Tom's website is clear about his products. Helen is far more than a mere PA to the Chief Executive of Greggs. She's an executive herself, having risen through the management ranks. Tonight's Final Five show made that clear.

In contrast Melody is very vague about her links with the well known people she name-drops constantly. But nowhere does her website mention setting up democratic institutions. So I think people have a right to query such an outlandish claim which she plucked out of the blue.

My own guess is that she exaggerates her involvement in some projects she is only peripherally involved in. I'm sure her work with young people is genuine and valuable, but she's utterly shameless in her name-dropping.

As for Ruby Wax, she's in the motivational and training field herself these days, the field Melody says she's involved in, so she was ideally qualified to be on the You're Fired panel. I don't think she overstepped the mark at all.

I think these are very fair points and I agree with all of them except part of your last point, Allafix.

Actually, on reflection, all I can say is to restate what I said somewhere in all of my posts yesterday that;

- I don't have a problem with Wax being on the panel

- especially if she is in the relevant field

- after Ruby changed her approach, she demonstrated a communications style more approrpriate for the show and far more likely to generate interesing responses from the candidate as opposed to the point scoring sarcasm she began with.

So the only area that I disagree with you Allafix is that I did think Wax overstepped the mark but only in the opening questions to Melody. After Ruby's about face, she was absolutely fine; I wouldn't have even consciously thought of commenting on her.

I do think that Melody is ok, especially after listening to her again yesterday on 5Live.

I have no doubt also that if I had to work with her, she would drive me mad with her approach where she was so single minded that she only had her own thoughts in her head and was incapable not only of seeing an alternative point of view but being able to adjust her thinking and actions.

I'm not sure whether Ruby Wax was actually aware of her change in approach but Melody would do well to take just one thing away from the whole process, that ability to adjust your approach in response to the circumstances in front of you.

As a related point, the format of the show fuels self promotion, self appraisal and a ruthless single minded approach in the candidates as at any time, they might find themeselves in the Boardroom having to fight their corner with the gloves off.

Maybe the producers had spotted the more outrageous proponents of this art, the walking advertising campaigns who are Baggs and Melody, for example and the fact that they have the image of the arch narcissist contributes to the decision to accept them as candidates?

I am no fan of those with narcisistic tendencies at all but weirdly have warmed to both Baggs and Melody once they are off the show, although I'm immediately conscious of my own words in the last post about informed and ill informed opinions.

So I'm wondering how much the show prior to their expulsion fosters/creates some as pantomime villains both with editing and prompts from the production team to the candidates to emphasise certain behaviour traits?

Thank you for this. A brilliant post that I think, gets to the heart of the problem

This is the most accurate analysis about Melody. I also get a feeling that she wants to over-compensate what she did not have / achieve in life.

I believe you didn't understand what she was stating in her achievements.

Subtle misrepresentation by dropping off a word here and there is no longer a smart move in an age when Google can quickly expose the difference.

No, I understood perfectly what she was claiming - it's more that the claims don't bear up under inspection.

Melody has exaggerated her achievements, just as she has the success of her business which does not appear to have been sufficiently profitable to pay her any money since she founded it. Indeed she characterised it as something she has done "for ten years voluntarily without getting paid for it.".

She also has a remarkably inflated sense of self belief that makes Stuart Baggs look like the shyest boy in the village.

Brilliant quote, I love this and it is so accurate.

Even if all her claims are true, they're all either voluntary work or youth potential. In other words, meaningless prizes given to children to make them feel good. Nothing to do with actual academic qualifications or real-world achievements to show you can actually do something.

And the way she waffles, it is crystal clear that she has no idea about anything much. Just a precocious child who has been told she's wonderful too many times. Employ her and watch her flush all your profits down the u-bend while she tells you to your face that everything is hunky-dory.

haha.... wow - that's quite a statement.

Those closer to the scene may care to comment, whether those who invented the awards are as anxious to be seen giving them out as Melody-like recipients are anxious to be seen receiving them. In other words is it a mutual congratulation society?

If Melody had gone into inner city violent and drug-infested estates and made the situation better despite danger to herself, now that would deserve a medal.

I wonder if he would be able to recognise her now, had she not been on TV?

We may laugh at people like Melody and their claims but they make for fantastic television.
I'm just amazed at the confidence all the candidates exude. I mean they all think they can give excellent pitches to top companies, plus they have tv cameras recording every word for posterity. I know I and most people would be very apprehensive and nervous at the thought of having to put yourself through such an ordeal .

That is why you would carefully choose and rehearse your words. We are not talking about just one highly inflated claim, it was several and at times repeating the claim. That is not in error or by accident.

Over inflated egos - brilliant TV.

In my job I have the luck to interview young people with learning difficulties at times. They turn up for their interviews with fantastic portfolios full of these wonderful certificates for stuff such as:
'Turned up on time all week'
'Behaved well all week'
'Over 90% attendance',

and the best one I've seen:
'Happiest girl in the class'

I know that these are all made up to boost self-esteem and they are laudable but meaningless but every time I heard one of Melody's claims it reminded me of 'the happiest girl in the class'

- I am sure if she had won the happiest girl in the class award she would have proudly mentioned it. Although I think she kept her one of her early awards too quiet, her best painting using potatoes award is an incredibly impressive accolade.

the best at "busy doing nothing" award

So true and can be some of the funniest.

What so many of the deluded contestants on these glorified TV game shows seem to miss in their rush to get their pompous mugs on the telly, is that there's a huge difference between laughing with someone and laughing at them.

I can think of 3 'Business' people I've known who were absolutely brilliant at self-promotion & collected Awards like stamps - they were never out of the local media - all 3 went into Administration!!!

Basically, the BS becomes so complex (it has too as it's basically founded on nothing), that no-one understands it anyway! Like all of us couldn't work out what Melody actually did (probably because she does very little, other than a lot of talking!) - so what hope would a customer have of understanding her business proposition. In today's competitive environment, you need a clear, simple message.

True Entrepreneurs are simply too busy getting on with the task - working hard to develop their business idea, getting it to market, offering an excellent customer service & promoting their brand.
Collecting Awards & becoming a 'celeb' comes much later in life when they've proved their entrepreneurial skills (like Richard Branson)

IMHO Melody was a typical 'nu-labour' b/s***ter - she should have joined up as a politician!
She would be great at applying for funding grants, joining quango's, setting up commissions etc. etc.
It's a breed apart - lots of talk, lots of cliche's ........all hot air & no action. I can see her running some obscure nu-labour Equality/Human Rights Commission/Consultancy that no-one really understands what they do.
A great skill in getting paid a lot of money for doing nothing. There's no place in the real business world for that!

In fairness and I dont know Melody's politics but Melody seem to fit in more with David Camerons ideas of Big Society rather than "Nu labour."

Whatever her business and any chance of it making money are very poorly timed as the spending cuts have wiped out funding for most of the things that Melody seems to be promoting.

I suspect Melody may well have done some good work with young people and her intentions may be excellent BUT I wish she had been more accurate with what awards she had and how she was "trained by the Dali Llama and Al Gore. I also wish she could have explained effectively what she had done and wanted to do with her life. I think she may well still have been in the programme if she had done these things. but her over inflated ego got in the way of her being an excellent candidate

Its just more of her ridiculous claims. She hasn't achieved anything that she could point to, not one tangible thing.

Melody and many Apprentice candidates are products of todays society where BS and spin are part of everything whether it be selling a person, a product, a company, a Government etc . They all seem to be coached by coaches of spin " Remember you must say nothing is a problem but a challenge, etc"