Profiles

BBC One's The Apprentice is back on our television screens for a fifth series.

Each week, for 12 weeks, there's a new gruelling task and every week one of the 15 new candidates will lose the battle of becoming Sir Alan Sugar's latest employee - the top prize with a job that has a six figure salary.

You're Fired!

Week 10

Sir Alan returned to an old favourite as he set the teams the task of selling live on TV.

The teams had to select, from thousands of products, the ones they thought they could sell best during just one hour of live television.

In week 10 we were introduced to the delights of the Actifry low-fat fryer, the Grabosaurus leaf rake and the Polopancho neckwarmer.

Listen: Interview With Howard

Yasmina Siadatan and Howard Ebison led the teams... Howard went for pricier products, which WAS in keeping with Sir Alan's instincts.

But his team failed to make as many sales as Yasmina's and Howard was surprisingly given the boot over team mate Lorraine Tighe.

Sir Alan said he was too "ordinary" and nice. Our Showbiz reporter Betty Redondo asked him how felt about those comments....

Next Week on The Apprentice: The five remaining candidates must face their biggest verbal challenge yet, as they stand alone and face a gruelling interview process. (BBC One, Wednesdays at 21:00)

Week Nine

Sir Alan sent the teams to London's Earls Court, with the task of selling baby products at the country's biggest baby show.

Success depended on choosing the right products, and the candidates had only one day to check out a range of innovative new baby products.

While one team chose a buggy and a protective helmet for toddlers - and won - the losing team chose a birthing pool and a handmade rocking horse, which cost nearly two thousand pounds.

Losing team leader James took Debra Barr and Ben Clarke into the boardroom showdown.

Listen: Interview with Ben

Unfortunately Ben's luck had run out and he was the victim of Sir Alan's jabbing finger as the trainee stockbroker was fired in week nine.

And it did not make a difference to Sir Alan whether Ben got offered a scholarship to Sandhurst...

The Belfast born and bred Ben looked absolutely heartbroken when he was fired, our Showbiz reporter Betty Redondo caught up with him...

Week Eight

The eight remaining candidates were challenged to use all of their creative and marketing skills to rebrand one of Britain's most enduring tourist attractions - the seaside resort of Margate.

But for Mona Lewis the tide was, sadly, on its way out. Her team chose to chase the pink pound - they wanted to make Margate a destination for gay holiday-makers.

But the team produced a flyer with almost nothing on it and posters which left the advertisers feeling nothing but a chilly coastal breeze.

Week Seven

The teams were tested on their sales skills. Sir Alan sent them to the North of England, where they selected two new innovative products to sell to trade.

He claimed that business was the new rock and roll and that he was the new Elvis! 

Phillip Taylor from County Durham was the latest Sir Alan wannabe to get his marching orders from "The Apprentice". 

The 29 year-old creator of "Pants Man" found himself in the boardroom alongside the losing team leader Lorraine Tighe and Kate Walsh. 

Sparks flew in the showdown in front of Sir Alan as Lorraine accused Phillip of being "distracted" during the task by his burgeoning romance with Kate. 

Listen: Interview with Phillip

Our Showbiz reporter Betty Redondo caught up with the man with the deep Geordie accent and asked him how he felt about being fired...

With tears in his eyes, in his cab home, Phillip admitted he "did take my eye off the ball a bit," but has no regrets about his friendship with Kate and predicts, "she'll go on and win it."

Week Six

The competition heated up as the remaining candidates reached the half way mark.

After trying to sort the gems from the bric-a-brac in episode six, Sir Alan has fired the next candidate who failed to be his Apprentice.

The teams were each given the same 10 auctioneer's items and their task was to figure out their value and sell them, on the streets of London in a race against time, for the best price.

Listen: Interview with Nooral

Nooral Chaudhury was on the losing side and after a few weeks flying under the radar Sir Alan decided his luck had run out.

BBC reporter Jane Prendergast caught up with Nooral to find out what he thought about being fired!...

Noorul said in the black cab: "I certainly think Sir Alan did fire the wrong person. Ben is such a hot head and he lied throughout. 

"The fact that I spoke out against him probably was what led to my downfall."

Week Five

The candidates were given the task of launching a brand identity for a new breakfast cereal.

The teams pitched their idea to a top advertising agency and the most impressive bid would clinch it.

Marketing Consultant Kimberly Davis was project manager for Ignite, saying "this is the project I've been waiting for".

On Kimberly's Ignite team, Phil put forward the theme of pants and the 'Pantsman' for their brand "Wake Up Call" - and railroaded the other candidates into running it.

Unsurprisingly there were arguments along the way, but the pants theme stayed.

However it took the team so long to decide on the theme, that they ran out of time and rather than going back in person, Kimberly had to call the designers on the phone.

Listen: Interview with Kimberly

After feedback on the teams' pitches to the advertisers Sir Alan Sugar decided that Ignite was the weakest and Kimberly dragged Phil and Lorraine back into the boardroom to face Sir Alan.

Kimberly claimed that her real-life job as marketing consultant is managerial rather than creative and labelled Lorraine as a demoralising and destructive influence on the team.

However neither defence washed with Sir Alan and so Kimberly was the latest victim on The Apprentice...

The Winners

Team Empire was led by Kate Walsh and they came up with the brand Treasure Flakes, which broadens out into a pirating and treasure-seeking theme.

Their jingle and commercial were well put together and Sir Alan's advisor Nick, described the latter as excellently timed. The operation was slick and the team gelled.

Week Four

Sir Alan challenged the candidates to make their own natural beauty products.

Noorul's team got into a sticky situation with some Honey soap, but in the end it was some dodgy maths that finished off the other team - project-managed by Human Resources consultant Paula Jones.

Paula and Yasmina got over-excited with the fragrance and added £750 worth of sandalwood to their recipe. They made a loss and lost.

In the boardroom Paula ended up getting her marching orders from Sir Alan. She told our reporter Jane Prendergast that it was definitely the wrong decision...

Listen: Local Therapist's Views

Pat Parkin, from Essentials Beauty in Hinckley, has been a complementary therapist for 10 years and does everything from aromatherapy to Indian head massage.

BBC Leicester's Ben Jackson spoke to the therapist about what went wrong for Paula's team...

Majid Nagra

Week Three

After the catering task, Sir Alan decided to mix the boys' and girls' teams up for the gym challenge.

They had to come up with, and market, a piece of portable home fitness equipment, which led to some strange and not altogether appropriate suggestions!

Empire were the losing team - one buyer said the best part of their pitch was when they took their product away!

Majid Nagra was the unfortunate candidate to be fired.

BBC showbiz reporter Jane Prendergast asked him how he felt about being described as "a passenger"...

Local Fitness Expert's Views

Someone who knows all about what equipment to use in the gym is Dean Hodgkin - he's been voted one of the country's leading fitness experts.

He spoke to BBC Leicester's Charles Dagnall about the contestants attempts to get into the fitness industry...

Rocky Andrews

Week Two

The candidates got heated in the kitchen as they started up a corporate catering company for busy professionals in the city of London.

But was it a five star performance or did Sir Alan's Apprentices end up serving cardboard instead of good food?

The girls team decided to scrimp and save on ingredients. While the boys thought it was a good idea to cater a executive drinks party with an Old Olympian theme.

The boys lost the task and lost Sir Alan £160 after an ill conceived effort to serve canapés and sell lunchtime workers sandwiches.

Project Manager Rocky Andrews is the youngest candidate at 21 years-old and the owner of a chain of sandwich shops. He bore the brunt of Sir Alan's wrath in the boardroom and was FIRED!

BBC Leicester's showbiz reporter Betty Redondo asked Rocky whether he was embarassed he'd lost Sir Alan money...

Local Caterer's Views

Is the catering industry intense and cut throat as what was portrayed in the Apprentice?

BBC Leicester's Ben Jackson spoke to Lucy Cufflin, who's a local caterer about the programme...

Anita Shah - You're Fired!

Week One

The teams were split into Boys vs Girls for a cleaning task (the brief was to make money from cleaning) - and the girls' team lost.

They attempted to clean cars; and one of the key reasons identified for them not having made more money than the boys was that they spent too much budget on industrial cleaning equipment. 

Anita Shah ended up being the person fired as she had been designated as the "accountant".

BBC Leicester's Tony Wadsworth caught up with Anita the day after episode one was aired...

In that role, she, it was said, failed to question the way the money was being spent in her team - playing too passive a role in seeing the money go out... and that could lead to only one conclusion - "You're Fired!"

BBC Leicester have pulled in two of them, Ian Stringer and Jennifer Celerier, to give you a summary and an insight into the competition as the series progresses.

Ian left the show in the third week after his team lost the task of running a pub kitchen, he's now got the top job of BBC Leicester's football commentator.

Jenny famously went out on the double firing in week seven after a debacle involving a 'Kosher Chicken'.

Jennifer Celerier

Listen: Thoughts On Last Year

BBC Leicester's Ben Jackson spoke to Ian and Jennifer just before the first episode of series five was aired...

Originally the show intended to include 16 candidates but one has already dropped out because they were too frightened!

Neither of the Leicester ex-apprentices are surprised; Ian said, "Honestly whenever you hear that music... it sends shivers down your spine".

In the past Jenny has been painted as the villain of last year's show, but she says it's not an entirely fair portrayal of her character:

"I suppose a fraction of my personally is like that and I make no bones that I can be quite tough, but I'm not like that all the time."

Since leaving Sir Alan's boardroom for the last time she has gone back into being a successful businesswoman:

"It's all what you make of it once the show finishes. You can either go down the celebrities Z-list route or you can get on with real business."

"I think the one piece of advise I'd give to anybody who's starting out on that journey at the moment is to keep focused on what's really important, and the true reason why you apply for The Apprentice in the first place."

Under Pressure

Ian Stringer is now BBC Leicester's voice of the Foxes, commentating on every City football match.

He says the television show was instrumental in getting him the position, "It kind of forced me into a corner where I had a big decision to make on my career...

"I decided I was never good enough at football to play professionally, the next best thing is to get paid to talk about it. "

Both Jenny and Ian agreed it was a highly stressful environment, living in close proximity with competing strangers whilst being constantly filmed - they were even escorted to the bathroom!

When in came to the crunch neither were surprised when Sir Alan pointed his finger their way and uttered the now famous words, 'You're fired!'

Jennifer said, "I knew I was getting fired the week previously. He gave me the eye and I knew the moment he got me into the boardroom again I was a gonna."

And just in case you were wondering, Ian still refuses to find a place in his vocabulary for the word 'loser'!