Sorry but firing Raef is the worst decision he's made so far in terms of the competition tonight.

It seems to sum up more about Sir Alan in firing Raef tonight as opposed to who else he could have given he had more problems with them throughout the show.

It seemed to me that he fears anyone with a posh accent and who can conduct themselves in an intellectual way.

Both Claire and Michael should have been sacked long before now if we've to go by SA's own words, and yet it seemed to me that he couldn't wait to get rid of Raef because he was far too posh and intellectual.

I think SA should get what he deserves.....a barrow boy/girl just like himself

What a joke this show has turned out to be

Nonsense. On the basis of the last task (which he led), Raef deserved to go. What's the point in creating a pretty, 'artistic' ad if no-one knows what your product is. It's a basic schoolboy error...and the fact that, even in the boardroom, when asked what he thought of the other ad, he still couldn't spot the fact that they'd at least showed the product just confirms his incompetence in this regard.

I liked Raef, but he forgot about the main point of the task - to sell their product - and Sugar was compelled to fire him.

And as for Sugar being a 'snob' etc...well, judging by your remarks about 'barrow-boys', it seems he's not the only one.

In terms of the 'barrow boy' remark, he's a self-confessed one.

And in terms of the snobbery behind that at me in person, I can see a snob a mile off.

I happen to be an Eastender myself and think SA is scared stiff of an intellectual like Raef becoming more of a celebrity than him and that is why he fired him.

I think everything else that you have said in your post has validity, but when you compare how many times SA has broken or bent the rules to accomodate the barrow people on this show to suit himself, it's beyond ridiculous because his own rules don't even stand up as being credible anymore.

SA has became a laughing stock simply because he has been shown up as not standing by his very own agendas.

So you reckon he's jealous of Raef? That he thinks Raef will sweep in and take over his company?


Simon was a bit of a fluke then.

By the same logic. Who should have gone in the wedding task?
Helene. She volunteered as a PM and she was the worst PM ever in the series. She did not make one decision right. But she was not fired because of her record throughout the series.

Raef said that they should show the product but Michael said it was unnecessary and actually wanted to remove any shot of the tissues box but Raef prevented him.

Raef as a PM should take the responsibility for the task. However, he was made a PM by SAS (instead of Michael who has been asking for it for two episodes) in the first place. SAS should have sorted out Michael once and for all. Also Michael was the one who claimed to have experience in production not Raef!!!

I agree that if this was one of the first 5 tasks, Raef should have been fired. However, at this stage the overall performance should be taken into account and I think Raef is better than Michael.

Yes on the first count.

It's obviously all about TV ratings for SA now....and nothing to do with integrity at all (and what some of us thought it was about when the show set out)

And Simon would have been a good bet if SA had any balls to go with who was most like himself at all. The others are all good telly and car crash TV.

i agree with your "insight" after all why don't the "best" singers win the Xfactor or get past the 1st round,, because its a TV show
but SAS took bad advise I think at the time of filming that he may have been told the GBP wouldn't "get" Raef, hence he wasn't good TV where as Michael is

yes its all pants, I think they/he SAS should get 20 people from Dole queues , they may all be to his liking and shockingly they may even have brains.

I apologise for the use of the words in "" I just thought it was a posh erm pompous thing to do

Doesn't follow as a class argument . Last series he went for the poshest sounding apprentice for no discernable reason at all.

He does seem to have a problem with the smart well educated types though - too many go leaving relative halfwits behind them.

His winners look pretty strange with hindsight. Michelle who some people thought was an odd choice actually makes mores sense than the others given you can see why Ruth might frighten him.

Claire looked the strongest of that team tonight so she should been safe. Raef mucked up the task by starting without any concept to work from, hiring people with no concept to guide him and not having a clear message despite Claire telling him he needed one. Despite that though I can't see how SAS could reach an general conclusion about Raef from one failure or confuse him with Lee and Alex wondering if he avoided the boardroom through luck. Michael contributed to all the mistakes and was coming off a record of serial failure - he should have gone.

It may just be that SAS has some daft ideas in his head about some apprentices and some weeks has no idea whats going on.

Great points made all round Pinkfish

XFactor in itself as to whom the judges tried to gear us to the winner.

Only the audience said different.

This is what I mean about the arrogance about the producers of this show, if not SA himself.

But all in all, it's SA who is left with egg on his face for going with the producer's decision.

But why would he do that in the first place?

For better ratings and absolutely nothing to do with who would be good for his company at all.

It strikes me that SA would be better off employing me....as I can detect BS a mile off

Of "So you reckon he's jealous of Raef? That he thinks Raef will sweep in and take over his company?"


I really don't see that at all.


This, on the other hand, I agree with in the main. It's a TV show and it's successful. There is every reason to think that SAS wants it to continue to be so. I don't however see how Raef was any threat to that.


Ah, my bad in not being clear. I was referring to Simon Ambrose, the posh intellectual who got the job last season.


Yes, I think this is where the "fix" occurred. I think SAS is fairly determined to have Michael in for the long haul presumably on the theory that hateful candidate = good telly.

sir alan is the epitomy of what chav is about. He is a succesful business men but thats all there is too him . plus what i think your all forgetting is that the tasks we see in an hour are edited to make them look a particualar way .

if we had seen the whole thing from start to finish then we may have different opinions

Remember last year's winner? Simon Ambrose - he was hardly the same background as SAS

Isn't it being a snob saying Raef is an intellectual just because he has a posh voice? His educational background is no better than Michael or Claire's. He runs an import/export business from his home - how is that so superior to what the others have done/are doing? Just because he looks like Noel Coward when he wears his dressing gown and has inflatable hair doesn't make him an intellectual.

And if Sir Alan Sugar is a successful businessman - and that's all there is to him - what is he doing fronting this programme? Name me some other celebrity entrepreneurs who you think would do a better job - Richard Branson or James Dyson just wouldn't work, Stelios maybe, Anita Roddick and Sir John Harvey Jones are sadly no longer with us, none of the ones in the Dragon's Den have the personality to carry off an entire series like this although they may have the egos. There may well be some as yet undiscovered business stars out there but I reckon they'll stick with SAS until he gets fed up with it.

No, I don't think it's inverted snobbery. I think Sir Alan feels more drawn to candidates who've had to struggle for success, whatever their class. The underdog, the lone parent, the posh kid who went off the rails, the girl with the tough background, etc. etc.

It's also become increasingly clear to me as each series progresses that despite coming over as a gruff bastard, Sir Alan actually likes candidates who behave with integrity and courage. So I don't think Michael will go the distance, irrespective of whether Sir Alan sees something of himself in him. And I think if Claire keeps demonstrating unpleasant character traits, she's in danger of falling at the final hurdle.

I still believe Lucinda could win this IF she starts delivering results and irrespective of her posh voice. Being a great leader of people won't win her the job. It didn't work for Raef who was a great leader of people but not a project manager. He didn't have the commercial savvy, the killer sales instincts and the strategic business intellect that Sir Alan will need of his apprentice. Claire and Helene don't strike me as the most articulate, intelligent people, not like Raef did, but they've demonstrated more of those 'apprentice' skills than he did. Unfortunately.

If Lucinda wins it will really prove SAS has lost his marbles, she was terrible last night, obstructibe, negatibe, whingy ... Please don't let her win

Just because someone has a 'posh' accent does not make them an intellectual, I am fed up with this mis-conception. Much as I liked Raef, he did little or nothing that could be deemed as 'intellectual' in what I saw of him.

It seems to only applies to men with posh accents though.

Raef can talk the talk but he cant walk the walk.

Sure he looks good and has all the right mannerisms, laughs in the right places, smiles, speaks well...

but he wasnt applying to film school, he was supposed to be selling tissues.

And at the end, Michael was HANGING himself, saying the advert was all his brilliance and instead of letting him, Raef was all "no, no michael, the advert was all my idea, not yours" er, didnt sir allan just say it was a crap advert

Still - i AM stunned that michael is still there, i dont think Sir Allan wants an apprentice, he wants a bitch.

Actually I don`t agree he fears anyone with a posh accent, as someone said, Simon is an example of this.

Look at all the previous Apprentice winners, Tim, Michelle and Simon and see what they all have in common.

Nice enough people but imo, mild, malleable and quiet unassuming characters.

So who is left that is nice enough but mild, malleable, quiet and unassuming?

Alex ......

Nice enough - no.
Mild - to the point of invisibility
Malleable - no
Quiet - no
Unassuming - no, no, no,no, no.

Totally agree.

Alex is a snake.

He hasn't only just hidden himself well in being undetected, he's almost buried himself.

But then he suddenly surfaces to give snide looks to his PM or whoever he needs onside.

Yep....maybe Alex is the deserved winner to fit into SA's mould.

have to agree with this whacky.

i personally haven't singled any of them out as being intellectual!

I'd say Raef had class rather than was intellectual.

I like Raef very much, but you could see he's just not apprentice material for SAS - bet he gets a great job pretty quickly though - I'd love to work for him!