All depends on what he really wanted to get out of the show. He got reasonably close to putting a deal together between a household name investor and a startup, and has raised his profile into the bargain. Anyone in either of those two groups now know who he is, and are mostly smart enough to know that The Apprentice edits footage to make everyone look worse than they really are. Win/win for him IMO.

He was 100% used to create a bit of drama tonight, those processing the applications should've had him in the reject pile from the moment they read his business plan.

It makes good television - you cannot deny the entertainment value and at the end of the day The Apprentice is a TV show designed for entertainment as well as the business side. I cannot see your problem, if you don't think he should have been there cause of his plan then why watch the show? That has been the deal for 3 series now it was inevitable someone would try to exploit loopholes etc at some point or another and that is the sort of people the producers are going to want in the show it is simple as that.

If you are ok with the show acting without integrity then that is up to you, but don't expect others to feel the same.

I didn't say I had a problem with it did I? I just stated my opinion, last time I checked that was allowed on a public forum. I'm aware the producers included him for entertainment purposes, if they'd been serious they'd have put him in the reject pile. That was my point. I'm totally aware of the fact certain characters are included for entertainment; Alex for example but he was not in the final five and neither should Jordan have been if there wasn't a chance of him getting to the final. Myles may have had a better prospect for example. Perhaps my post wasn't clear, or perhaps you should read it again before snapping at other posters and dictating what they should and shouldn't watch.

I get where you're coming from but I would question your idea of integrity if you believe a show such as The Apprentice can ever have integrity without sacrificing on entertainment which will inevitably result in a significant drop in viewing figures. You're taking the show too seriously if you ignore the production side of things.


I was reading in between the lines - you said you thought they shouldn't have even considered him meaning that you think they were wrong in their decision, that's your opinion you're entitled to it and never did I say although wise. I was merely point out that if that is your thoughts on the matter then maybe you shouldn't bother watching the show as that is going to be the drive behind the people who get chosen from now on with this new format. If I came over aggressively or as if I was snapping then I'm sorry I didn't mean to come across that way.

It's an entertainment show first and foremost. Tonight's show was very entertaining.

Exactly what I have been saying

No worries, I may have misread yours too. Easily done on here.

No problem

They must have known the situation a long time ago. They just wanted some drama.

It certainly was brutal - I felt for Jordan. I would hate to be interviewed by that man.

Presumably, they need Sugars capital to jumpstart the supposed project? And the best he could offer up was 15.39%?

He should have been canned last week the moment he mentioned a co-partner, it just doesn't work in the format so what on earth was the point in keeping him when he had no chance in hell? Good entertainment though, and thats evidently why i suppose.

How he even made it on the show in the first place with that sort of "plan".... strange.

The producers of these shows are primed to find people good for TV.

Exactly. LS is never keen on web based businesses and Jordan's plan was hinted at last week to guve us a taster fir the ibevitable showdown tinight. It was producer led dama.

I did enjoy the Rubik cube fiasco though.

Yeah, he made millions over 40 years and then flogged it to sky for £125million. I'd love to see what he could do with a business he "got".

it made "good entertainment" and that's why he was kept in I'm kinda thinking he might of been a bit of a Mole (with the over reactions) to weed out the people who couldn't hack it

As far as I understood the situation, Jordon had NOT mentioned the exact details of his situation in his application or CV.....which is why he got so far in the programme.

It was only after they candidates wrote their final portfolio and submitted them near the end of the process that the information came out.

It would seem he kept quiet about it for as long as he could.

That didn't strike me as true at all. I have looked at the application form and if I remember rightly you must state your proposal to Lord Sugar. That of course wouldn't necessarily have detailed information but from what I can tell the plans are written and scrutinised by the production team before accepting the final candidates. Jordan's reaction when he revealed he already had a business partner in the boardroom before the interviews was that of defensive surprise. He didn't seem to get that the deal was non-negotiable and genuinely thought he could win the process legitimately. He showed a lot of naivety and a fair amount of stupidity in it but he was open about it - it was clear that he wasn't trying to hide it. He even admitted in hindsight he should have gone with a safer all his own idea business. But I believe he wasn't deliberately trying to screw anyone over.

I'm sure the program makers knew right from the start and as you suggest - they knew (as I'm sure Sugar did too) that it would make better TV to humiliate him in the final.

Then again - maybe Jordan is an actor and was paid to do his bit to aid this terminally ragged show.

Of course the application involves submitting a fairly comprehensive business plan. They can't risk the programme ending up in a final with two completely unworkable business plans, especially after the backlast when Tom won.

It's not just about education. A goal of the programme is to educate viewers about business. Jordan's situation was educational.

The thing is that between him and Helen, Tom was the one who really deserved to win. Yes he had an awful task record but it was conceded that he just had a lot of bad luck and it wasn't necessarily his fault he ended up in the losing team, hence why he was barely in the boardroom. Tom was the one with a business that Lord Sugar knew would work even though Helen switched plans last minute but it was Tom's existing nail file business and the way he got it into retail that made him the better candidate for the investment. Yes in the old format no he wouldn't have got so far but in the old format he just wouldn't have bothered, unlike Helen who almost seemed like she would have been surprised at the change in format/prize.

Was just about to post something similar.

I guess I can see why somebody might try to get on a show like The Apprentice to raise cash for a business but, at the end of the day, if he doesn't actually have a business proposal that meets the criteria required by the show then he's got no right to be there.

The producers should have rejected him long before the show ever got made because he has, effectively, stopped somebody else, who might have had a viable business proposal, from getting the opportunity.

His nail file business was one Sugar "knew would work" but the business plan he applied with, for the ergonomic chairs, was not. Sugar hated it. That was where the backlash came from: the fact that Tom won despite having an unworkable business plan. It wasn't really to do with him being a bad candidate, it should be obvious to everyone that it's more or less luck how many winning/losing teams you're on.