I don't think shes been given a chance. If everyone is constantly laying into her making out shes rubbish, shes gonna think that herself. Let her be PM and then we'll see what shes really made of.

Exactly. If she thinks quickly and calmly and gives sensible and clear instructions to her team then they will only shoot themselves in the foot when they try to be awkward. She WILL have to be good though, or those women will have her.

I actually think this paints women in an appalling light - Lucinda might be a bit wet but she certainly doesn't deserve the mauling she is getting from this b...ches and I really hope that SAS steps in to stop it. But judging by his actions tonight I some how doubt it and I predict that Lucinda will continue to be bullied and ridiculed throughout until she is but out of her misery and fired.

Rafe is posh and everybody loves him for it; Lucinda is posh and they all seem to hate her for it. Must admit her silly hats don't help, though.

thought she was a bit harshly treated tonight, as she did repeatedly state (even early on) that she was not computer literate..so should have been handed a sales role or something.

that said she has seemed lazy and moody throughout the series, and needs to make an impression on the next task

I do think Lucinda is picked on a lot - which is easy to do as she is so different to the others. Yes, she's useless but so is Lindi and and Lindi isn't picked on. I would like to see Lucinda do well.

I think if they get a creative task then Lucinda will really shine. Possibly she hasn't come across people like Helene and Jenny before and doesn't know how to play their mind games, and possibly wouldn't stoop so low. Helene had obviously set her up as the scapegoat if the team lost the task, and Lucinda whined to let them know that she wasn't playing along. She has not been picked to be on the series as cannon fodder, she must have some genuine, and as yet unseen, talents, and we may all be in for a big surprise as she may go further than a lot of the other female candidates. I'd have her over Lindi anyday!

Helene was completely and utterly horrible to Lucinda; it showed more about her as a person than Lucinda, TBH.

Lucinda was clearly wrong for the role assigned, and the way Helene stood by, drinking tea and refusing to help was appalling - but I'm so glad that this was highlighted in the boardroom and she was ticked off for it. I really think, had Alpha (is it now, confused with the swapping?!) lost, Sir Alan would have fired Helene.

It was all the more disappointing, after Helene had spoken out about bullying previously (in a piece to camera) and seemed disapproving. She must now have decided that that's the way to play the game & get rid of weaker candidates.

Nasty girl, awful PM, hope she goes soon.

However, I'm not sure what Lucinda's strengths are?! She doesn't seem to be very good at sales, she's not terribly practical, or technical, and we have yet to see any real creativity from her, except in her dress sense! What role I would have given her in that task, I'm not sure.

But I'm not liking this series because none of the candidates seem able to get on with and work with other people. Many of them are now completely unmanageable as they are so argumentative and undermining to their PM.

Good on Margaret & Nick for pointing this behaviour out to Sir Alan. You don't get on in business by being "ruthless" and nasty to your colleagues. you just look a prat and should get your coat now.

She is apparently a Business Analyst for someone. So how does that work if she is not very computer literate.

Absolutely. That was extremely poor management. A good manager would have assigned her a role which suited her and then supported her in it. The trouble is that in The Apprentice they are now putting the fact that they can set somebody up for a potential firing above the overall objective of winning the task- just in case they lose. It is a game and the contestants have learned how to play it. Margaret and Nick are a huge asset in that they can point out the game playing and the downright lies.

And why exactly was it acceptable for somebody who was quite prepared to admit that they couldn't hack the job to belittle somebody else who couldn't? Gosh the women are awful this year on the whole.

Risk Management I think, which sorry if i'm ignorant about the topic..is mainly a statistical and analytical job, not really 'hands on' or creative which you need to be skilled in to win the apprentice IMO

Where have you been? This is the way women behave in the workplace. I've lost count of the times colleagues have been reduced to tears by other women..

Lucinda and Lindi are both thick as well you know but its seems they want Lucinda to go first as Lindi does lick bums whoever is PM on a particular task whereas Lucinda doesn't.

I still can't see why NOBODY could work the PC when Lucinda had problems. Surely Rafe or one of the other blokes could of spent 5 minutes helping her. This is meant to be A TEAM but it seems the others wanted her to fail so if they lost she would be fired. If I was PM I would of got all teh help I could to ensure we won the task. They did end up winning it but could have won by thousands not just 200 quid.

aww i like Lucinda. i loved it when she said " dont you dare talk to me liek that"


bless her.

Helene was bad but I do think Lucinda slightly misheard her. Lucinda thought Helene told HER to "shut up and ..." but I thought Helene had been droning on again about how when she was in the kitchen for "11 hours" (it was 10 hours the last time she mentioned it ... this time she added an extra hour for effect) she just shut up and got on with what she was told to do.

Did anyone else hear the same thing?

That's what I heard - Helene was describing how, like a true hero, she had, during her 10-11 hour cooking vigil, "shut up and got on with it"- Lucinda who (fair enough too) had maybe lost concentration with what Helene was droning on about, only picked up on the "shut up and get on with it", thinking it was addressed to her, which is why she went all Margo Ledbetter - "how dare you!??" Fab moment!

I do find Lucinda a bit drippy though. And how can someone under the age of 50 not be capable of using a computer- that software can't have been all that hard? It shows, at the very least, an unwillingness to learn and a lack of a curious mind.

Agree - as Nick said, his 12 yr old kids could operate it so how on earth did she struggle! I thought Helene had a tough job to put her anywhere - what is she good at?!

But she looks so lovely in her wee tartan tammy.

Very true. I'm fifty and nobody ever taught me anything formally about computers. I've done OK. Like everybody else I've had to use them a lot to run financial packages, word process, publishing packages and so on and so on. Don't know what that was all about. And where were the rest of them? It wasn't just Lucinda.

A generalisation I think - and an unfair one. I have worked with both sexes and they are as bad (or good) as each other. Yes I've seen women upset by other women, just as I've seen women patronised by men and told that their place is "in the kitchen and the bedroom." I've seen men claim the credit for work accomplished by other women and vice versa; I've also seen both sexes victims of sexual harassment. Some will trample over anyone and everyone to climb the ladder, but they should remember that those they alienate on the way up, may be in a position to return the 'favour' should they fall.

They have more common sense than Sir Alan, I think.
What annoys me is, that they tell him how it was, give their opinions of the candidates (usually right) and then he doesn't take a blind bit of notice.

That PM last night lied through her teeth when she said Lucinda hadn't told her she wasn't techy.

Watching the previews for week 5 (The A Team?) along with the clip at the end of Ep 4, it appears that Lucinda gets to be PM for a creative task with a team of Jennifer Maguire, Lindi, Helene, Raef and Lee McQueen.

Claire was told she would be the other PM - her team is
Jenny Celerier, Sara, Kevin, Alex and Michael.

That's good. She only has one of the people we have seen going for her in her team. Interesting that she and Helene were not sitting round the table. Perhaps she decided to work with Helene on the flavourings in order to keep an eye on her?

The teams seem to split:

Lucinda (PM), Lee & Helene
Jennifer, Raef and Lindi

Claire (PM), Jenny and Michael
Alex, Sara and Kevin

Could be interesting - any views as to where to see fireworks?

Apart from the one parting Alex's hair?