfully obvious how uncomfortable she is performing these roles. The more credit, perhaps, that she's tried to do them, and I think she's got respect from Lord Sugar for that, but I don't think she's ever really going to be happy in that kind of role. But as long as Sugar doesn't want her to be a model or a tour guide, that shouldn't be a problem.

Stella seems uptight. "They"- whoever they are- havent tried to do anything. From week one it's been painfully obvious that Stella has been robotic. She's just shown no personality and has come across extremely corporate. If she wasn't, then Lord Sugar would have no leg to stand on by addressing it as an issue. Even after the interview stage, it was still an issue but the fact Jamie and Joanna did so poor (IMO) probably pushed her into the final. So let's call a spade a spade here.

The activites that have forced her to have more personality, have highlighted this; the fact she couldn't build a rapport with shop owners to lower prices in week nine, and her horrible Cockney tour! It's just shown how uncomfortable she's been!

There's a difference between being adaptable and doing something out of your comfort zone horribly!.

Still, she was and is a better candidate than Stuart and Stella, but I don't think she was better than Paloma! Paloma horribly choked and got fired due to her mouth; not her business accumen which is what the show is essentially about. Plus she was far more personable than Stella until she turned on Alex and Sandeesh which is what, as mentioned, caused her to get fired.

I think robotic is harsh. Stella is reserved; that doesn't mean she doesn't have a personality. You don't have to be extrovert to have a personality.

I fully understand that you don't have to be an extrovert to have a personality as I'm introverted myself . But for me, Stella hasn't really shown much of her personality, and I'm not sure if it's been a conscious effort because she's "not there to make friends", or whether she is generally cold.

It has nothing to do with editing either; editing the footage can only do so much.

I do like her because of her professionalism and the general way she handles herself.

I actually want her to win, mainly because I think she deserves it, but also because of the fact that Chris has made some funny comments about her and seems threatened by her as a candidate/ competitor; and I don't like the sort of underhanded
comments he's made about Stella.

In line with the topic though, with all things considered I feel Stella gave the best answer as she had to literally think on her feet because she had no time to think; whereas Chris did, about what to say.

I don't think this is true at all. The main reason why I've liked Stella almost from the start is the whithering look she shot the Bookeze upon entering the boardroom in week 2. She might not pratt around shouting "SPOOOON!" at people, but I think she's got a strong personality. Just because she's understated in the way she expresses it doesn't make it less of a personality.

Personally, I think that the candidates attached the label "corporate" to her and it stuck, rather than it being based on anything factual.

I think Stella's personality is subtle.

I rated her as a candidate from the beginning but she didn't really make much of an impression as a personality. I didn't attach any importance to that as I well know from past experience that the most worthwhile people often take a little time to get to know.

As the series has progressed I've found Stella's personality has been revealed, a little at a time, and that she's actually got a lot more to her than you could glean from the first few episodes.

The whole (corporate) thing is a great big irrelevance. Anyone who has worked for any length of time in corporate and non corporate environments knows that people tailor their working demeanor to the particular environment in which they are operating.

If you are working in an informal environment and someone who has spent a lot of time in a more corporate one joins it sometimes takes them a few weeks to adjust but they almost invariably manage it in the end.

I think Stella's been a passenger all the way through. I havent noticed her ever doing anything on the tasks. She always listens to the others. That is a good idea but you have to have your own as well. When she is forced to go on her own like on the tour, she handles it badly by just reading books without walking the walk. She is certainly clever, and quick on her feet, and gave better than she got to the interviewers. She maybe good at admin, and running a company using someone else's ideas. But I havent at all noticed in any of the task any of her own. Standing in the window, may have been her own but I somehow doubt it. She is honest, reliable and trustworthy more than any of the others. But depending on the role LS has for her which I think will be PR, I cant see where she will fit in. We still dont know her exact position in the bank, except that it must have now been filled by someone else and that she is dispensible. I did rate her from the start and considered her a dark horse. But now at the end of the series, I think others were better than her.
Chris I just dont seem to trust him.

If Stella, would she please have, immediately, elocution lessons.
That south London nasal whine is very offputting.
And her partner has tattoos, yes, tattoos.
Even on his neck.
I ask you!