Not funny and not clever, he totally deserved to go!!

I personally can NOT see what people like about Raef.

No, really, could someone kindly explain to me, exactly what was supposed to be so endearing about him??

WHY WE LIKE HIM????

i have no answer for you

Guys, I think we should do a numbered list.

1. He is perhaps the only candidate in the history of the Apprentice that did not lower his standards, lose his dignity or result to petty lies in the boardroom.

2. When candidates like Lee and Michael were berating and bullying Sara and thus trying to exploit her vulnerability, he was the sole person who had the courage to stand up to the bullies.

3. He's modest. When endlessly complimented by Adrian Chiles, he didn't let anything go to his head.

4. He isn't bitter. When asked if he resented Michael for his actions in the boardroom, he said that on a personal level - no. Whereas most candidates and indeed any human being would have lost it with Michael after the absurd comments he was making, the most Raef said was that he was "annoyed" with him on a business level.

5. He was gracious in his firing. Instead of some of the other candidates that we've seen who believed they should have stayed when they did an appalling job, Raef didn't contest his firing even though he's done a fantastic job throughout the series.

6. He had real substance. I strongly disagree with that Nick said. I think it's utter rubbish. Raef calculated the risk for the wedding task (and accepted responsibility in case they lost), he bargained the best deal in Marrakech, he learned from his mistake in week one.

7. He shouldn't have gone. Given the endless mistakes and poor performances from Alex, Claire and Michael and the ridiculous amount of times they've been in the board room compared to him - he deserved another chance. They all got plenty!

Blasphemy!

8. He is probably the single most quotable candidate in the history of the show. If you go to the series 4 quotes thread, 2/3 of the total quotes are from Raef. Words truly are his tool!

I haven't watched this week's yet but when I do I know I can expect Raef to handle himself with dignity and poise and to do himself proud. Michael I can expect to be a grovelling, whining twerp. THAT is why I like Raef. Plus he seems to have more than two brain cells to rub together and more than a bit of moral fibre.

Basically, what was said above

Safa1 - Best post ever that wasn't mine. Brought a tear to the eye. You get in there and defend him!

He was hilarious - a genuine young eccentric. Just like a 1970s catalogue model

Cheers, Rhyd

Just to reiterate Safa1's fine words....

Some of us find being beautifully mannered, polite, gracious, good humoured, having a sense of fairness and what's right, and a willingness to work positively as part of a team, extremely winning characteristics.

I can't believe he fired Raef I was shocked.

Didn't like him to start with but over the weeks I've felt he has been honest and even intelligent (unlike some of the others).

Yet they keep the snake in the grass Michael who has backstabbed and grovelled his way into Sirallun's affections. Why does he like this lying cheat? How could you have someone like this in your business?

Raef was shocked by Michael's complete backstabbing after saying they would stick together in the boardroom.

Michael is someone you could never ever trust because the minute they're in the boardroom he tells lies to save his own ass.

OK, I concede all those points, well mannered, well groomed, an ostensible sense of fairness and justice, but how much value would he add to your business? I can't imagine a hardened businessman standing around for hours listening to Raef *finally* getting to the point can you?

I just don't think he actually did anything worth watching!!

Nick's point is that he didn't. He had some good arguments for the high-end dresses, but he didn't seem to consider the alternative strategy of going for the mass market with mid-range prices. Neither team did.


If you mean the cowhide, as I recall he didn't bargain at all. He took the first price offered. A basic error in that situation. OK, obviously it wasn't worth extended haggling, but he could have taken 2 minutes to see if there was any flexibility on price.


His mistake in week one being to mis-identify 3 of the fish? I don't recall any other fish-related tasks in which he demonstrated that he had learned how to do this.

I agree he's a nice person, but he's not come across as very strong in terms of the contest.

They were not given an option for the mass market.


They were already late and till that point, they had not boght any of their 10 items. They were given a very good price and they had to move on. He also negotiated the bedspread and bought it for a much lower price than the other team. We didn't see the negotiation but I don't think this was his fault. Two minutes could have cost them the task if things didn't go their way.


One of his mistakes in week one was his use of the words prince and pauper which were taken against him. He took the challenge the following task, built a good relationship with his team members and led his team to victory.

Raef was a total cock throughout the series. 100% fake.
I'm staggered he lasted that long.
Thank God Sir Alan sussed him out at last.
He'd do well in politics – but I wouldn’t vote for him.

Well, I'm sure he'd get elected without one vote.

Oh yes the cowhide bit is hilarious! He is offered a ridiculously low sum considering the list price and asks the man in disbelief a few times to make sure of the lowness. I really was waiting for him to say it was much too low and offer much more money

Now That was watchable TV!!

Where on earth is your evidence for him being 'fake' - as far as I'm aware he presented himself as polite, well mannered, fair minded and a team player - didn't see anything to the contrary thoughout out the weeks.

This is why I think Raef was fake.

During the series I never saw any one true emotion from the man.
Even when he got fired, he never seemed to show a thread of genuine sentiment.

And those mannerisms!!!

Those dramatised hand jesters, then occasionally speaking out the side of his mouth for more effect.
Even when relaxing with his colleagues in the house, under pressure in the boardroom or when he spoke to the camera during a talking head shot the emotion was always the same.
It was like he was reading from a script.

I'm not saying he was a bad guy – he was very entertaining – but very false.

Rubbish.

You have no evidence to back that statement up. You don't know him personally.

Is it a funny glove puppet?

Are you sure? They were shown more designers than made the edit.


They could afford 2 minutes. Having spent so much time getting to the place, it was foolish not to take the tiny amount of extra time to get a better price. Losing a few pounds there could have cost them the task.


We didn't see it, so maybe it was Helene who got the low price. In any case, the competition for that item was the disaster that was Alex and Claire, so it's not that impressive.


I didn't have a problem with that; I understood what he meant and it was the opposite of what Sir Alan took him to mean. However, if that was his mistake he certainly didn't learn from it and continued using florid, convoluted language through-out the show. His surfeit of style is probably a big part of why Sir Alan thought he was all style and no substance.

It wasn't so much of a shock to see him not last until the final.
He was completely arrogant in the boardroom when he gave his opinion on the Atishu commercial. 'Atishu' was a cheap looking advert but he failed to spot flaws in his own teams commercial, even after Claire had mentioned this to him. His advert was rather a fitting tribute to him. Very clean and polished to look at but underneath all that style there was no real substance.

Then there was the laundry task, his team won but his attitude was let the others graft. He is not the type of man who would sweat a drop to get the task done.

Raef actually did go against his word and turn on Michael in the boardroom, though.

i thought Raef was so funny. IMO he acted like such an idiot and thats why I found him funny