Sorry, but she made me cross with her "these will sell because we're going to PARIS!!! Not Manchester (shudder!), not The North..."

Equally as stupid as Susan's "Do the French...?" questions, I think You're Fired ought to have zoomed in on that.

Just goes to show how, despite all the bluster and bullshit, stupidly naive she is - falling for the old myth that Paris is so glamorous and wonderful, simply because it's... well... Paris.

I've only been to both once but found like - just like any other cities - both have their nice bits, their touristy bits and their not-so-nice bits (my friend was mugged in Manchester... but my sister was mugged in Paris).

I certainly wouldn't be dewy-eyed at the thought of going to Paris and horrified at the thought of going to Manchester. They're both big cities - so what?

( PS Must say I prefer chips & gravy to snails, though )

There was certainly plenty of dogsmuck on the streets of Paris.

Asian woman of the year? I would love to know what Melody did to win that title?

oh come on paris is waaay better than the grim up north

the people are more sophisticated / better dressed / well spoken

And, most importantly, who was the award given by? Awards are only worth the weight of the organisation that doles than out - yet so often people say they've been won this, that and the other award, but conveniently fail to mention by whom.

Did you know I've won the 2011 Most Intelligent DS Forum Poster Of The Year award?

It's true. I've got a certificate and everything to prove it. What? Who was it handed out by? Oh, er,... me!

Way too obvious attempt at provoking a reaction, dear. Do not feed the troll, etc...

another forum has voted me as the most exciting poster in the world, i really get their juices flowing apparently

if you had a choice which would you visit?

paris hands down every time!

you wont find the sour faces you get int north here!

Oh dear. You do realise that making sweeping generalisations about people based on which area they live in speaks volumes about your level of intelligence dont you?

Probably as sour as all those warm loving characters we see on Eastenders

She is an ignorant snob

As soon as she said that, I knew the professional Northerners would be up in arms. How dare she make ignorant observations and generalisations about the North? That's the preserve of Northerners when talking about London.

As I've already said, I've visited both. Given the choice to visit either again, I wouldn't have an opinion. Neither struck me as particularly different from any other major city. Nice bits, touristy bits, not-so-nice bits.

(PS I'm a southerner who lives and works in the north, so I have a foot in both camps)

Melody obviously has not watched enough from 7 years of The Apprentice to realise she is watched by 8 million viewers including Mancunians and northerners.

If her business survival depends on pinpoint targeting of sales to fit a market then it should be no offence to say during team discussions that black puddings will sell in Manchester better then in London.

"these will sell because we're going to MANCHESTER!!! Not London (shudder!), not The South..."

If the OP is saying the pinpointing started from faulty stereotyping, that Manchester is in fact the place for expensive sales as much as Paris, well that would be a factual point for market researchers to establish.

Doubtless Melody would have advised Harvey Nicholls not to open a branch in Manchester, then

Or at least her infallible market research techniques would have suggested they stock up on tripe, clogs and whippet coats.

Shrewd Melody would try to sell hats on Ilkley moor.

OK....Melody was a snob, smug and pompous. However, get real. Paris is definitely more charming than Manchester. I used to live in France, and I have to admit some major cities in France, like Paris, Lyon and Nice are really sophisticated, stylish and interesting. Even Marseille (which is a bit rough) in some part has some kind of charm about it.

Having said that, London is still my favorite European capital. How about Paris vs London? Well, they are different. London is more like a masculine / muscular man, while Paris is more like an "effeminate" man. They are both attractive in their own way. Just like manly Jim versus slightly effeminate Leon.

hilarious comparison using Jim and Leon to illustrate the masculinity or effeminacy of a city - completely off the wall but I know what you mean

I'm a northerner and I live in France - I was annoyed at Melody's derision of Northerners and Susan's stupid questions about the French. That said, last night's episode was hilarious - I couldn't stop laughing when Tom said that they decided who would do the pitch based on a paper scissors game - he should have been fired on that alone !

Did you notice how much more pleasant the la roudette panel were compared to the sour faced trouts they've had to face here?

Parisians are waay more sophisticated and pleasant.

great comparison. Who wants business with the overly bullish macho types anyway?

Given the choice...

Good point.

The blonde girl seemed to be really enjoying Helen's presentation.

Sorry but it just comes across as really dumb and naive to pigeonhole people like this.

Everyone is different. I've met nice and not so nice people from every city I've been too.

I had a particularly unpleasant encounter from someone from Gloucester once, does that mean I go around saying people from Gloucester are rude, angry and aggressive? No. I like to think that I have a high enough IQ to be able to base my opinions on people on my own thoughts rather than what area they are from.

I'd happily visit Manchester over Paris anyday. Like another poster has said both equally have nice bits, tourist bits and rough bits. However I found the difference in poverty alarming in Paris. People living rough are missing limbs and all sorts. I also experienced first hand a lot of racism which I don't get here in Manchester.

Melody's generalisation is very short sighted and actually very stupid. Yes she can sell, she's got drive and passion but to the detriment of sincerity, people will see though that when she gets to the interviews.

You live in Manchester.