Series Ten of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2014 from 14 October to 21 December on BBC One; as both the FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were taking place in Summer that year, the BBC chose to postpone the series' broadcast until the middle of Autumn to avoid clashing with live coverage of both sporting events. It is the last series to feature Nick Hewer as Lord Sugar's aide, after he officially announced his decision to depart that year, with Series 8 winner, Ricky Martin, making an appearance as one of the interviewers for the Interviews stage of this series. To mark the tenth year of the programme, twenty candidates took part, naming their teams Summit and Tenacity (the latter initially Decadence), with Mark Wright winning the series.
The series opened with two episodes aired on consecutive dates before following the show's usual scheduling, with the final episode aired a few days after the Interviews episode to avoid clashing with the BBC's Christmas schedule. In addition, three specials aired alongside the series; the first called "Ten Years of The Apprentice", which looked back over the previous nine years of the show, was shown on 13 October prior to the start of the series, while the remaining two specials aired during the series' final weeks, and were new editions of "The Final Five" on 16 December, and "Why I Fired Them" on 18 December.
Key:
The candidate won this series of
The Apprentice.
The candidate was the runner-up.
The candidate won as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage.
The candidate was on the losing team for this task.
The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task.
The candidate was fired in this task.
The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired.
Original Air Date: 14 October 2014
Summit: Felipe (Project Manager), Daniel, Robert, Mark, Chiles, Solomon, Steven, Scott, James and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Sarah (Project Manager), Bianca, Pamela, Nurun, Lauren, Ella Jade, Katie, Roisin, Jemma and Lindsay.
Task: Sell products taken from each beginning task of the past 9 years of the show - flowers, lemons and potatoes, coffee beans, balloons in the shape of fish (in the place of actual fish), cleaning supplies, sausages and T-shirts. Most profit made, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity opted to use their coffee beans for a coffee stand and brand their T-shirts, selling the rest as they were. While the team managed to sell well, Sarah's leadership was poor and she infuriated her team throughout the task, while their branded T-shirts sold for a loss after she failed to initially provide money for the work. Meanwhile, Summit opted to convert their sausages into hot dogs and also sell branded T-shirts. While the team were stronger, their performance was let down by Robert, who wasted time and money on getting buying expensive garnish for the hot dogs and thus making them miss out on the lunchtime trade, and by Chiles, who made the decision of ignoring the more valuable T-shirts to prioritise his sub-team on their other items. Overall, these mistakes effectively cost the team any chance of victory.
Result: Summit had a profit of £696.70, while Tenacity had a profit of £753.50.
Winner: Tenacity - By £56.80.
Reward: To mark the tenth series, the winners enjoyed the same reward of the first episode of the show - A VIP cabin on the London Eye.
Brought into the boardroom: Felipe, Chiles and Robert.
Fired: Chiles - For his poor leadership of his sub-team, selling nothing, trying to scapegoat Steven for the task's failure, and for his fatal decision to prioritise other, less valuable items over the T-shirts.
You're Fired Panel: Katherine Ryan, Greg James and Dale Murray.
Notes:
While Tenacity won, Sarah found her leadership greatly criticised by her team, who felt frustrated with her baffling decisions and suggestions, including her attempt to sell cleaning products to London Zoo, along with poor organisation, her refusal to participate in sales, and trying to take credit for the work of others; it was strongly implied that had the team lost, this criticism would have led to her being fired. In addition, Lord Sugar was not pleased over Nurun's choice of "Decandence" for the team's name on this task, and so ordered it to be changed before the next task, especially after Nick noted the many negative connotations associated with the word.
Neither Nick nor Lord Sugar agreed that Steven was most responsible for Summit's loss, after the men attempted to blame him because of his disruptive attitude, as Nick felt he was being set up as a scapegoat by Chiles, since he had been the most vocal to oppose his decision on the T-shirts. Felipe was thus warned not to bring him back as a result.
While Dan was praised for being the best salesperson on Summit, Scott, who narrowly avoided being brought back, was criticised in contrast for his poor selling and lack of presence, with Lord Sugar describing him as being "The Poodle of Petticoat Lane". In addition, James, while not facing any likelihood of being fired for this task, was also criticised for repeatedly interrupted Mark's pitch despite receiving warnings on this, and getting confused during a later pitch.
Although Felipe and Robert were not fired, Lord Sugar felt both were still accountable for their team's loss - Felipe was heavily criticised for his failure to sell anything and allowing Robert to push for the expensive ingredients for their hot dogs, while Robert was criticised for the hot dog fiasco; on her appearance on You're Fired a week later, Karren commented to him that the hot dogs ended up being revolting in her opinion.
On You're Fired, both the majority of the audience and one of the panel agreed to Chiles' firing. The two panellists who didn't, felt that Robert was more deserving of being fired. While Chiles was not shown to be fired with regret on the main show, he was on You're Fired, with Lord Sugar stating during Why I Fired Them that while he felt he had lots of potential, his fatal decision regarding the T-shirts was too unforgivable to ignore.
Original Air Date: 15 October 2014
Summit: Scott (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Robert, Mark, Solomon, Steven, James and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Nurun (Project Manager), Sarah, Bianca, Pamela, Lauren, Ella Jade, Katie, Roisin, Jemma and Lindsay.
Task: Design and pitch a piece of wearable technology to three retailers. Most orders received, wins.
Task Review: Summit went with a jumper with a built-in video camera covered in LEDs that lit up when the camera was running, only after they were forced quickly come up with a new idea after their initial design was rejected for being unfeasible for the target price point. Along with the discovery that their camera was wrongly installed and a pitch was ruined by Daniel, feedback on their product from the retailers was strongly negative, as they objected to its design, feeling it had the potential to invade a person's privacy and would leave girls uncomfortable from being recorded by a camera on the chest, thus giving them no orders. Meanwhile, Tenacity went with a jacket that had solar panels on the shoulders, a built in phone charger and heat pads, though only after Katie took over the manufacturing briefing after Nurun attempted to appease her team by combining various suggestions and ideas. While she struggled during one pitch, and their product had some issues, one retailer saw the potential in it and made an order, effectively winning them the task.
Result: Tenacity secured 250 orders, while Summit secured no orders.
Winner: Tenacity - By 250 orders.
Reward: Jetpack flying across the Surrey Docks.
Fired (after the result): Robert - For refusing to step up as PM against Lord Sugar's advice, making no positive contributions on both tasks, and for stating he would only lead if the task involved high-end, luxury goods.
Brought into the boardroom: Scott, Daniel and Solomon.
Fired (during final boardroom): Scott - For his nonexistent leadership, failing on a task he had some knowledge of, taking a backseat after his initial idea was rejected, and for taking no responsibility for the team's loss.
You're Fired Panel: Josh Widdicombe, Daniel Hirschman and Karren Brady
Notes:
Although Tenacity won, neither Karren or Lord Sugar were happy with the team's performance. While Sarah and Lindsay were criticised for contributing little, Bianca was given a severe warning, after it was felt she had set up Nurun on this task by forcing her to be the team's PM, when her technical expertise made her more suitable for this task, with Sugar sympathising with Nurun after her team gave her leadership a poor review.
Upon seeing Summit's jumper, Lord Sugar deemed it one of the worst products to be ever designed on the show, declaring that "even the shoplifters would bring it back". Although Solomon, who refused to be PM as he claimed had no fashion expertise, despite his technology background being more than adequate for the role, provided an idea that was more feasible than this, it was quickly shot down by the team. While he was accused of bottling out of the PM role, Lord Sugar warned him to be stronger in future when putting forward suggestions.
After it was strongly implied that he lead Summit on this task, due to his fashion-related business plan and his creativity, Robert immediately ducked out of the role after stating he would be much happier working with designing a "high-end luxury" item rather than a mainstream product. Immediately after the task's results were given, Lord Sugar fired him as a direct result of this, adding that his team would most likely have blamed him for their loss at any rate. Robert is the first candidate in the show's history to be fired immediately after the results of a task.
A notable factor behind Scott's firing was that he took a back-seat as the team's leader after an initial idea for their product was rejected, leaving most of the decision to be made by his team, including Robert despite his refusal to lead. Most of the men, particularly Mark and James, were critical of him in the boardroom, especially as he had refused to give any of them guidance and refused to ignore criticism about this.
On You're Fired, both the panel and the audience were unanimous in agreeing with Robert's firing. However, only one panellist disagreed with Scott's firing; the two that agreed said that it had been close between him and Daniel, the latter being heavily criticised in the boardroom for blowing his pitch and for admitting he had little faith in the product, though Karren commended Scott for stepping up when no-one else was willing to. In addition, the panel felt that Nurun should have led better, yet agreed that she had been undermined by being forced into the PM role for her team.
Original Air Date: 22 October 2014
Summit: Roisin (Project Manager), Bianca, Mark, Solomon, Nurun, James, Sanjay and Lindsay.
Tenacity: Katie (Project Manager), Felipe, Sarah, Daniel, Pamela, Steven, Lauren, Ella Jade and Jemma.
Task: Sell a brand new range of home fragrance products to the public and businesses. Most profit made, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity created a line of products branded "British Breeze", with Katie focusing on profit margins by ensuring costs were kept low, despite making one product unappealing after going against her team's market research. While the team struggled with the high price of their goods and had unsold stock by the end of the day, they secured a large deal thanks to Ella Jade's efforts. Meanwhile, Summit created a luxury brand called "Beach Dreams", with Roisin focusing on using expensive, high end ingredients for their products, while insisting her team lower their prices if they were not selling, though this was soon disregarded. Despite a good start, problems soon arose; both Nurun and Lindsay sold very little in the task, James sold a vast amount of their stock for less than half the original price, while Roisin sold off their diffusers to a gift shop in the same manner, forgetting that she had made an agreement to sell these to a hotel. These mistakes ultimately cost the team victory.
Result: Tenacity had a profit of £1,584.09, while Summit had a profit of £1,569.32.
Winner: Tenacity - By £14.77
Reward: A trip to a spa.
Fired (during internal review): Lindsay, with regret - For openly admitting she was out of her league in the competition, her dismal performance in the process, and for making only a single sale in the task.
Brought into the boardroom: Roisin, James and Nurun.
Fired (during final boardroom): Nurun - For lacking any assertiveness, selling poorly despite her market stall experience, and for her poor performance as PM on the previous task.
You're Fired Panel: Jo Malone, Sara Cox and Hugh Dennis.
Notes:
During the task, James attempted to write out "recommended retail price" on Summit’s advertising board, forcing Karren to make a rare intervention and instruct him to remove it immediately, after pointing out it was unethical to do so for a one-off sale.
After the results were made, Lord Sugar remarked that although Tenacity still had unsold stock, they would have made more money the next day if the task had not been a one-day sale, hinting that the team may have been granted the win regardless if they had lost. However, Sarah found herself criticised for being not involved in sales and making bizarre suggestions that frustrated her sub-team, while Katie, despite doing well with profit margins, was criticised for ignoring the team's market research by creating products based on her personal tastes.
During the review of Summit's performance, Lindsay came under fire for being ineffective in all three tasks, to which she shocked everyone by openly admitting she could not handle the competition, and that she was out of her depth. With some sympathy, Lord Sugar quickly fired her as a direct result, leaving Nurun to be scrutinised over her performance; after Lindsay, she became the team's next worst seller, despite having previous experience operating a market stall.
Although James was not fired due to his sales figures in the task, Lord Sugar did not approve of his behaviour in the boardroom, and held him responsible for the misleading advertisement, the poor handling of the sub-team, and for setting prices too low. Despite Roisin's average sale price being less than half the original at £9.50, and her mistake with the diffusers, Sugar was not especially critical of her as he felt her leadership had been good, and that the responsibility for the team's loss was with James' sub-team.
On You're Fired!, Lindsay's firing was supported by the audience and the panel, with Lindsay herself admitting she would have quit the show had she not been fired after this task. However, while the majority of the audience agreed to Nurun's firing, two of the panellists felt that James should have been fired because of his behaviour and the poor control he had over his sub-team. Although Nurun was not shown to be fired with regret, it was revealed on You're Fired! that she was.
Original Air Date: 29 October 2014
Summit: Solomon (Project Manager), Bianca, Mark, James, Roisin, Jemma and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Ella Jade (Project Manager), Felipe, Sarah, Daniel, Pamela, Steven, Lauren and Katie.
Task: Launch an online video channel and promote an original video, collaborate with a well-established channel and also pitch the channel to get a link from a major website. Most views received, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity decided for videos to focus on fitness instructor theme, with Felipe starring as a "fat daddy" that Katie was helping to get fit, with Ella Jade choosing to collaborate with a channel more directly related to their content. However, the team faced problems; their first video came out poorly and was released without Sarah adding a description or title to it, while Steven harmed their pitch to the major website, who felt their concept was offensive and thus chose not to link to their content. Meanwhile, Summit based their videos around comedy sketches in which James played a mad chef who was fed unusual items of food by Roisin, yet while they had no major issues, the major website felt their content was aimed for a more younger audience than they intended, thus not linking to them. Deciding not to pick a channel related to food, Solomon chose to go for a popular channel to collaborate with, which proved to be a decisive decision, as it ultimately secured the team victory.
Result: Summit got 3,532 views, while Tenacity got 3,314 views.
Winner: Summit - by 218 views
Reward: A trip to a volcanic spa in Reykjavík
Brought into the boardroom: Ella Jade, Sarah and Steven.
Fired: All three of them for the following reasons:
Steven - For blowing his pitch to the major website, barely contributing to the tasks, and for failing to amend his volatile personality.
Sarah - For failing to use her background in the task, her mistake on one of the videos and attempting to blame Lauren for them, lacking confidence from the other candidates, being unable to take criticism, and for her weak performance throughout the previous tasks.
Ella Jade - For her poor directing, poor leadership, inability to take criticism, lacking real business experience, and for failing in a task that was tailored to her business plan.
You're Fired Panel: Sarah Wood, Matt Edmondson and Romesh Ranganathan
Notes:
Both Ella Jade and Solomon were appointed by Lord Sugar as their respective teams' project manager, based upon their business plans, with Jemma moved over to Summit and warned to step up, as Sugar felt she had contributed little in the previous tasks.
The key factor behind the task's results came down to which YouTube partner the teams collaborated, after the major website, Buzzfeed, refused to link to their videos. Both Summit and Lord Sugar commended Solomon's decision to pursue a channel with good viewing figures, instead of one that had more related content. In contrast, while Tenacity were more complementary about Pamela's collaboration with their YouTube star, Sugar admitted he was not overly impressed with their performance in the task.
Unimpressed with the final three, Lord Sugar felt that none of them could no longer continue in the process. Steven was first to go, as he felt he was now a "lost cause" and that he had not done anything about his abrupt personality. Sarah was next, as she had received unanimous condemnation from her team, Karren and Nick over her overall performance, with the truth over her experience with dating sites exposed in the final boardroom, alongside Sugar noting that she refused to take in criticism over her actions, including her leadership on the first task. Ella Jade was the last to be fired, as Sugar noted that she had failed to use her background and skills in the task.
This episode marks the first triple firing to occur outside of the Interviews stage. As no candidates returned from the boardroom, Lord Sugar contacted the remaining candidates by phone to inform them of his decision, much to their shock.
On You're Fired, both the audience and two of the panellists to the decision to fire Steven and Sarah for this task; the vote was fairly close in Steven's case, near-unanimous with Sarah. Due to a personal bereavement, Ella Jade was unable to attend the show, as her father had died on the week of its recording, and as a result no vote was held on her firing. She did later appear on You're Hired at the end of the series and was shown her highlights, while commenting that she had enjoyed her time in the process before her firing.
Original Air Date: 5 November 2014
Summit: Sanjay (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, James, Roisin and Jemma.
Tenacity: Daniel (Project Manager), Felipe, Pamela, Mark, Lauren and Katie.
Task: Set up and run a coach tour, taking Londoners out to two tourist sites, with refreshments included. Most profit made (including sales on tours, and tips), wins.
Task Review: Tenacity arranged for their coach tour to visit Blenheim Palace and Oxford and charged high prices for their tickets, with the team focusing on low costs, which were helped further by Mark's negotiations securing them good discounts at their sites. Their customers gave good feedback on their coach tour, thanks to Lauren's exceptional tour of Blenheim, offsetting both Felipe's rather mediocre tour in Oxford and the substandard refreshments they offered. Meanwhile, Summit arranged for their coach tour to visit Hever Castle and Canterbury and focused on offering low ticket prices, though had trouble securing discounts as James pushed for one that one site would not agree with. Their coach tour proved to be disastrously bad; despite offering good refreshments, traffic delayed their start, James forced a sing-along upon their customers, Jemma was ill-prepared for the tour of the castle, and the group got lost in Canterbury, cutting their visit to their second site. These mistakes effectively wrecked any chance of the team securing a win.
Result: Tenacity had a profit of £1,037.99, while Summit had a profit of £813.70.
Winner: Tenacity - By £224.29
Reward: Abseiling from the Orbit sculpture in London.
Brought into the boardroom: Sanjay, Bianca and Jemma
Fired: Jemma - For her lack of presence, her poor tour at the first site, making no significant contributions in the past five tasks, and for her lacklustre defence in the boardroom.
You're Fired Panel: Ruth Badger, Sarah Millican and Alex Brooker.
Notes:
Before the task began, Mark was moved over to Tenacity to even out the teams following the last task.
Prior to the results, Daniel found his leadership greatly criticised as being poor by his team, who felt that Mark had contributed greatly on the task; although he had kept costs down, Daniel demonstrated a minimal sales strategy and failed to see anything, as well as offering a poor quality lunch that Nick deemed to be unsuitable for a luxury tour. It was heavily indicated he would have been fired if his team had lost, as Pamela openly denounced Daniel's leadership after the results, while the others ostracised him throughout the reward and continued to do so when they returned to the house.
Although James was not fired due to his vast sales of Summit's well received refreshments, he was lambasted for his numerous errors, including his aggressive attempts to secure a high discount at Hever Castle, and his forced sing-a-long on the coach that was panned by customers, and that led Karren describing the team's tour as "the coach ride from hell". Lord Sugar warned him that if it had not been for his key part in sales, he would have fired him, regardless of whether he was brought back or not.
Although Bianca's error was considered a "fireable offence" by Lord Sugar, after she allowed a group of tourists to get the upper hand when she stated they were her "last pitch of the day", he felt that she had more potential to his business partner than Jemma did, especially after she tried to make Bianca take the blame for her own errors. Likewise, despite highlighting Sanjay's questionable pricing decision as the main reason for the failure of the task, Sugar felt he also had potential, but warned him that he had no more room for error.
After Bianca returned to the candidate's accommodation, she was forced to break up a major argument between Daniel and Mark, The pair had been arguing over who had been responsible for helping Tenacity to win the task, with Mark accusing Daniel of lying repeatedly about his sales. On his appearance on You're Fired!, Daniel claimed that this task marked the beginning of the feud between the two men, which continued until the end of the series.
On You're Fired!, both the audience and the panel disagreed with Jemma's firing. Two of the panellists felt that Sanjay should have gone for setting the tour's price too low, along with not bringing back James, whom they felt also equally deserving of dismissal.
Original Air Date: 12 November 2014
Summit: James (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, Roisin and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Pamela (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Mark, Lauren and Katie.
Task: Design a brand new board game, then sell it to retailers across London. Most sales made, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity went with a dating board game called "The Relationship Guru", though Pamela ignored the negative feedback from her team and the market research. Although sales were average, both their test group and the retailers hated it, the former feeling it was offensive and sexist, while the latter disapproved of the questions that Daniel devised for it. Meanwhile, Summit went with an educational geography game called "GeoKnow" after initially struggling for ideas, with the format well received by both their market research and their game's test group. However, the team struggled to sell, partly due to James' leadership and 'fire selling' tactics, but mostly from Bianca after she offered a small retailer exclusivity of their game within the borough of Westminster for a small number of units, hampering subsequent sales in the area. Despite this, the game proved popular and the team's sales ultimately secured them victory.
Result: Summit had sales of £2,080, while Tenacity had sales of £1,101.25.
Winner: Summit - By £978.75
Reward: Playing football with David Seaman
Brought into the boardroom: Pamela, Daniel and Lauren
Fired: Pamela - For ignoring market research and backing a concept that was greatly flawed, attempting to blame Daniel for the failure of the task, her inability to take criticism, and for not bringing Mark back into the boardroom.
You're Fired Panel: Ade Adepitan, Rachel Lowe and Tiff Stevenson.
Notes:
Despite Summit winning, most of the team felt that James had been very dictatorial with his leadership and that he hadn't learnt from previous mistakes, with Bianca most vocal after quarrelling with him throughout the task. However, despite warning him he still had a lot to learn, Lord Sugar felt impressed that James had stepped up and tried to take his advice on board, adding that Bianca's actions with the exclusivity offer had undermined him on the task. In regard to her mistake, Bianca admitted that she meant to say postcode rather than borough when making the offer.
Despite his impressive sales on the task, Mark faced extensive criticism from Lord Sugar in the boardroom on his overall process on prior tasks. He was accused of taking a backseat by leading sub-teams, taking credit for victories and shifting blame from himself if on the losing team, with the accusations backed by the fact that he pushed for Pamela to be PM on the task, and then condemned his initial concept as soon as feedback from the market research reached him. As a result, he was warned to take responsibility for his decisions in the future.
While not fired, Daniel was held responsible for creating the playing cards that had been regarded to being inappropriate or sexist, with serious concerns raised about his attitude. Likewise, Lauren avoided being fired, as Lord Sugar accused her of sitting back like Mark, while Pamela had noted that she failed to suggest a solution to her criticism of the product. After she had left, Sugar stated to his advisers that he felt both she and Mark were playing a "game", and would fire them if they continued to do so.
On You're Fired, the panel agreed to Pamela's dismissal, but theorised that Mark had set her up from the beginning, and thus would have been deserving of being fired if he had been brought back. Although she repeatedly insisted that the concept of Tenacity's game was sound, Pamela conceded on the show that the product had been poor.
Original Air Date: 19 November 2014
Summit: Bianca (Project Manager), Solomon, James, Roisin and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Mark (Project Manager), Felipe, Daniel, Lauren and Katie.
Task: Advertise a brand new soft drink in the United States; one half in London designs the drink and digital board advert, the other half create a video advert and pitch it in New York. Lord Sugar chooses the winner.
Task Review: Tenacity opted to create a brand of health drink named "Aqua Fusion". While its concept was considered good, it had issues; the taste received a lukewarm reception, their branding was considered bland, their video advert was poor, and the pitch led by Felipe and Lauren was considered to be dull. Meanwhile, Summit opted to create a fizzy drink named "Big Dawg", with the taste being well received in their market research, despite half the team finding it overpowering. While the brand's logo was found to be flawed and their video advert was terrible, their pitch was considered very good with the campaign deemed to be attention-grabbing. The executive effectively deemed their campaign the best, earning them victory.
Winner: Summit - For having a better concept and branding to their product, despite their advert being worse.
Reward: Meal at top floor of Tower 42
Brought into the boardroom: Mark, Daniel and Lauren.
Fired: Lauren - For giving a boring presentation, failing to step up despite being warned to in the previous boardroom, and for no longer being considered as suitable to be Lord Sugar's business partner.
You're Fired Panel: Richard Reed, Claude Littner and Katherine Ryan
Notes:
During the task, Sanjay believed that James sought to secure a place on Bianca's sub-team, when she was picking which members of Summit to be on it, by remaining quiet about his knowledge of cocktails and his bar experience until he was in New York.
While Lord Sugar considered the overuse of yellow in Tenacity's branding as the key factor behind their loss, he countered Mark's attempt to blame Felipe and Lauren for the team's poor pitch, pointing out that he had put them forward without truly considering the merits of each member of his team.
While Lord Sugar felt that Mark and Daniel had at least tried to stand out on the task, neither escaped criticism. Daniel came under fire for not showing the business skills he claimed to possess and for the poor advertising, despite the fact Katie had helped, while Mark's leadership was criticised, as although Nick thought he had a good management style, clear issues were raised over his allocation of roles on the task, while he was accused of lying about his credentials in order to become PM, as it was felt he took the role to avoid being criticised for not stepping up.
On You're Fired, both the panel and the audience disagreed with Lord Sugar's decision, feeling that Mark should have been fired for his performance. While she was not shown to be fired with regret, Lauren revealed on the show that was. In addition, while Daniel and Katie had implied they would have voted for Lauren as the team's PM if they had known that Mark was misleading them, it was noted on the show that she had been just as bad as him, as she had exaggerated her claims that her brief visits to New York had given her broad "local knowledge".
Original Air Date: 26 November 2014
Summit: James (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon, Roisin and Sanjay.
Tenacity: Felipe (Project Manager), Daniel, Mark and Katie.
Task: Choose and sell products at the Royal Bath and West Show; two items never sold at the show before, and a high-ticket item with previous success at the event. Most sales made, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity chose to sell a handbag made from flatcaps and a bike trailer that provided a child seat for a cyclist, while also securing the right to sell hot tubs at the show. The team made excellent earnings at the show, thanks to Mark and Katie handling the hot tub sales, while they struggled with the other items, partly due to constant arguments from Daniel with Felipe over the allocation of the team on their items. Meanwhile, Summit chose to sell a hanging chair and folding wellingtons, though this was forced onto them by James, who lost out on the hot tubs after failing to impress their vendor and thus chose for the team to sell lawnmowers instead. However, their performance was poor at the show; Roisin and James only managed to sell one lawnmower each, while the other team struggled to sell due to their anger over the product selection, with Sanjay selling little. This ultimately cost the team any chance of securing a win.
Result: Tenacity had sales of £30,115.25, while Summit had sales of £4,757.50.
Winner: Tenacity - By £25,357.75
Reward: Boxing masterclass with Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ogogo
Brought into the boardroom: James, Sanjay and Roisin
Fired: James, with regret - For his atrocious leadership and decisions, failing to secure the hot tubs, bringing Roisin back for mostly personal reasons, for not amending his immature and arrogant attitude, and for still having "a lot to learn".
You're Fired Panel: Dale Murray, Joe Lycett and Nick Hewer.
Notes:
The new products the teams could sell at the event were - Foldable Wellies, A Gutter Cleaning Robot, A Fashionable Outdoor Swing Chair, A 'Flat Cap' Handbag, A Pet Tracker, A Bicycle Trailer, and A Flushable Cat Box. The High End Items that had sold well at the event were: Hot Tubs, Lawn Mowers, and BBQs.
In the boardroom, Katie found herself labelled as a "mummy" figure by Lord Sugar, after she found herself keeping the rest of Tenacity in line throughout the task, from telling Felipe to negotiate for lower prices and informing Daniel he was being too aggressive when picking out the high end items, to breaking up an argument between the pair during the show over after Daniel had pushed to sell their hot tubs, only for Mark to be assigned to this job instead alongside Katie, causing him to maintain a negative attitude for the rest of the task, despite the fact that the choice had been a good one in the end.
Compared to his performance on the sixth task, Lord Sugar commented that James had made "all the wrong decisions"; his sub-team heavily criticised his choice of products for them to sell, after they found that the customer base would have been suitable for their ideal choices, while Roisin exposed him for lying about his decision to take on the lawnmowers, being the only one to witness the hot tub deal fall through, after she grew tired of his attitude towards her and the team and his desire not to admit the truth. Despite the heavy criticism he received, Lord Sugar wished him luck as he left, believing he would be a success after earning a little more experience.
Both Roisin and Sanjay were told by Lord Sugar that he expected them to step up in response to the firing of James, as he always contributed in tasks. While Roisin claimed she had always contributed, she was found to given high sales figures on the task and had provided a passionate defence in the final boardroom, raising questions about why she had been brought back. In contrast, Sanjay admitted to being the worst salesperson on the team after Nick pointed out that he hadn't featured in his notes for this task, with his defence of his track record being not well received.
On You're Fired, both the panel and audience overwhelmingly agreed with Lord Sugar's decision, with James himself accepting that he had probably run his course. The panellists also believed that Mark had engineered his efforts to sell the hot tubs, as he had stated during the main show that he was not prepared to trust Daniel with something so crucial.
Original Air Date: 3 December 2014
Summit: Sanjay (Project Manager), Bianca, Solomon and Roisin.
Tenacity: Daniel (Project Manager), Felipe, Mark and Katie.
Task: Buy a set list of items on a budget of £1,000, all chosen from the last nine series of discount buying, negotiating for low prices. Least amount spent, after addition of fines, wins.
Task Review: Summit spent a lot of time researching the items needed. While Roisin outshone herself by negotiating well for the diamond they needed, Sanjay caused the considerable problems, as he randomly picked places for them to go in spite of their research, causing them to waste time and arrive back late, while forcing Bianca to overtake several of the pitches he made. Meanwhile, Tenacity did their research quickly before heading out, with Mark and Katie negotiating well on most of the items assigned to them. Despite their efforts, the rope they got for free was disallowed for not matching specifications, while Daniel and Felipe were charged a lot for the team's diamond and had their purchase of a paper skeleton in a box disallowed for not matching what had been specified in the list, despite Felipe believing it had not specified buying a proper one. Both disallowed items earned the team fines that effectively cost them victory.
Result: Summit's total spend was £644.97 (including fines), while Tenacity's total spend was £709.59 (including fines).
Winner: Summit - By £64.62
Reward: A group trip to Silverstone where they raced against each other.
Brought into the boardroom: Daniel, Felipe and Katie
Fired: Felipe - For his purchase of the paper skeleton, showing limited business skills, and for his somewhat poor track record on the previous tasks.
You're Fired Panel: Mike Soutar, Nicki Chapman, Romesh Ranganathan
Notes:
Both teams had to find the following items, which had featured throughout the show's history in tasks involving sourcing and negotiations: a diamond, Kosher chicken, a skeleton, oud oil, Nigella seeds, old rope, tea, scallops and a Belfast Sink.
Lord Sugar remarked that the purchase of the paper skeleton had effectively ruined Tenacity's performance in the task, as they secured all their items and had returned to the boardroom on time. Karren had to clarify to Summit that they had won after Tenacity were fined for their skeleton, though it was clear that Sanjay would have likely been fired, as he had received poor feedback on his leadership from the rest of his team.
Although Felipe was quick to defend his purchase, stating that the material of the skeleton had not been specified in the list, Lord Sugar countered this by stating it would never have been allowed, and that his idea had single-handedly cost his team victory. While Daniel claimed he had had concerns over the purchase, Nick was critical of this, while stating that Katie and Mark knew more than they were letting on, despite the pair being furious over the purchase.
Despite being brought back, Lord Sugar felt that Kaite had not been responsible for the team's loss as the mistake with the rope wouldn't have cost them badly, while he was impressed with her valiant defence and her track record over the tasks. While Daniel was close to being fired for making his fourth appearance in the boardroom, Sugar felt he deserved one last chance, as his negotiations had been good and he had received positive feedback from the team, with Karren remarking that his decision to not bring back Mark, whom Katie had severely criticised and who he had clashed with in previous tasks, was down to him wanting to prove that he had matured over the process.
On You're Fired, both the audience and one of the three panellists disagreed with Lord Sugar's decision, believing that Daniel should have been fired simply for a lack of integrity, as he had attempted to distance himself from the skeleton fiasco to get Felipe fired. Felipe himself admitted he had no hard feelings towards his firing by simply saying "These things happen".
Original Air Date: 10 December 2014
Summit: Roisin (Project Manager), Daniel, Bianca and Solomon.
Tenacity: Katie (Project Manager), Mark and Sanjay.
Task: Create a new range of premium puddings, then pitch it to three major retailers. Most orders received, wins.
Task Review: Tenacity created a line of exotic trifles branded as "Trifle Different". However, the retailers felt that the brand's packing was too bland to be used on a premium product, while Katie's lack of knowledge on ingredients meant that one trifle was received poorly by them for using saffron in its flavour, with their pitches further hampered by both her and Mark giving poor presentations, the latter stumbling badly. Meanwhile, Summit went with a line of tea-themed cheesecakes branded as "TeaPot", though had some issues in the their creation surrounding the taste of the tea and how much to use. While their first pitch went poorly, the subsequent two afterwards were far better, with their product receiving good feedback for its concept and the flavours it used, ultimately securing them more orders and winning the task for the team.
Result: Summit received 25,500 orders, while Tenacity received 13,500 orders.
Winner: Summit - By 12,000 orders
Reward: Macaroons and Martini cocktails on the yacht that was used in the film The World Is Not Enough.
Brought into the boardroom: Katie, Mark and Sanjay
Fired:
Katie, with regret - For failing to demonstrate the ability to make her business plan work, creating a poor trifle, and for delivering one of the team's poor pitches.
Sanjay - For offering a questionable business plan, poor market research, delivering one of the team's poor pitches, and for his generally very mediocre track record throughout the previous tasks.
You're Fired Panel: Ed Byrne, Gaby Roslin and John Vincent
Notes:
For this task, Lord Sugar had Daniel and Sanjay change teams, before appointing Katie and Roisin as their respective team's PM, based upon their business plans involving the food industry.
Prior to the results, both Daniel and Solomon complained that they had been assigned minor roles in the task, despite agreeing that Roisin's leadership had been solid. Despite their assignments, Nick commented that both had done well, commending Solomon for putting himself forward to do the branding, and Daniel for intervening in the second pitch and ensuring it was well received by the retailer, despite Roisin being unhappy for him going against her orders.
Discussing the business plans of each member of Tenacity, Lord Sugar felt that Katie's was no longer appealing as she had displayed a serious lack of experience in understanding the restaurant business, after Karren had been appalled by her lack of knowledge on the ingredients she was using during the task, pointing out that her excessive use of saffron made one product "inedible". He also felt that Sanjay's would not likely make any money, stating he was "deluded" if he thought he could, as he had been found to have little experience of the industry he wished to enter, while Mark had pointed out that his figures were completely unrealistic and not feasible.
While Mark avoided being fired due to his business plan being seen as strong, Lord Sugar informed him that he could have been fired with the rest due to his poor track record by this stage in the process and his branding in the task. His pitch was also considered to be the worst, which he cited as due to him being compromised by the overwhelming situation he faced; not only did he stumble and become confused during it, he became so nervous that a member of the retailer panel had to offer him water when he began to cough badly, with Karren later describing it as "his worst nightmare... it's come true".
On You're Fired, both the panel and the audience unanimously agreed with Sanjay's firing, though the panellists felt that this was mostly down to his overall track record as opposed to this particular task. Along with the audience, two of the panellists disageed with Katie's firing, believing Mark should have gone instead. Both Katie and Sanjay revealed on the show that they would not pursue their business plans, though the former felt her plan to open a healthy-eating restaurant could still be possible.
Original Air Date: 17 December 2014
Semi-Finalists: Daniel, Bianca, Mark, Solomon and Roisin.
Task: The five remaining candidates undergo a gruelling interview process from four interviewers - Claude Littner, Mike Soutar, Claudine Collins, and Ricky Martin. Lord Sugar decides on which two proceed based on the feedback on their CVs and business plans.
Candidate Reviews: Mark received very positive reports from the interviewers with his business plan unanimously praised; the only criticism was to his track record and some of his claims in the interviews, while Lord Sugar knew his plan's market would be crowded to enter. Bianca also received positive reports from the interviewers and her business plan was felt to be good, despite changing her proposal during the initial interviews after Claude felt it was over-ambitious, while Claudine questioned her on CV claim about her personality. Elsewhere, Daniel was complimented for being hard-working, but was found to have a CV that was riddled with false claims, including one for receiving a non-existent award, while his business plan was felt to be viable for being an extension of his existing business, though only if he removed the online element of his proposal, with Claude deeming it to be poorly constructed with little knowledge of his figures. While Roisin was commended well by Claudine and Ricky, her business was seen as heavily flawed, not only with a concept that was falsely advertised and already existing, but also for having an unrealistic financial model that would use up the investment capital in two months and thus need more money just to survive. Finally, Solomon got the worst reports out of the five, as despite being liked by the interviewers, his business plan was very weak, consisting of just eight pages, with two covered in pictures of his logo; Claude felt it was such "a bloody disgrace", that he threw him out of his interview.
Decision: Solomon was fired first almost immediately, for being far too young and naive, with Roisin going next for her strongly flawed business plan and for continual refusal to admit her financial figures were unrealistic. After initially struggling on the remaining three, Lord Sugar decided to make Mark and Bianca the finalists, as despite issues with Mark's track record and Bianca's lack of manufacturing experience, their plans were much stronger and had more potential, effectively making Daniel the last to be fired.
Fired:
Solomon - For writing an awful business plan, failing to give crucial figures, and for being too naive and inexperienced to be taken seriously.
Roisin, with regret - For providing an unsound business plan that overestimated its potential and which would use up the investment capital within two months.
Daniel, with regret - For being the weakest candidate in terms of interviews and business plan, being given too many second chances, and for never truly demonstrating his claimed sales expertise throughout the tasks.
You're Fired Panel: Matt Edmondson, Katherine Ryan and Julie Deane
Notes:
During her interview with Ricky Martin, Bianca broke down crying after he pointed out that she had little personality. This was a critical point she received throughout the day, with Claudine having told Bianca during her interview that she seemed to be hiding behind "a mask".
Although Claude had felt he had promise in his future, after labelling Solomon's CV and application form to be one of the best he had read, particularly for not boasting about his abilities, his business plan was found to be the most appalling he had seen and prompted him to prematurely end his interview with him. Both Claudine and Mike were just as critical; the former feeling he came across like an excitable puppy, while the latter found he had made up a claim in his CV that he came from the "ideas generation", after he pitched an idea that practically described online shopping.
Neither Mike or Lord Sugar felt that Roisin's business plan was feasible; Mike revealed that its USP, its "unique ingredient", was already being used after showing her two products that contained it, while Sugar did not agree with getting further financing from banks, as this defeated the whole point of the offer and her plan had virtually no chance of getting a huge investment from them.
Daniel's claims of being a good salesman were scrutinised by Mike, as Mark was proven to be the best salesman of the remaining candidate, and would have beaten Daniel regardless of his success in the eighth task. Although he attempted to point out the risks in both Bianca's and Mark's business plans, Lord Sugar felt that his own had problems too difficult to surmount, especially given his erratic performance in tasks, but commended him for his changed attitude.
Despite Mark making it through and earning positive reviews in the interviews, he still raised issues over his poor presentation on the previous task, along with not winning as PM and having the worst track record of the remaining candidates. In addition, Claude described his business plan to be bland and unoriginal despite playing to his strengths, while Ricky felt he made some "deceitful" statements in his CV, was unconvinced about going to Mark's company than any of the other digital marketing companies in existence, and felt concerned that he was more suited to selling under command as opposed to managing.
On You're Fired, there was unanimous agreement with Lord Sugar's decision to fire the two men; one panellist felt that Solomon had potential to succeed despite being dismissed, while Daniel agreed to be fired, noting that his driving reason for staying had been the feud had with Mark throughout the process, believing that had ensured he made it as far as he did. However, the panel disagreed with Roisin's firing, as they believed her performance had been exceptional and that her business plan would work, albeit with some tweaking, though she admitted she wouldn't have taken any offer to scrap it and provide a new one.
Original Air Date: 21 December 2014
Finalists: Bianca and Mark
Bianca's team: Felipe, Daniel, Lauren and Katie.
Mark's team: Sarah, Solomon, James and Sanjay.
Task: The finalists must create an advertising video for their company and give a speech about it at an evening party at Victoria House. Lord Sugar decides on who is his business partner, based on feedback on their plan and their overall performance.
Task Review: Mark worked to pitch his idea for a business aimed at supporting smaller growing companies called "Climb Online", and decided to give it a USP for the crowded market it would enter by offering a personalised service. While his pitch got off to slow start and the entertainment supplied by James and Solomon was panned, Mark's presentation was delivered smoothly, while he demonstrated his experience and knowledge of the industry when questioned about the market his company would enter, impressing Lord Sugar who also liked the business' name. Meanwhile, Bianca worked to pitch her idea for a business aimed at selling tights and hosiery of varying skin tones called "True Skin", though her pricing strategy and the number of colours she would use caused problems and resulted in her changing a lot of prior decisions. While she delivered a good pitch and her concept was found to be excellent, questions were raised regarding her limited manufacturing experience, the pricing point being an issue for her products to be considered a luxury brand, and the brand designed being felt to be quite poor.
Decision: While Bianca's plan was considered good, it was felt to have considerable issues with it, with her limited experience likely to demand much of Lord Sugar's attention to help run the business. As a result, Mark's business plan, despite the questions it received regarding the crowded market it would enter and the money that would have to be spent on staff, was considered to be a solid proposal, with Mark having proved himself a strong candidate, effectively making him Lord Sugar's new business partner.
Runner-Up: Bianca - For her plan requiring much of Lord Sugar's attention due to her lack of experience in manufacturing and retail, offering too high a sale price and too many variations of product, ignoring her team's market research, taking professionalism far too seriously, and for being the weaker candidate of the final two.
Hired: Mark - For offering a solid plan he was already an expert in, having smaller start-up costs for his proposed business, his stellar sales record, and for being a stronger candidate out of the final two.
You're Hired Panel: Dale Murray, Ben Miller and Romesh Ranganathan
Notes:
Due to undisclosed circumstances, Roisin could not return for the final as a part of Mark's team, leading to Sarah being brought back instead as a replacement. In addition, after Bianca had formed her team, Daniel later disclosed that he was delighted to have a chance to go against Mark in the finals, which Lord Sugar humorously remarked upon during the boardroom.
Bianca's leadership was considered to be poor by her team, both Lauren and Nick being critical of it, as she failed to listen to the feedback on market research, sent the rest of her team away so to not be distracted by too many opinions while she and Katie were making the promo video, and refused to lower the products price below £20 as she felt it would detract from it being a "luxury brand". The pricing remained a concerning issue, as it was criticised after the pitch, with Sarah believing it had been excessive upon hearing it. In a later interview, Bianca admitted to the problem and that she would change it.
Although Karren was concerned that Mark's problems from his previous pitch would resurface, as he struggled with preparing for it along with filming his video, both he owed down to stress, her fear were later unfounded as Mark hit his stride and provided a smooth pitch to the experts. In the boardroom, Mark praised his team's contribution, thanking Sanjay for his editing and being his "guardian angel", who complimented Mark on his leadership. Karren also noted that Mark's team had shown great support for him, despite some worries that Sarah could have held him back.
On You're Hired, Lord Sugar noted that, apart from saying on the main show that the decision to go with Mark was "a big gamble" and that he desired to open up into new markets, he had also admired his experience to found his company and his ruthlessness. While he chose not to take on Bianca's concept despite it being lucrative, as it would have to hold her hand throughout the whole manufacturing process and thus be an adviser to her rather than her partner, he stated on the show that her concept was good, with Karren remarking that she had a bright future ahead.
Inclusion of twenty candidates
While the decision to have 20 candidates for this series made it the highest number of participates in an incarnation of the show worldwide, it drew criticism from viewers who remarked that there was less room to get to know the candidates, some of whom remained in the competition for some time yet had almost no screen time at all. The decision also received complaints that this led away from the business aspect of the show, becoming more of a "reality" programme by inducing "shock firings".
Midway into the series, a friend of Solomon Akhtar alleged on Twitter, prior to the comment being deleted, that the candidate had made a sex tape with an ex-girlfriend of his. While Solomon admitted to the BBC that the revelation was true, he later denied this, claiming it was just a rumour.
Solomon later alleged after his firing that he could never have been Lord Sugar's business partner, as he claimed him to be "boring" and having "no personality", and wanting to go into business with someone who was equally bland, while he also lashed out against Bianca Miller for have a "weird, boring" personality. In his interview with The Sun, Solomon stated:
"Lord Sugar just wants somebody who is boring, who is going to do what he tells them to do and is not very risky. I think I was just too much fun. I want to make money having fun and having a personality in business, Lord Sugar doesn’t have a personality, he’s just very bland. I think that’s why me and Lord Sugar didn’t get on. So they [Bianca & Sugar] will literally love each other till the end of time, because they’re exactly the same.They both have this public facing image, that’s corporate and really boring, they’ll get on really well."
Following his appearance on the show, James Hill became embroiled in controversy when it emerged he had a criminal record; in 2008, he was convicted of assaulting two men, and received a six-month jail sentence, and was ordered to pay £500 compensation, and £775 in court fees. He was also later revealed by The Sun to had been in a relationship with Lauren Rily during filming of the programme, which is against the rules set out by the production staff about such behaviour.
In a report detailing Daniel Lassman describing his fellow candidates as "a bunch of tossers", it was revealed that the former candidate had made the comments at bar in Essex, in which he spent almost £30,000, with the former candidate being pictured with a group of women while having his fiancée sit in his lap, pouring drinks down his throat. It was later claimed he spent the majority of his £200,000 wedding budget to purchase a Ferrari.
Following his dismissal from the show, Sanjay Sood-Smith was reported to have received homophobic abuse during his time on the show, primarily on Twitter, and complained about "outdated attitudes" from other candidates regarding the matter. The former candidate, who is openly gay, was revealed to have been attacked at university for his sexuality, and had been forced to move schools as a result of bullying against him when he was eight years old, which included being nicknamed "Sad-Gay Sod Smith".
In a similar manner, Pamela Uddin was reported to had suffered bullying as a child because of her Pakistani heritage and her stammar. Her mother, in an interview with the Sunday Mirror, revealed that the bullying began after she split from her Pakistani father during her toddler years and moved from Germany to Waterford, Ireland, adding that this caused Pamela to be unable to read until she was 12.
In October 2014, The Sun released an article in which an ex-classmate of Scott McCulloch, Richard Burns, reported that his life was turned into a "living hell" as a result of McCulloch bullying him at school, with incidents including verbal racist abuse. Burns claimed that two years of intimidation made him so terrified of being bullied, that he used to leave school to avoid being targeted, adding:
"He turned on me. I was devastated. He used to call me ‘P***’ because of my dark skin. My dad’s half Spanish. He would shout it at me every day for at least two years. I was about 14 or 15 by the time it had got really bad. He would kick the back of my chair and taunt me constantly. It was relentless and he made my life a living hell.”
However, McCulloch denied the allegations of bullying made against him, including the accusations of him making racist remarks, by stating:
"I have never racially abused someone, either at school or later in life.”
Following the broadcast of the seventh episode, it was revealed that an energy drink in the United States already had the name "Big Dawg", raising questions about why James Hill and his team had been allowed to use it. The production staff acknowledged that they knew of this, but allowed to use it as there was no British trademark, and that the candidates couldn't have known that it already existed as they are prohibited from accessing the Internet while in the competition.
Week Nine and Felipe Alvair-Baquero
Many fans of the show raised complaints over Lord Sugar's decision to revoke Tenacity's purchase of the paper-made skeleton, as they argued that it had technically fitted the task's briefing because there had been no proper specification made by him about what kind of skeleton the teams had to purchase, deeming his decision to unfair, and also being biased against Felipe Alvair-Baquero, the candidate who made the purchase. The scene received similar reactions from the participants of Channel 4's Gogglebox, a popular program which looked at the current week's popular television shows, who were just as negative about Sugar's decision.
Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.
Note: During the 2-hour final, the show was shared with The Apprentice: You're Hired, and as a result the figures are lower than expected. The first hour was the main show whereas the second hour was You're Hired. Original overnights for the final put the first hour at one million viewers more than the 2-hour average.
