In previous series it is quite believable that each candidate starts off with roughly the same chance of winning - obviously lawyers, engineers, advertising people, etc, start off with a handicap.

But when looking to invest money, the priorities are: business plan, business plan, business plan.

It seems fairly obvious that Sugar has already examined the candidate's business plans and decided on one or two that he feels are worth investing in. Meaning that the whole series is just a way to pick off those with business plans that he considers inadequate whilst observing the one or two with decent plans to ensure that they are able to carry through that plan (and not so strong willed that he cannot control them).

Yes. He has already picked out 1, maybe 2 or more that he likes, and when they are in trouble in the boardroom, the CV card comes out and someone else gets fired, or there is a questionable firing (Ellie).

Unfortunately using that logic, he likes the look of Susan, Zoe and Jim.

Poor sod.

Yes - for me this has easily been the most annoying series, with the last 3 firees given their marching orders purely based on Sugar's personal biases and nothing whatsoever to do with the task(s).

If this is what we can expect going forward, unless they change the format, I will stop watching.

I don't really see how the buisness prize will work in this series. they say it's £250,000 worth of investment but does that mean the winner will have to come up with the idea, build a buisness from scratch, run the company but LS owns 100% of the buisness? or is the money more of a gift than an investment where the winner will still own 100% of the buisness?

Either way I think it's like others have said LS probably has an idea who he want's to win already but he'll keep others that make good TV. I wouldn't even be surprised if the production company have a say in who gets fired.

I read in an article that LS and the winner will own 50% of the company each and LS will decide on the idea.

The apprentice will do all the leg work (with LS keeping a close eye on him/her).

I can just see Skincare Susan in her first review with Lord Sugar.

"Why's the web page late"
"It's so unfair Lord Sugar"
"Why are sales not what you promised"
"It's so unfair Lord Sugar"
"Why have you not contacted major stores"
"It's so unfair Lord Sugar"
cont....p94.

It was also said ( i think at the beginning of episode 1) that LS would be putting in an investment of £250,000 consisting of cash and other value. I'd be interested to know the proportion of cash that is being made available ..presumably the rest will be made up of charges for office space, admin support, IT support, marketing support.

Many of these may already be line items in his budgets anyway, it is simply a question of which projects they are allocated out agst. Will the successful candidate draw a salary during the start-up phase? WIll LS charge any interest for the cost of money? I'm not being critical just interested as the language used in each episode is careful not to describe it as £250k cash.

I'm assuming that the whole investment/business partners thing is really just for show. What'll happen is that sir alan will stump up some cash and loan them so assets, he'll have a couple of meetings and then let them get on with it.

A few months will go by, the business will fail (as the vast majority will) and sugar will pull the plug. I predict it will get a whole column on page 18 of the mail!

That makes mores sense but it redefines the winner in the opposite direction . For that you want a competent person who is good at most things and can make things happen - and not someone who has an invention or a niche or an idea themselves.

If you look at it in those terms and discount Jim, who I think would look bad as a winner even if Lord sugar does trust him, that pushes the win back towards people like Zoe (project manager??) or Helen (PA) who both hold down that sort of job? They were much less obvious than Tom or even Susan or Melody, if the requirement was to find their own business idea, but they would both be in the running to implement his idea.

There's a still a big issue though what business you could set up with 250k?

If it is true that Sugar will pick a candidate and then chose an idea himself we are being sold a pup!

It makes the selection process and purpose exactly the same as with previous series.

The only difference being that the winner is risking more for a potentially bigger reward, (i.e. S/he won't be getting £100k for a year but could end up with considerably more id the business succeeds.)

A lot of assumptions and experts I see. I can't predict what will happen when the apprentice and Lord Sugar go into business together. If it was decided from the start, which I personally doubt, I still appreciate the entertainment value.


I'm not going to draw up business plans or mention pipe dreams but we know it's very possible.

i've switched off this series - finding it all very beige if i'm honest.

not entirely sure if its the boring contestants or the tasks are just so samey as previous series.

Making money out of scrap and making a free magazine

Its annoying there is NO new ideas ....

Here is where I think Sugar has pulled a blinder of misdirection in this series.

Several times, the prize has been described as "Lord Sugar will invest £250.000 in cash and VALUEin a business idea of the winner", so how much CASH is really involved?.

Also, this VALUE, what is it really?. Is it LS coming in and working twice a week, or simply he allows the winner to use his accountants and legal team for nothing for a time?.

Does anyone know the breakdown of the prize, has it been published at all?..

I actually like this series (I think it's OK, less predictable compared to series 6). My favorite is still series one though.

As for the series that I hate most is series 4. So many awful candidates, i.e. ginger Jenny (she's probably the worst Apprentice candidate ever, even if you compare it with the US version), another Jen who was like an ice queen, the goodlooking guy who kept mentioning that he's 24, the super loud fat girl, the gigolo who said that he's Jewish but he did not know what kosher is, the woman who kept saying that she's ballsy, ballsy, ballsy (I really hated her vocabularies and her choice of words made her look even more unattractive). I really hate that series 4.

Katie Hopkin is still much better compared to those candidates I mention above put together.

Well in todays paper there was a bit about a charity Peter Jones of Dragons Den fame is involved in and apparently for the 'low low' price of £600,000, his company provides infrastructure and facilities for the charity he is involved in.

Who says charity doesn't begin at home.

Oh and for those struggling to connect the dots, basically Im implying Sir Alan will provide f...all actual money and basically give them an office and a computer for the low low price of £250,000 a year.

I've been wondering if the reason he apparently appears to really like Tom is because he likes his busness idea.

Tom, after all, is supposed to be a inventor. He's also acquitted himself fairly so far but being PM may change all that.

Fingers crossed he does well as i think he's the only candidate i've ever genuinely liked.

Well, I think the actual amount in cash may be nearer the £100.000 salary for those of previous series whom he directly employed, but with Sugar, who can tell?.

I really think that LS takes this program very seriously.

He is always saying that running a successful company is down to common sense and hard work.

He is very much a bread and butter man and is not that bothered about high minded ideas and whiz inventions.


As LS always says, you can set up a company with a van and hard work.

He said in an earlier episode that if he went bust tomorrow, he could start all over again. It's attitude that counts mainly in his opinion (and hard work).

Agree, Joanna from last year set up her own business that was doing ok, with a lot less than £250k.

She had a cleaning business IIRC.

Joanna was the sort of person that would be ideal for this series with this prize.

With there being no apprenticeship but investment on offer there's little reason for LS to have two finalists.

If there’s no pre-existing business or if there is all that can be on offer is free office space, equipment, advice and preparation. With two 'in waiting' there can be no financial investment until the final two have battled it out.

If LS were to decide who is to win in the usual way two business plans would need to be developed with one being dumped at the end of the series. Unless this year a three months later approach is taken ... the second placed will certainly have no financial backing and can only be poorer but wiser.

The second placed person will own 100% of their company. The winner will only own 50% of their company.

Unless you're a frustrated applicant with an axe to grind do you really believe no one should have applied this year?