Or was Simon a dead man walking from the moment the results of the task were announced? Could he have escaped had he taken different team members into the boardroom?

I actually liked what i saw of Claire in the boardroom; i thought she displayed confidence and a determination to survive - which is very much part of the game. SAS has a soft spot each series for one candidate, that on the surface, appears to get right on his nerves!

To be honest, I don't think he could have bought anyone else in the boardroom from what we've seen. But as soon as the results were announced, I was quite sure Simon was going to go, especially after Sir Alan sent Clare back to the house. He didn't really stand a chance; it was simply a task he had to win.

If confidence and determination means lie and bully then yes she is brilliant.

I thought Clare might be going, especially after SAS, Nick and Margerat really laid in to her!

But not after she was sent back to the house, it was always going to be Simon.

he made a loss, I knew it would be him

I don't think Claire did herself any favours, she's just disrespectful and unpleasant and that shines through

No I dont think he could have escaped because he lost money, and he was astute enough to realise that at the end of the day, in business, that matters. I think he's a very personable guy, has great qualities. i think SA liked him as a person and appreciated his qualities but both he and Simon (on the aftermath prog) drew attention to that.

He was going to go no matter what, but looking at the bigger picture, Claire was definitely the one that got away. ! She is APPALLING. Back stabbing, mouthy, undermining, conceited.....you name it i dont think its a double bluff from SA (ie. he wants to keep her in ). I think, like any other reasonable person he cant stand her, but is closely following what the producers direct him to do/say for the sake of good TV.

And we alllove good TV Thats why we're all captivated and on here spouting off about it !!

'Result' for the ratings

Alex and Claire are far stupider and have far less integrity than Simon has.

I swear on my life, if either of these fools gets given the position of Apprentice I'll cut off the fingers I'm typing with. They're simply here for ratings: eye candy (even those he's a skinny, mutt-faced weasel) and token biatch (because Jenny's a bit too crazy for it and is probably doing to be ditched pretty soon).

Alex was never in danger but I was surprised Claire survived. Alan doesn't seem to like her as a person but he sees something he could mould into a decent apprentice.

I reckon Claire has a real hatred for authority, she's gonna be a very hard woman to manage indeed. Goo luck to anyone who has to manage her! I think the only person she'd ever listen to would be Sir Alan.

The applicants CVs count for alot and Simons was obviously less impressive and let's face it, Simon was a crap boss. I liked him as a person but he turned into a div under the responsibilty.

Simon definitely has integrity. A rare commodity amongst the others.

The whole boardroom scene was an anti-climax.
But seeing as Claire had that first win as PM "seemingly" with no major run ins with her team that first week, she did have that positive on her side. Whereas Simon has nothing to back him up. So whilst Claire is a complete cow she has proven herself more than Simon has.

Alex has done bugger all. First week he was forced into being PM, whined about supposed remarks about his education and lost the task. And this week he cried at the idea of being given any responsibilty.

Claire was odious, incompetent, stupid, graceless, a saboteur, ignorant and scheming, and ugly inside and out.

I liked Claire tonight. I thought Simon was a complete arse when it came to managing the team. I thought Alex was going fine until until he pretty much back-stabbed Claire!! (Although I do still have a soft spot for him).

Simon went back in my good books after he so graciously accepted being fired.

Claire has no positive qualities.

She is a very stupid and malicious person as well as being utterly incompetent and a scheming bitch.

He was the logical one to sack. Clare at least showed desire and spunkyness. She failed doing the job Alex refused to do. Margaret quite clearly indicated who was weak but SAS seemed stuck where he has been for the last two weeks - assuming Simon was just a worker and ignoring his success at the end of the task he was controlling.

Alex actually appeared to do the job he had to, he couldn't be sacked.

Confidence and determination seem to have become synonymous with ruthlessness and back-stabbing on the Apprentice.

Did he?

I recall him weasling out of the position he was assigned because he was too scared of the consequences.

It could have been unwound. "So what were you doing when you saw her mucking up?" "Why didn't you take the task on when asked given its obvious someone had to do it? " "why have you just turned on her when you didn't say anything at the time?" Did you want to fail the task?

Indeed. Confidence and determination were what Simon showed. He was the one who was "spunky" and willing to try things out and be creative. All Claire did was undermine (deliberately, in my opinion) and then skilfully defend her own contentiousness in the boardroom.

I think it's such a shame that the "quality" of a candidate in this competition is now determined by their ability to bullsh*t in the boardroom, because that really isn't what gets you far when you take on a job like the one Alan Sugar is offering.

I was going to post, then saw your post, and you've said exactly what I felt!

So true.

The interview process couldn't be more unrealistic.

Claire undermined her boss last week too didn't she? Very hard to manage. She had a point with Simon though, he turned into an aggressive version of David Brent!


Alex is no fool, I wouldn't wanna be Simons number 2 either. Simon is a nice bloke, but a terrible boss. Alex was the first one to step up to the plate in week one when he took charge. How conveniently people forget that! I don't blame him for wanting to be in the back ground for a while.

I agree. Simon was going to be fired as soon as it was announced they made a loss. Nice bloke but very poor at managing people. Interesting that he really likes Alex. Once again we are at the mercy of the edits.

I dont think he did, he just got exapserated at Claire's attitude. Personally I would have sent her back to the house and worked with a man down rather than put up with it.

... With a win over Alex as team leader previously, does that make him incompetent and stupid also?


I get the impression that Claire is not your favourite.