The Apprentice blog

Wow what a final this year. If you didn’t catch my live blog last night, then you can read it again here but as a parting shot, I wanted to give my brief analysis of last night's final of what is undoubtedly the best, if contentious, business reality TV show on the box.

This year has not been without its fair share of headlines. For a start, Suralan himself has been in the firing line by those less than happy about the news that he will continue to head up the next series of The Apprentice despite being made the government's business overlord by his mate Gordon Brown – something to do with a conflict of interest or some such piffle. Of course there was the sad, sad news that Margaret is to bid farewell as she leaves the show to return to studying a PHD in something terribly brainy – good luck to her, she and her swivelling eyeballs will be sorely missed.

Follow live updates on The Apprentice final from 9pm on Sunday 7 June.

Last night I could hardly contain my excitement, not only was it the one I had been waiting for but we were also treated to an hour long in-depth analysis of the five remaining candidates, which mainly involved yellowed photos of them as little nippers building sandcastles on Beachy Head, and parents claiming that their little darling was always a bright spark destined for success. I was only sorry that the little weasels, Ben and Phillip, weren’t featured as I wanted to see A) whether Philip’s parents were as incomprehensible as he and B) which of Ben’s parents had passed on the no-chin gene.

Usually the TV selling task is the highlight of my Apprentice viewing but I must say last night was a big, fat disappointment. Perhaps I had built it up in my mind too much? Or perhaps I am simply lamenting the days of James Max (series 1) the posh but lovable buffoon who wore that now famous ‘wolf jacket’ with the professionalism of a Freeman’s catalogue model, or Simon “Surprise Winner” Ambrose’s seductive fumblings with a trampoline leg. But no, while there were some fleeting glimpses, it could never be described as telly gold, maybe a scuffed-up bronze.

So the title of this blog is The Recession Episode, and not only because the entertainment was a bit thin on the ground, but it seems that even Big Shugga himself is suffering the ill effects of the current downturn. But more on that later...

Oh. My. God. What a corking episode! If you didn't watch last night's Apprentice, my blog title may have given it away. Sorry about that, but I can hardly contain my relief. It certainly has been a long time coming. More on that later...

To this week's task! The trailer made reference to scuffles with pushchairs and grizzly faces (from the candidates, not the babies) and we weren’t disappointed. It was all about exhibition sales, this time a show for the little folk at Earl's Court. Sir Alan also mixed up the teams so Kate, Howard and Lorraine (as PM) made up Ignite while Debra, Ben and Yasmina headed by James formed the new Empire. Over the course of the two days, the teams had to choose two products to sell at the Baby Show by visiting a number of suppliers and the team that made the most wonga, blah de blah, blah.