I personally thought she was a good contrast to the harsh, straight talking Claude (and Margaret-ish) and I am glad she replaced Matthew because I thought Mike and Matthew looked and were too similar.

I think the interview team was brilliant this year; the interviews are always one of the best points of the series.

I thought she was.

I did like Matthew, but I like Claudine as well. I wonder if she'll stay on next year?

She was fine... but they still need to bring back Borden.

She was ok.

I didn't like what she brought to the process to be honest. I don't want to see candidates sitting around talking about what a nice person they are, or crying about their dead dads whilst sad piano plays.

The roles of the interviewers seem really segmented now, and I don't think either Claudine or Margaret are really necessary. All Margaret seemed to do was just read off bits of the candidate's application forms sarcastically then pull a funny face.

I agree with you about Margaret, but not about Claudine. I think it's useful to see the candidates' personal lives. I found it interesting when Neil said that he didn't take a day off work when his dad died because he thought that was a sign of weakness, and Claudine said, 'That's not weak.' It was exactly what I was thinking. I don't find that endearing at all; quite the contrary.

I do wonder exactly what Margaret's purpose in the interviews is though.

I'd agree on Margaret. It's either eyebrows raised or "... yes." whilst being of fairly superfluous input herself. I think she has a following though which is why they bring her back (I guess).

My thoughts exactly.

Is Claudine - Claude's daughter?

I liked her a lot. Unlike the other interviewers she seemed to try and converse with the interviewees to elicit information about them. Whilst I enjoy the interviews sometimes I find the contesting and combatative nature of some interviewers distasteful.

I saw a completely different Neil during his interview with Claudine and it was insightful that he found her interview the toughest.

I hope she returns next year.

There is only one interviewer who has only done it once and never returned for another year, and that's Nick Hewer, who was an interviewer in Series 1 as well as being an advisor. Everyone else has done it at least twice.

I loved Claudine's interviewing style, so yes - a good addition!

Yes, I thought it was an interesting part of the interviews. I much prefer it to Claude's pantomime act.

I think Margaret is the one with the pantomime act. She quotes things that people have said and then gives them dirty looks. I don't see what else she really does. Maybe she does more that doesn't make the final edit?

Claude is very tough, but most of his concerns tend to be legitimate. He also lets people know when he's impressed.

I think Claude has slowly got fairer, and I also think he takes the job very seriously, almost as if it was his own money - respect.

I thought Claudine's (is that really her name!) approach was interesting, and she got far more out of the candidates than the typical combative approach we've seen before. I wouldn't object to seeing her again. She seemed very perceptive as well, presuming she hadn't been pre-briefed.... although actually I suspect they all were, as Neil seemed to be getting a lot of help from the interviewers, as if they knew he was SugarDaddy's favourite...

I wonder if LS is partly blaming Borden for the Stella debacle. While I think Stella was a complete chancer, I have a feeling that her comments about him (and what LS is alleged to have said about him) have more than a ring of truth about them.

But Borden wasn't there in Series 7, and that was filmed before Stella started working with Lord Sugar. I think Borden left because the change of format required different sorts of people for the interviews. Alan Watts left that year as well - they brought in Mike Soutar and Matthew Riley.

Claude is to The Apprentice what Simon Cowell was to Pop Idol. He's the baddie in the pantomime. Margaret is also there to humiliate the contestants for the glee of the viewing public but I still think Claude is a caricature.

I haven't seen Pop Idol so I can't compare the two, but I think Claude is quite fair though. He doesn't just humiliate people for the sake of humiliating people, every negative thing that he says he has good reason for saying.

We'll just have to disagree on this. I think what he says is worth saying, but he says it in a completely unnecessary manner.

Ha. Love the way Claude has gone from an umsmiling severe interviewer to a Cheshire Cat type grinner in the boardroom. Definitely had media training or fed up with the abuse on the tube more like.

How are we going to sort this?

FIGHT!

Oh I couldn't stand Matthew, more so in the Series 8 final, though. His criticisms of candidates were weak and ridiculous. When he said to Nick "Who does a weekly shop?" I genuinely thought "Are you for real?" His coaxing of Jade's incomplete A Level in business was ludicrous as it wasn't obvious what he was driving at and he tried to make it out as if she was lying.

Somehow I don't seem to remember him that much from last year. I remember liking him in Series 7 though.