All aboard the Apprentice trainwreck of the week!

[dillite]

Orient Express this ain't.

NigesFakeWalkingDick

I had hoped that she would get fired anyway just for being dreadful.

I had to come on here and see if there was an Apprentice thread!! I had a sneaking suspicion last week that Thomas was growing on me then after seeing him fall on his sword for Pamela this week...well...it's made me want to fall on his sword

Luxury concierge app
Would love to know how that would work. deliveroo but with dry cleaning ????

I'm calling the final now:
Thomas vs Scarlett

Is RM genuinely posh or is he the Hiacint Bucket kind of posh?

“Wot we got 4 dinnaaaa?”

Respect for Thomas there - he’s not my favourite but he knew he would be in with a good chance of being fired considering how many times he’s been on the losing side. He was right though Pamela saved the task with her quick thinking about the meals.

Can’t believe Lottie won and that she treated it like a victory!

@sweetsaltypopcorn That would be my final two as well, love Thomas more tonight though, what a geezer!

R-M has driven me round the bend each week, but I'll grant him that he was funny on You're Fired.

Brave of Thomas to put himself into the firing line, there was a real chance of the musicians being the final straw. At least he had the defence that R-M approved it. He'll have done a lot to keep the clients happy until they got too hungry.

Lottie got lucky, allowed to win by a fruit salad . She's ripe for firing now. The trouble is it's allowed Dean to limp on for another week too. There should have been plenty of wine to go round, so something went seriously wrong in getting it out there. Shame they weren't in the boardroom, because if she'd tried to blame Carina she'd have been torn apart as Carina "got" the client needs and did good service in the kitchen.

Scarlett and Carina are my sensible bets to survive the interviews. Thomas as a wild card with a decent chance if he's got a decent business plan. He has his flaws but has strengths too, and has got better at toning it down and being more workable. Putting himself before Pamela may be favourable to him long-term as a measure of character.

Dean and Lottie are overdue for firing. Lewis has been emerging as a stronger candidate with a good chance. Pamela is competant but quiet, Marriane has a bit more presence and moments of sense amongst some duff decisions.

I can't see Thomas making it to the final five. He's been on borrowed time for weeks now. If his team loses next week, unless he's personally done something amazing, he'll be a goner.

I was so impressed with Thomas last night. There aren’t many candidates that would behave with such chivalry. He’s now My Favourite.

As for Lottie - do shut up dear. Your win was by the skin of your teeth.

Five at interview will be: Carina, Scarlett, Pamela, Lewis, and either Lottie or Thomas. I have a suspicion with the "end of the line" comment that either Lottie or Thomas goes next week; Thomas has been good but he's had his day, he's what Surallan would love but not typical winner material so won't make it to the final.

Final is 2 out of Carina, Scarlett, Pamela - I can't narrow it down further.

If I was Lord S I would've moved the goalposts & said as it was so close that both PMs plus 1 team member were back in the boardroom.

Then I would have fired both Ryan-Mark & Lottie.

Agreed @MrsScrubbingbrush - I couldn't understand why both Claude and Karenbot didn't step in and say 'yeah but the other team were shot'

The thing that really annoys me about the Apprentice tasks is that the winning team is always the one with the shittest product, because they make more profit. That may reflect life, sadly, but it wouldn't work long term for any company.

It isn't that Lottie won, it's that Ryan-Mark lost worse.

I liked Thomas's cheerful "see you later!" to Suralan

(I always wonder how creepy it would be to have that odious little brat advising me with my clothing. But on looking at his LI profile, he's basically just a shop assistant in a posh retailer. His "qualifications" are mainly internal necessary box ticking ones.)

Brave of Thomas to put himself into the firing line, there was a real chance of the musicians being the final straw. At least he had the defence that R-M approved it. He'll have done a lot to keep the clients happy until they got too hungry.

I think he was right that the good start to the day glossed over the incredibly late running of the lunch service.

Lottie is so irritating with her finishing school manners. She may be articulate, but she lacks a natural manner and any experience of handling people. She feels safe within the rules, but hasn't any confidence or charm to go with it.

Hence being so obsessed with putting the table settings out perfectly but not getting the wine flowing well.

I really like Thomas, he reminds me of an overgrown puppy. Honest and ridiculously enthusiastic about everything. He has a really open personality.

I think Alan sees himself in Thomas so will try and keep him in.

I kind of want Lottie (even though she's DREADFUL) to stay because I want to see her getting ripped to pieces by Linda in the interviews...

Thomas has really grown on me too - he seems like a genuinely nice bloke, even if he is a bit to bloke-y for me sometimes.

Lottie really pissed me off with her point-blank refusal to take any responsibility for the lack of meal options for the coeliac lady. None of them thought to ask about dietary needs, but she was the team leader, and the buck stops with her. Frankly she was lucky to win the task.

I think Ryan Mark putting the two women in the kitchen and keeping the other two men for front of house was unforgivable, though, and I am glad he went, for that alone.

I am not watching The Apprentice - You're Fired this year - did he get asked about that?

Thomas was growing on me then after seeing him fall on his sword for Pamela this week...well...it's made me want to fall on his sword

ladyflower

And he would probably tell you it was the best shag of his life!

The big question is: can Sir Alan work with Thomas? I think there is potential and respect there. Thomas is the blokey-sales-guy, but it's not all bullshit. He gets people. He knows when it's worth a push and he's learning when to back off.

The booking the muscian process was civilised. He rang up R-M, was enthusiastic but not bullish. There was clearly less room to negotiate down that more formal kind of act than there was for the circus people. Ultimately R-M accepted it and therefore responsibility as PM.

If Thomas survives the interviews, life beyond the Apprentice is not a competiton against a load of other loud, ambitious candidates, and he does seem to have had consistently good feedback from presenting to proffesionals. Does he have the sense to have a viable business, and he does seem to have one already.

Second week in a row when the PM of the winning team deserved to go

Lottie is increasingly annoying me.

Every time I think she’s just badly edited she posts something stupid on Twitter that removes all doubt that she has a great deal of growing up still to do.

Not liking her to be honest. She seems slightly to the right of Katie Hopkins and is racist to boot.

I like Thomas, I think what you see is what you get with him and he seems to wear his heart on his sleeve.

I suspect he and Lord Sugar are too alike to work together but Thomas has a thriving business anyway and all power to him.

He’s very likeable.

Ryan-Mark is an odd one but he seems very decent and is young with a good future hopefully.

He and Lottie are posting some stupid stuff about being in a relationship at the moment. Obviously they are not and this is a publicity thing which tells me that Lottie will be going at some time too.