Its late in the day, youre walking past a store that has Top Hat in its name. It takes all of 2 minutes to walk in, get told they dont have one and walk out.

So whats the big deal. Imagine if he had seen it, walked past and it turned out they did have one. He would have been crucified.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. What did have to lose, what else was he going to do with those 2 missing minutes?

All the sanctimonious raising of eyebrows as though they were absolutely stupid was completely over the top.

His going into that shop didnt affect the outcome one iota.

You raise a valid point.

Lots of people have called me an idiot for checking for Gold Crowns in the 'Golden Crown Chinese Takeaway'.

BUT think about it... if I did manage to find a golden crown whilst visiting there I'd be friggin rich!

Agreed, I didn't see the fuss over that.

I thought it was a pretty sensible idea to drop in on the off chance the owner knew of any top hat shops in the area.

Gavin was rubbish, but not because of this.

I actually thought they cleaned top hats and he could give Gavin some tips on the best place to go to buy one. What a silly name for a drycleaners.

Agreed, I think the logic was not necessarily that he expected to physically buy the hat there, but that it might give him a lead. But I can see why they made a fuss - on the face of it it's a stupid idea, and making a big deal out of it makes better telly. And it makes sense for the other candidates to make a fuss about it, as it's another mark against Gavin, making it less likely that they'll be fired!

Not a firing-worthy mistake, but I can see why they would show it that way.

You're lucky. My local Chinese takeaway is called the Rising Sun.

I'm now afraid to go in, in case I get vapourised by several squillion trillion billion gazillion tonnes of exploding hydrogen.

And yes, it is aimed squarely at a clientele too drunk/stupid to realise that China and Japan aren't the same country.

Same here. I presumed they were a dry-cleaners that also specialized in cleaning top hats (given the name, and the picture of a top hat on the logo). I'd have done the same in Gavin's position, I suspect.

Hmmm, call me a snob, but, judging from the exterior shots, it didn't really look like it was in an area with a great demand for top-hat cleaning

Well, I must agree Chiswick doesn't seem to be an area you'd expect to see people wearing top hats to any extent.
The owner later said they used to clean top hats, but not anymore due to low demand. His parents had chosen the name to reflect the quality of their cleaning service.
Interestingly, he added the producers had rang to ask permission to film there and they'd said, no...but they turned up anyway.
Suggests to me they knew the team was wasting their time but were keen to include this segment in the show.

I didn't hear that, must watch again.

Actually, I'd found the owner's comments on a local Chiswick website after the programme had aired.

Surprised they didn't drop in HERE and try to kill two birds with one stone.

If that is true then The Apprentice really is becoming more like a entertainment show then reality show. I know a lot is edited in the show for comedy effect ect, but I feel the candidates should not have to go to places just to make a fool out of themselves.

Also IF it is true, then the whole boardroom segment is a joke too, as Sugar raised that point with them in their.

Their local Chiswick story stated---"The show's producers had phoned to ask to film on the premises but were told 'no' as the shop was usually too busy. However they turned up anyway."

I don't think the shop owner was making things up.about either the filming or about his shop in general.

So much for Gavin just happening to see it then as they was going past.

Don't think we can believe anything to be honest we see on this show now.

may have been possible to grab a lead for cheaper top hat retailers outside of mayfair; from the dry cleaners.. Surely if the cleaners were cleaning top hats, they would be familiar with the product and the retailers.

Unfortunately the name was deceptive and they didn't clean top hats at all.

Since the one and only time most 'normal' folk wear a top hat is for a wedding, I'm wondering why they didn't go to a wedding shop to try to buy one.

I pointed this fact out in another thread . The candidates just can't pop into any premises unannounced . The BBC producers have to go their first to get permission to film. So every time they visit anywhere it is not unexpected, the business premises are expecting them.

I think it must have been a specific make of hat and be brand new. In the Morrocco task Alex bought a tagine, but it was disallowed as it wasn't the specific make of tagine on the list.

they might have had one as part of their 'theme' so it was not at all stupid to think that somebody using that name might have some interest in toppers...

why not run into a menswear shop or a dress hire shop and ask?

The spec sheet for the top hat said it could be either new or used in pristine condition. I can't recall anyone asking if they had any used ones to try and get the price lower, for some London hatters do offer used top hats in addition to their new ones.

They could have probably got one from a theatrical props store for a lot less

Or Moss bros

Or down the Old Kent Road...