I'm sorry but it seemed like he just said anything to put a negative on Helen's profile. For him to say 'you can't just wake up one day and want to run a business' is very blinkered, just because it is different to his history (obviously I am not so stupid to think a random person could do this, but if they had experience etc.) Plus, Helen is in a position where it is totally understandable that she knows how to run a business, and have business ideas (despite only assisting up to this point).

Also, from what I have seen of Helen, she is very strong willed and doesn't seem like a person who can't take control and lead (which may be a criticism of someone in an assisting job).

Having said all this, I actually want someone else to win lol

I think it is fair to say to her at this stage to say anybody can have the theory but coming to do it is another thing when others beside her have.

Completely agree, so far Helen has proved all my doubts wrong and she has shown herself to take control and work well, whilst obviously very organised and precise. However, I feel that Sugar obviously couldn't just praise her because she did make mistakes this week, and it would make her look like a runaway winner etc.

She was clueless in this task and was shown up. Only Jim of any of them really got what the point of it all was. Natasha well she was a joke as well. I'd be amazed if Jim doesn't win this now.

All the wins were not due to her, she only PM'd twice

I get that, but I feel Helen has proved herself of being capable of doing this. Plus with sugar as a partner and his investment she has the help possibly needed as it is fresh for her. Also she is very young its not like she is 30+ and deciding to do this.

Of course this is all assuming her business idea is good, but I spose it is if she got into the top 16

Helen isn't very young she is 30+

I think Helen would have been a really strong contender in any of the other series of Apprentice because she would have worked for one of his businesses.

But this time LAS wants to make an investment in someone's idea. What idea will Helen have? How to organise a CEO's day? How to sell duvets to pound shops? She's a great seller but that's not what LAS is looking for.

I have said that all along if it was the old style show she would be a certain winner.

Its not he is looking for something different, Helen is another Stella clone

My bad. I thought she was 25 lol

I agree to an extent she's proved to do this throughout mainly as they are still guided largely by the tasks. She didn't have that this week & also partly when she was with Jim in Paris (obviously she did well with the pitch laid on already). I'm not really sure Lord Alan will be wanting to dishing out help. I think she is capable. However if she fights for the win by saying I can do this in theory etc I'm not sure that's the best strategy.

Helen has no clue about starting a business. Selling a wholesale product to the retailer, wtf?

Ok lets sum it up..

Helens one big sale has gone completely to her head.

Trying to sell those products to big retailers - Lol what a complete joke.

Anybody can take a good product to a pre arranged meeting with a big retailer - and with basic sales skills, make a huge order.

And as for 'ive won 8 times' or whaever it was. ive seen a different side to her. She thinks shes the bees knees.

As for asking Melody to quit being team manager - what a way to under mine someone? I never liked Melody but even on this i sided with Melody

has to be said, she is a d**k and thinks she is something more than she is!

This is so very true. Until week 5/6 when her being on the winning team was highlighted, had anyone actually noticed her?

I dread to think of the crucification she would have got had she taken over as PM. Her "strategy" of selling to shops was abysmal.

She has the same amount of PM wins as Natasha

He's used the same criteria before in the past, normal, series - taking Yasmina over Kate. it doesn't make much sense as the issue is who could do what now - not who has already done something thats different anyway.

There's no reason to think Helen doesn't have a good idea. her judgement has been better over the series and everybody else has also had half baked ones too on this series. Most of the rest of them raise questions whether they could implment any idea they did have.

Lord Sugar's bigger problem is that Tom manifesty doesn't have the skills to run a business, Natasha has been in his firing line for weeks, and Jim has pluses but massive minuses.

That leaves two, but now he has doubts over Helen's business sense which dilute her lead, and Susan hasn't had a great week either - even though she stands out as she has set up a business. Helen's got a corporate label attached to her now, and Susan has a too immature, and sometimes silly, label. Thats better than Jim's blagger label, Natasha's you should have been fired label, and Tom's backroom boy label, but it doesn't leave any winner who is entirely convincing .

She was fine until she blew it by saying she would have had an even worse strategy than Melody's (which wasn't really that bad since we saw on Your Fired they had problems getting the nodding dogs). I do think she's quite sneaky too.

More polished and stronger than Stella. Helen is more like Liz with a better show record, less skills in some aeas and more in others, but now a bigger error. Stella gets the job because she's more suited to the job on offer.

This time its now more open. Tom could have an idea but could he implement anything, and is he credible after a dismal series performance? Natasha seems doomed. Jim is back in the running, but still has no PM wins and the blarney label tells. Susan still looks immature but has the best CV for the prize. .Helen looks the most competent still, but he now has an excuse to go against her. Lord Sugar can't really argue he wants to go with a proven entrepreneur without mnaking the series look irrelevant and without dismissing Jim and Natasha as well as Helen, but I wouldn't put it past him, unless Helen does really well next week.

I don't believe that was Sugar's issue with Tom. His issue is Tom's tendency not to speak up when needed. Hindsight and all that.

Tom does have some experience in setting up and running a business. Helen hasn't. Melody hasn't, either. What Melody has in spades is providing a public service on a consultancy basis, which is too akin to being a freelance. Tom's catty take on her business made me laugh.


Natasha has missed the train so many times that it's not funny. Sugar has clearly lost patience in tonight's episode. She has no chance of winning. None whatsoever.

Susan has most traits Sugar wants in a business partner, but personality wise, would they get on? I think so because Susan does listen and adjust accordingly. She's proven she has common sense and a good business instinct, but her weakest traits are her ability to handle strong personalities under pressure and to articulate, which could cause her to lose.

Jim has the potential, but he just doesn't have that vibe. He's a salesman to core. He understands the art of selling and he's good with maths, but I haven't seen anything that shows he's capable of doing well in corporate setting. His pitches were pretty bad. He wasn't flexible in the free mag task and talked a load of bollocks in the biscuit task. He has a better rapport with the public than with corporate buyers.

Helen has great organisational skills and can be a good salesperson, but she's unimaginative and in spite of what she says, not a risk taker. She has the same problem Stella had - she comes across as a great P.A. and no more than that. I still can't guess what kind of business plan she has to offer.

I think Tom has the potential of winning. Susan as well, but I don't think she'll make it because Sugar has shown in previous series that he isn't keen on working with young people. Helen could make it as well, but she has too many issues stacked up against her. Jim, a real possibility.

Why start your opening post with, "I'm sorry", there is no need to apologise for your opinion.

Sugar was spot on, in my opinion. Maybe his criticism will have a positive effect which we shall see next week.

I'm pretty sure that Helen won't win - she has done well to not lose until last night and performed well on some of the tasks.

That episode put a mark on her though, her comment at the end to Tom about "learning to forgive him" gave a decent insight into her mindset. His criticisms were valid - thats what happens in the boardroom, why should she be exempted from it.

I'll give the editing team some credit as they played a hand; in just one episode they have evoked strong feelings about a person I had, until then, been completely ambivalent about.

Susan will win.

If I was LS I'd take on Susan and Tom and have one as exec and the other as creative.

I think Helen may have blown it last night. I think her attempt to take over as project manager left a bad taste in Alan Sugar's mouth and he wanted to take her down a peg or two.

I thought Lord S's comments about Helen were very perceptive, and I appreciated it when he pointed out that she didn't "win" all the previous tasks, but was just on the winning teams. He doesn't look too impressed with her, and I can't imagine she'll win.

I think people are reading far too much into his comments.

He always puts pressure on candidates, particularly if they haven't made previous boardroom appearances.

If he'd been annoyed by the attempted coup he'd have been very definite about it.

Sugar started with £100 from his parents and worked his way up from the bottom. He knows what retail is all about, the bottoms-up view from the front line.

Helen is executive assistant to a CEO, and therefore sees things from the opposite angle, how to do the best deal at the board room level, the best deal for the highest volume. Encouraged by two record-breaking sales it is understandable if Helen thinks all deals turn on price and volume. As for Helen agreeing to Melody re spending 4 hours to sell 30 duvets earing 30 x £3 margin, Helen should have had the strength and initiative to stand firm and NOT given in, like the way Susan seized the initiative and bypassed Natasha without triggering a quarrel. Susan's initiative over bracelet sales made the difference between her team winning rather than losing.

Good outcome will justify initiative, whereas bad outcome cannot be overlooked on the grounds of obedience to the project manager. Having failed to unseat Melody in an early morning putsch, Helen should have held firm to her own judgment and gone round the side of Melody after she failed to sideline Melody. If Helen could not succeed thanks to Melody, then Helen needed to succeed in spite of Melody.