The Apprentice 2011

[Siobhan]

Was surprised with Helen last night.. she really didn't get it at all.. the only one who really got it was Tom and Jim.. both kept saying reinvest, reinvest.. Glad Melody is going.. Natasha definitely next to go as she doesn't have a clue... Susan has the ability to go far in this but she is so stupid at time and is very immature...

[Perdita]

Natasha Scribbins missed out on a place in the Apprentice final after she was fired by Lord Sugar for her blunders in a fast food challenge.

Scribbins, Jim Eastwood and Susan Ma squared up in the boardroom after their restaurant Caracas flopped. The trio only secured an average mark of four from industry experts, who marked them on brand identity, customer experience, food quality and long-term viability.

"Can one of you at least tell me what the business plan was? Where was the margins? How many did you expect to serve per hour?" blasted an angry Lord Sugar.

Scribbins's background in hospitality was immediately brought up by her rivals, and Lord Sugar was unimpressed by her excuses for taking a backseat on the challenge.

"I did a degree in first aid, I didn't enjoy doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but I have to do it when it's needed to be done," complained the multi-millionaire.

Sugar also compared the team's food at Caracas to his son's "dog's puke".

Scribbins lashed out at project manager Jim Eastwood, describing him as "dark" and "underhand", but ultimately Sugar blamed the 31-year-old Taunton native for the team's defeat.

"Natasha, I can't reconcile some of the things that have happened today," he said.

"You started off like a house on fire but I have found you a little lacklustre in the last few weeks... you're fired!"

In the black cab home, Scribbins claimed that she was leaving the show with her "head held high".

"In this process, some of the characters will scream and shout and fight, and I'm not willing to lose my own dignity," she said.

Jim Eastwood, Susan Ma, Tom Pellereau and Helen Milligan will battle it out in the Apprentice final, airing on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.

[parkerman]

Definitely the right person went last night. She has been the right person to fire for the last four of five weeks in my opinion!

P.S. The general knowledge of all five candidates last night was something appalling!!!

[Siobhan]

Definitely the right person went last night. She has been the right person to fire for the last four of five weeks in my opinion!

P.S. The general knowledge of all five candidates last night was something appalling!!!

I know.. I was sitting there cringing... Colombus is not british nor did he discovery the potato.... Jim was hung last night with Natasha... herself and Susan could agree on anything and he was trying to do it all himself... Helen is still a very strong candidate.. I hope Susan doesn't win... She may have worked really hard to get where she is but as Karen said, you need a sieve with her to actually get something out of her conversation worth keeping. Tom's face when he was told he was in the final was priceless.. Really admired him last night.. he took his strenghts in branding and marketing and used it to help Helen, unlike Natasha who sat back and did nothing with her experience

[Katy]

The General knowledge was fantastic!!! and these are meant to be the brightest business people in the country!!

[Trinity]

I liked the idea of MyPy, the name was catchy, it was a bit different and most importantly both the product and the money were spot on. I liked the way that Tom and Helen worked together, and also that they took the customer comments on board and changed the packaging. Good food, good margins and easy to serve quickly. I didn't like the, 'have you ever eaten 100% British before?' line - for goodness sake we all live in Britain!

Jim was a let down. When he was doing his market research the fast food mexican restaurant guy told him that they serve 90 odd customers every 15 minutes during the lunch period. Contrast that with the 60 over 2 hours that he told the industry experts, and the inability to multiply 60 by £7 was cringe-worthy. He should have gone for not having a plan and not knowing his margins.

Natasha had to go too - I would have fired them both.

The lack general knowledge was bizarre. Helen has a degree in law, I though that lawyers generally were quite good at things like history? She just blindly agreed with Tom's assumption that Christopher Columbus was British - and most 6 year olds would be able to tell you the Francis Drake brought the potato to England.


I don't know who will win, it shouldn't be Jim and tbh Helen would need an amazing business idea for me to support her - she is a fabulous asset as an employee though.

I don't particularly like Suzie, but she does have potential, however my instinct would be to go for Tom. You can employ salesmen and accountants but it takes something special to come up with ideas.

[Siobhan]

The lack general knowledge was bizarre. Helen has a degree in law, I though that lawyers generally were quite good at things like history? She just blindly agreed with Tom's assumption that Christopher Columbus was British - and most 6 year olds would be able to tell you the Francis Drake brought the potato to England.

now I am totally confused as I always thought it was Walter Raleigh

[Perdita]

I also believe it was Sir Walter Raleigh who introduced tobacco and potatoes to England

[Trinity]

"During her 15-year reign from 1558, Queen Elizabeth I of England encouraged explorers to travel and find new plants. Both Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh brought potatoes back from South America. Sir Walter Raleigh is commonly said to have been the first person to plant potatoes in Ireland, while Sir Francis Drake is said – according to a plaque on a statue of him at Offenburgh in Germany – to have introduced the plant to “Europe”."

http://growgreatpotatoes.com/2011/po...are-poisonous/ (accessed 14th July 2011)

We are all right!

[parkerman]

most 6 year olds would be able to tell you the Francis Drake brought the potato to England.

Well most six year olds would be wrong! Europe yes, but not England. Still, as they are only six, I'll forgive them!!!