I agree; I'd have loved to have seen them.

There were only three opportunities to fire Tom, and each time the same person would have gone under the old format (namely Leon, Zoe and Melody).

Similarly there were only three opportunities to fire Susan. Instead Edna, Glenn and Natasha went. Again I'd say Susan was kept on merit.

What did any of the six do that was so great? Leon and Glenn were rather mediocre, Edna, Melody and Natasha should have been fired long before, and Zoe had about reached her limits.

You're missing the point. What did the tasks have to do with winning the series? Nothing - so what exactly what was the point of the tasks?

I have never argued that "Tom wouldn't have won were it the old format". I have said the new format needs a reboot because the task performances, and the tasks themselves, have no relation at all to the prize.

I am answering the question asked by the OP. Tom would NOT have won under the old format. Lord Sugar himself said he would have hired Helen.

I can't understand why some are saying Tom would have won. Did you not watch LS's after show interview with Dara?

Never mind 'wouldn't have won'...he wouldn't have applied, would he?

Apparently the candidates only found out a matter of weeks before the show started filming that the format had changed and they'd need a business plan.

Interesting - that would explain why all the plans seemed somewhat cobbled together.
Helen's in particular seemed like something that would be the result of a typical two day task - remember series 2 where they were supposed to do a promo for Amsair but got sidetracked into a concierge service.

June 26th, 2010 by Lisa McGarry.


Calling all entrepreneurs. Win an opportunity of a lifetime. Lord Sugar is ready to set up a new business with an initial investment worth a quarter of a million pounds

In a climate where small businesses are being encouraged to get the country’s economy back on its feet, Lord Sugar today announced a twist to the 2011 series of The Apprentice.

http://www.*******************/the-a...prentice-2011/

Although it`s unclear whether he wanted to use their ideas.

^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pre...prentice.shtml

Hmm. I'm sure I read somewhere Jim said they only had a couple of weeks to cobble together a business plan. But the above link shoots that down. Good find btw.

I wonder if Jim's nose grew a notch while he explained why his proposal didn't hold up so well?

Couldn`t be much clearer than that

Perhaps if one of the others had a decent business plan they may have won over Tom, obviously LS didnt think so.

The winner, whether a keen business rookie or someone who's had several years of experience, will choose the type of business they want to set up

The tasks help reduce the number of candidates to the four finalists. They also, just as before, show how the candidates perform under pressure. Why people can't see this (or refuse to see this) amazes me.

The tasks were not particularly different to previous series. To match the prize, they should have focussed more on strengths as as entrepreneur/inventor.

It was like a typical Apprentice series with an episode of Dragons' Den slung on at the end.

I first thought things were a bit odd when Glenn was fired for no more reason than his vocation as an engineer. In which case, it might well be possible the opposite could be true and another candidate was being kept in because of their vocation.

Then, the press stories this week seem to all report on Tom, the shock winner---really? Did any of them actually watch the show?---and his record of 8 times in the boardroom and still wins. Tells you all you need to know I think.

Good point !!

I wonder how many of the other candidates would not have applied if he was still offering a 100k job this year.

Would be interesting to know if any had applied in previous years too.

Yes, that is exactly it! It was just like every other series of the Apprentice but the final episode seemed to bear no relation to what had gone before. Very disjointed.

Still top telly though.

Well, we had a lot that owned their businesses this year:Tom, Melody, Suzie, Gavin, Leon, Felicity...

Doubt any of them would have applied!

Not sure why they wouldn't have applied in the past - there have been plenty of business owners (of various levels of credibility!) in the past eg
Rocky Andrews, Tre Azam, StuBaggs, Syed Ahmed, Rory Laing, Michelle Dewberry.

But in the past there has been a great mix of previous experiance - probably deliberately so. Its going to be interesting to see next years crop - and whether its to the detriment to the show to have a bunch of Dragons Den applicants only.

No. Jim said he had a eureka moment when he heard the format had changed and saw the opportunity to apply.

He said he wrote his BP 2 weeks before the process began. he also said he already had the idea and that he worked at it in his holidays .

Thank you. I kept explaining but got tired

That might be true if the tasks had been relevant to the previous prize of a job in Sugar's company. In fact, they weren't. The £100k job didn't involve selling fish in the street, or developing a marketing campaign in 2 days, or running a laundry service, or whatever. The tasks have always been tests of general ability, not specific to match the prize.


He wasn't fired for being an engineer. He was fired for having the faults Lord Sugar associates with engineers. Had Glenn not had those faults, his job would be have been irrelevant.

Have the tasks ever had any relation to the prize ,er no ,they have not ,come on ...Helens business idea and plan was ludicrous especially during a recession.

The tasks make good tv,tom's an inventor he was always going to win....

I agree. It was always supposedly about finding someone to run a new venture. Previously in Sugar's employment, now as a 50/50 partner.

Some of the tasks this year were about spotting the most profitable business (cosmetic treatments v. product sales, recycling scrap, re-investing in the best selling lines, new fast food brand). These are more related to new businesses than previous tasks. Other tasks like pitching new products and negotiation are skills any start up company will need.


Here I disagree. Lord Sugar's words to Glenn were "I've never come across an engineer who can turn his hands to business". That seems pretty clear to me that he didn't think any engineer was up to it.

It means he's never come across one who was. Glenn was no exception. Had Glenn been better at business, he would have been the exception and wouldn't have been fired. Ergo, he was fired for being poor at business, not for being an engineer.