Thought this had some interesting stuff in it...

On Melody:
“If you consider her youth, she is a remarkable product – very articulate, extremely confident and has no self doubt that I have been able to ascertain.

“The others find her hugely irritating though – which I admit is easy, though I can’t say I do myself – and if she is vulnerable it could be because of her popularity or lack of it, in the house.”

So, nobody likes Melody? Ouch!

On Jim:
“I wish he would stop talking about his Irish charm because I’m finding it a bit spooky.
“The incident with Leon in the boardroom showed he is a pretty manipulative character. I personally find him a bit creepy.”

What was the incident with Leon? I'm completely blanking on that!

On Natasha:
"She says 'yeah' after each sentence, which is very annoying, and could she please stop tensing her thighs? She always stands with her legs apart like she is about to pounce, which I find extremely disconcerting. If she worked her brain as hard as her thigh muscles she might get somewhere."

LMAO!

On Tom:
"He is a details man, he is imaginative but capable of slipping on any banana skin that's within 100 metres of him. If there is a rake in the garden he will step on it; if there is an open door he will walk into it,"
“From the start he has been thoughtful and made good decisions, but because he’s not a scrapper he’s been ignored.
“They are starting to listen to him now though as he has, on the whole, been proved right and earned their respect.”

On Helen:
"driven and cool under pressure" and "certainly one of the stronger women at the moment, but she could easily get swept aside".

And, the most interesting bit for me...

On Susan:
"I'm also not sure that she is always entirely frank with her fellow candidates. She doesn't necessarily always tell the truth, and on this show you can't get away with that for long,"

I thought that Nick LOVES Susan!

Ahh the truth about Susan finally starts to come out. Even Nick thinks shes a slimy, tricky one. And he was her biggest cheerleader.

Perhaps some of you will see that the Emporer really has no clothes.

This is simply not true.

At least Felicity, Ellie and Jim clearly liked her. The former even hoped that Melody would be hired.

The only person who probably dislikes her (from the remaining candidates) is Natasha, most of the others have barely worked with her (Glenn has even never worked with her on a task).



The first Jedi Jim moment in the boardroom.

That incident said more for the gutlessness of Leon than it did for Jims jedi mind tricks.

Mmmm. And I remember Jim giving her a big hug and calling her 'Pussycat'. And Leon, Helen and Tom all clapping and laughing when she beat Natasha in the fencing.

I wonder why Nick would say that?

Leon was going to bring Jim back but Jim talked him out of it.


That is something that has been put about by the Susan haters because Nick has expressed support for her where appropriate.

He would hardly be a 'trusted adviser' if he allowed himself to become particularly fond of any candidate and started to give inaccurate advice based on that.

He was initially impressed with her because she appears to have some very good business insights and, of course, she is very young.

He's also taken her side when others have lied in the boardroom.

The comment above clearly shows that he is not blinded to her faults.

True.

It'll be interesting to see if some of the things hinted at here but not shown on the show yet (Melody is not liked and it will hurt her, Susan is a liar, Tom becomes more proactive and influential) will come to pass over the next three tasks. For me, Tom gets the biggest boost from what's said, but Nick doesn't necessarily have to like the winner. (He couldn't abide Michelle for instance)

I'm starting to find the attempts to turn Jim into the new Katie Hopkins-esque hate figure transparently desperate though. What the eff is "spooky" about saying you have Irish charm? What's creepy about trying to get someone to change their mind about bringing you back into the final Boardroom? A good handful of others this year have given it a good try.

Of course, Nick could be picking what he says so that, whilst true, it's misdirection with respect to the way things turn out.


I find Jim unsettling to watch because I just cannot get a fix on whether he's representative of a certain type of personality I have encountered before (and do not trust or like), or whether it's just something that comes about because of the nature of the way he's playing the 'game' and the way it's been edited.

I'm no Susan hater (how can you hate someone you've never met?) bit i've always got the impression that Nick is very fond of her in general - moreso than other any other candidate I can remember. So to see him say pretty much that she's a liar is quite a shock.

ETA:
Nick on Zoe:
"She is a very firm young woman, speaks her mind and takes no prisoners, as well as not really caring how what she says or does reflects on her. Is there some deviousness there? I have been impressed with her, but she needs to keep her sulkiness in check." (I'd agree with him on all of that)

Nick on Leon:
"a little bit soppy" and that he "doesn't have the bottle to stand up against Jim" if needed.

True, though his comment about Helen seems to suggest that she will make it far (no really negative comment about her).

And perhaps he is confusing Melody with Sara from series 4


On another note, Margaret clearly disliked Yasmina (see her telegraph articles) and Lord Sugar still hired her. The preferences of his sidekicks are not that relevant to the outcome of the series.

So not even a hint of hatred by you for Hitler then? Interesting .......

aussie_dave you amaze me. Tell me something honestly, do you actually hate Susan? She's a young girl trying her best to make it in this world and you suggest a comparison to the likes of Hitler.

LMAO!

There are SOME exceptions to that rule - but for me, Apprentice candidates aren't on the same level as mass-mudering dictators. Apart from Jenny Celeriac, obviously.

Unfortunately you missed the point (but dont worry I still love you - in a manly way, not a gay way) ....... the author said it was impossible to hate someone you've never met.

Now (and Im going out on a limb here) but Im assuming the author has never met Hitler .... so therefore she doesnt hate him. Ditto Osama Bin Laden, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and David Cameron.

Methinks the poster doeth protest too much.


Yeah, but I suspect he expected a little intelligence to be applied and that readers of his question would understand that whilst it's a bit excessive to hate someone who you've seen for no more than an hour in total on a TV reality programme, the same cannot be said for someone who murdered 12 million people and caused the slaughter of millions more in his quest for world domination.


I'm not sure that most sane people waste their time 'hating' people who have been dead for more than half a century. YMMV.

Of course, you can hate what people stood for centuries after their death.

So no-one hates David Cameron then?

Oh, him I do hate. But i've met him!

I admit your posts tend to annoy me (which isn't going to bother you)... but I've changed my mind. Love your last sentence. Can we add Clegg?

Normal people do not 'hate' others just because the vehemently disagree with them. At least, not on a continuous basis.

There were times when I felt I 'hated' Thatcher (or tBliar, for that matter), but to continuously hate someone (rather than what they have done or what they represent) is indicative of a less than healthy mental state and is not conducive to a happy and fulfilled life.

Interesting that his bit about Susan says 'I also...', which means it was following on from something. Though of course the media just pick out the bits that make the biggest impact, even if the message gets skewed.

Although is it wrong that the idea of Natasha's tense thighs got me rather excited.

Dude she bats for the other team. Plus shes rough!

I've just stuck the bits in that have been posted online - the rest of the interview is out there in the print version.

And cold shower for you, Sir!

I don't hate any of these people. I don't hate anybody at all. Everybody without exception has their reasons for doing what they do. Nobody is inherently evil. It is perfectly possible - and I would say admirable - to hate some of the things these people have done and the pernicious effects they have caused without ever descending into hate for them as a human being born into this world to try to make their way as best they can.

It's far too easy to fire off an opinion that you hate someone, it lazily circumvents a whole lot of understanding about the complexities of human nature.

She bats for both teams actually, Baggs thinks she is fit as well in the same article