Yeah the Apprentice is back tonight!

[ViolentBunny]

Let the nutfest begin!

(Yeah I know i'm early but I just couldn't help it)

Advice, you are so, so right! It was bugging me. It was her or her twin, surely?
I loved Raef's hot pink jumper in the final scene and the way he stayed right out of the bitchfest between Helene and Lucinda (while clearly trying to help L out as much as he could)
The backstabbing is definitely at an all-time high this series, last year Katie was the only true, true villain while this year we're spoilt for choice
Makes me so happy

I loved Raef's lipstick pink jumper and blue and white striped Oxford shirt. He looked so Trewhitt.

I have loved Raef from the beginning. He as well as Simon are the only ones to have maintained their dignity. I love Simon too and in this task, he was at the limit of his ability. However, if his backroom team had been competent and dedicated their energies to producing the prints instead of bitching about Simon, the result would have been much better and they probably would have won because their costs were lower.

A good leader knows their limitation and compensates for this by putting people into posts that will supplement the gaps in the leader's abilities. Simon did this but because the sharks did not like him and were themselves incompetent, it made him look incompetent, lacking control and out of his depth.

I feel sorry for Lucinda because she is being bullied for being quirky and indifferent to those around her. I like the black girl because she is of a cheery disposition but we have not really seen much of her.

I have never liked Alex and he revealed in this task that he is a duplicitous, unprincipled, dishonourable, mendacious, Machavillian (sp) cockroach who will turn on anybody in a second to save himself.

AM I alone in wanting to flashmob the house & kick seven bells out of certain people (clair, helene, alex etc)

This year there is a high concentration of nasty, vile, contemptible sharks so no, you are not alone

I thought Alex and Claire were equally vile - and the moment when Margaret so beautifully put the boot in - had me cheering!

what's with all the product that the men shove in their hair? Alex looks esp awful

Claire is so smirky all the time, hope she fails next week

Margaret comes across as so sensible - she must have been really unimpressed by Alex and Claire.

Empty barrels make the most noise - hence why Claire likes the sound of her voice.

I am not sure about Lucinda at all - on the apprentice website it states - Lucinda -Born in Singapore, she began her career in Risk Management before undertaking various roles involving I.T. in the financial sector. So if she worked in IT she can't surely be technically incompetent

Loved the 'He looks like he combs his hair with a firework' comment made by Simon about Alex.

I find the general bullying towards in Lucinda in the last 2 episodes really uncomfortable. They really are bitchy this time.

It's difficult because it is edited and we don't see what goes on in the house, but why are they SO mean?

I really hope a bitch doesn't win.

It was good to see Margaret knowing exactly what was going on this time, and I loved it every time she said something!

When Jenny was really laying into Lucinda in the car I made a note to self not to to go on at DS after the fact. I sat there thinking "its over, whether you are right or wrong about her behaviour, what you say is not going to change her and its just making everything miserable". They should market it as a parenting show.

I love The Apprentice (just got my fix on Sky+), but why oh why are they are always so disorganised and over-elaborate?

Sort out what you're going to spend (i.e. not very much); sort out your prices - to make some money; and don't over extend yourselves. Simple. But they've got it wrong everytime. They really must work in some crappy companies. Gah. Sir Alan, where's my job?

To be fair, I think its quite difficult to foresee some of the things that go wrong e.g. working out a system to track which photos needed to be developed. In real life you would be able to have a dry run.

The only one I really like this time is Raef.
Tonight I watched another Apprentice programme when they looked back at previous candidates. I have to say, even the 'losers' from back then look better than this years lot! With the exception of Katie...
I really hope Claire gets fired next week.

we watched that too -and agree,they were much better than this years lot..my favourite of all was James Max from the first one

Yes we liked James too! I really thought he'd make it to the final.
Thought it was interesting that they showed Margaret saying Sir Alan should have employed Ruth and not Michelle!

I'm looking forward to the Irish one (forget her name) taking charge. The one who thinks she may possibly be the best salesperson in Europe.

(How many European salespeople has she met, I wonder)

Did anyone read Charlie Brooker in the Guardian guide this week ? - hilarious ! also Alex Clark at the back of The Observer on the wonderful Margaret Mountford ( I think I have a school girl crush on her too)

Is Margaret Mountford the hockey mistress who works for Sir Alan? She's a legend, or deserves to be.

yes, I am ! I think she is fab...

I love Margaret too

If all these people have such stellar careers surely they would be earning six figure salaries in real life already without having to take the risk of coming on a show like this? Or am I missing something?

that's exactly what dh said !