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THE APPRENTICE
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00:0010 weeks ago, 16 of Britain's brightest business prospects set out to win a job and a six-figure
00:12salary with blunt-talking self-made millionaire Lord Sugar. From the start, he was on the hunt
00:22for someone extra special. We are in tough economic times. I need someone who's got the courage to take
00:31a risk. The struggle to master Lord Sugar's tasks left a trail of casualties. I did ask for something
00:38special in this boardroom this year. That is something special. Zero sales. 16 soon became
00:45five. You're fired. You're fired. You've talked yourself out of this. You are fired. Now, the
00:52remaining candidates. I understand where you're coming from, but I just don't think it's feasible.
00:56Stella English. I will not give up. I will never give up. We're not going to make any money by
01:01counting this up. We've got to start selling. Chris Bates. I'm not here just to make up the
01:05numbers or try and survive a few weeks. You know, I want to win this thing. It's your funeral. What's
01:09in the sausage? Stuart Bags. I'm not a one-trick pony. I'm not a ten-trick pony. I've got a field
01:15of ponies. Let's negotiate our little bottoms off. Jamie Lester. In every single task, I have
01:21excelled. I'm not being confrontational. I'm saying it how it is. And Joanna Riley. I've got more to give
01:26and I've got more to learn. Face a fight to the finish in the race to reach the final. Tonight,
01:33we press pause on the posing and posturing to reveal just who are the final five.
01:45From the moment they arrived, each of the candidates was convinced their talents were unique.
01:58There's absolutely nothing mediocre about me. I'm supremely intelligent, ambitious. I'm an all-round
02:04gifted individual. I left school at 15 with no qualifications. I now work for a top-notch
02:09investment bank. I got there through all talent. I don't think that anyone in this process has had
02:15to struggle to get to this point the way that I've had to struggle and that is why I will see off the
02:19competition. I'm a born leader. I started my own company four years ago and every second of every
02:26day I had to lead from the front. To be a success, you've got to work your nuts off. I've done that
02:32and I've got the results to prove it. Most people will underestimate me. I might not have the
02:38qualifications, but I've built up a very successful business. Everything I've got,
02:43I've earned myself. Nothing's ever been handed to me on a plate. People aspire to have a flash sports
02:51car, maybe a house in the country. I've got all that already. Where's my glass ceiling? I don't have one.
02:56I am Stuart Bags, the brand. I'm confident, I'm unique and I'm successful.
03:09But Lord Sugar has pushed them harder and further than they ever thought possible.
03:17Despite being in the losing team six times, Chris has shown clear leadership.
03:22I think, to be honest, compared to the other final five candidates, I think they're all in
03:26their individual ways, have kind of exaggerated skills in one set or another. I think I'm more
03:31of a complete package and I equally think that I could learn a hell of a lot and I don't see anyone
03:35you can learn from better than him. So for me, I think it's a mutually beneficial relationship for
03:41both him and me. In the final three just once, outspoken Joanna, but her fiery nature has rankled with the boss.
03:49I think that Lord Sugar thinks I'm a bit of a sledgehammer, but I'm sure he appreciates that I
03:54get the job done and I have done well throughout this process. I'm confident that I have been the
04:00backbone of all of these tasks and the reasons for winning them. Smooth-talking salesman Jamie has
04:06been on the winning team an impressive six times. I need this job and I want this job. I got a company
04:13to 15 members of staff and we did very, very well. But I now need to learn how to get a company to 1500
04:20staff and to turn it from millions to billions and Lord Sugar is an excellent tutor for that.
04:27Stuart, three times in the firing line, but blessed with the gift of the gab,
04:31has talked himself into the final five. I think Lord Sugar thinks I'm a bit of a joker. I don't think
04:37he really realises how serious I am, but at the same token, he's had three opportunities to find me
04:43so far and, you know, he hasn't. He did say that he saw a little bit of himself in me and that can only
04:49be a compliment when he's as successful as he is. With seven wins out of ten, Stella's propelled herself
04:56into the final five through her professional personality. It's no coincidence that I've been on
05:01the winning team seven times, you know, it's my record speaks for itself. I'm a strong candidate.
05:07I knew that I would always be on the winning team because I contributed massively to what was going
05:13on. Luck is not part of this process. Stella speaking. I've been working in banking for the last 13
05:25years. At 30 years old, Stella English is cool, calm and collected. You can't stop Stella from
05:33planning. She plans and plans meticulously. I'm happy to step up to that and let's just get back on
05:37with that again. I'm sure she'll take one for the two to be honest. I will do things that perhaps I
05:46would prefer not to in order to win. This is what you want in a project leader, isn't it, Stella?
05:51Well, look how excited he is. He loves that. Excellent. Let's move on. We're not going to shift this.
05:59It's just not happening. I'm not getting any buying from you lot, am I? We're in a competition
06:05and we're in the boardroom. We're in the final three, so we're going to disagree with each other.
06:10We need to get selling. Stop this. Let's get a move on.
06:16That was a real look of satisfaction. That's good.
06:19Stella's greatest strength is her ability to be a cool cucumber. She is very calm amidst the very
06:27fiery storm. Day one, the first task, and Stella was the one to watch.
06:32Our outlay for lamb is about 140 quid. Yeah. Well, yeah. Regardless of how many sausages they've made.
06:38In the sausage task, it was really important to have someone like Stella on the team that was good with
06:43numbers. She's really focused, you know, if you want a job to be done, Stella will get the job done.
06:49She was definitely one of the main reasons why we won the task. We need the maximum amount of units that we
06:54can possibly get, yeah? Yeah. I actually find, you know, being labelled as the queen of the calculator
07:00amusing. I'm sure that that will create a lot of laughter throughout the city because I do love a
07:06calculator. It has to be said. Although the only danger of it is that people think that that's all
07:11I can do. You know, I'm not an accountant. And I would say that of all my strengths, that's not my strongest.
07:18The next week, she was sent in to sort out the boys.
07:27Everyone's confidence was a bit dented after the first task. And I think a lot of people actually
07:31had maybe misjudged the ability we had within our team. I remember Stuart in particular seeming
07:36desperate for Stella to be manager because in some way we were all rubbish because we'd lost one task.
07:41What I want to do is organise them all and get everyone gelled together, you know,
07:45we're going to win this thing. But to be fair, she came in. I think she was what was needed in
07:49some ways. She was quite sort of hard on the discipline side. If there's any disagreements,
07:53you know, I'm just not going to put up with that. I think that's probably what we needed.
07:57We need to nail this pitch. Instinctively, I'm a bit concerned about your delivery.
08:03In my heart, I feel that I want Jamie to do it. Stella's management style was tempered
08:09in a way by her career in a Japanese investment bank. Very controlled, very efficient, very quiet,
08:18very correct, very smart. I think it's a bit unfair just purely because...
08:22Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm doing this. I want us to win. If I've got a concern,
08:26I've got to air it. I think the fact that the boys accepted my leadership, got on with it,
08:32put all their silliness to one side and focused on the task, shows that I'm a strong candidate and
08:37that I've got excellent leadership qualities. Good team leader? Yeah, really good. Excellent.
08:42Good. There you are. They followed. They knew that we'd win and we did.
08:47Well, well done, Synergy. There you are. Women power. You see that?
08:50I've been telling you it for years. I know.
08:55Stella was raised in one of the world's largest housing estates,
08:59Thamesmead in London. My childhood was quite a painful one. My mother had a lot of problems
09:07sort of coping with things in general. So, yeah, it was quite a sort of lonely, hard time for me.
09:13On the brink of being put into a children's home, Stella was rescued by her great aunt.
09:19Stella's upbringing was very... She had a very tough time because her mother, she wasn't a homemaker,
09:26she was unable to look after her. Simple as that. So, Stella was able to do more or less as she wished.
09:38She didn't know right from wrong and she was getting to be a wild child, a proper street child.
09:43When I first saw Stella, I wondered what I'd taken on. She was very thin and very wave-like.
09:55And her hair was almost white, very thin, straggly. She was very scared. It must have been a big
10:02upheaval for her, really. But she took it all in her stride. She was very good.
10:06What I offered Stella what she hadn't had before was a stable background, family life. You know,
10:17being there for her, really, and giving her advice. I don't think she ever took it.
10:22I gave it to her anyway.
10:28My inspiration has always been my great aunt Stella. It's very hard to impress her.
10:33And even at times when I thought I'd done something that was really amazing, she'd be like,
10:38well, you know, you can do a lot better than that. And so that's the sort of stance that I've taken
10:43with myself. And I think that it's not good enough just to do a bit better. You've got to do something
10:47spectacular. And, you know, she believes that you can achieve anything and she's made me believe that.
10:54Leaving school at 15 with no qualifications, Stella forced her way into the highly competitive world
11:04of investment banking. Investment banking is not a natural fit for Stella. But in the way that
11:10Stella is, she can turn her hand to anything and be a success at it. She's very organised,
11:17she's very focused and very committed. Once she has an idea, don't get in her way. That is for sure.
11:24While Stella builds a career in the city, her partner Ray looks after their two boys.
11:29Ray doesn't like to be called a house husband. He hates that. But a few of his friends have
11:34started calling him mummy recently. Poor Ray. I think that if it wasn't for Ray, obviously,
11:40it would be much more difficult, but we find a way around it. The minute that I come home,
11:46everything I do is just for them, playing with them, doing their dinners and bathing them. And,
11:51you know, myself and Ray do everything together and we tackle it. I've got a fantastic life,
11:58so I'd never really grumble about it. It's important to me to have a strong family and have
12:04a successful job because that's something that just keeps me really motivated. In 10 tasks,
12:10Stella's helped deliver seven wins. Very, very good. I'm somebody that will always do brilliantly
12:18in whatever I do. I'm a winner. I will always pass everything. I'll always do better than everyone
12:23else. I'm highly competitive. It sounds really arrogant, but it's just the way I am. And it's
12:28the way. It's what's got me through my whole life. But in week nine, on the buying task,
12:34Stella's winning touch vanished when she failed to negotiate. £70, the absolute lowest price you can
12:41do. How about £69, just the £1, just... All right, I'll give you £1 back. Thank you very much,
12:46John. Sorry about that. Thank you, John. Stella's voyage through the process was swift and untroubled
12:52until week nine, the buying task, when for the first time she was hauled into the boardroom.
12:58You didn't negotiate with them well enough.
13:09I think I looked at the line of whether I was becoming too rude or too imposing,
13:13and that was the mistake that I made. I should have been more aggressive with them.
13:16I heard you were a bit wooden, actually, a bit too corporate.
13:19She took a battering in that boardroom. Liz and Laura ganged up on her, called her
13:23one-dimensional, and suddenly, for the first time, she was vulnerable.
13:29I would say from working with you is that sometimes I think you give off a quite negative,
13:33cold persona to people, which might get their backs up, rather than getting the best out of
13:37maybe somebody like Stuart, who is quite energetic and passionate. Well, I disagree,
13:39because I've led teams twice and won twice, so I don't see your point, to be quite honest.
13:44Yeah. Stella's just a very mysterious character. She keeps everything to herself. I mean,
13:49like, we're all here to compete, but I don't really know much about Stella, really. I know
13:54snippets here and there, but in terms of getting to know the real Stella, not at all.
13:59There's allegations of you being a bit wooden, and for that reason, I'm going to
14:10move on to you, Laura, where, on balance, I've concluded you're fired.
14:16I've spent 10 years working in a Japanese culture in a bank.
14:20Stella, it's because of your past performance you're still sitting here. You need to take on board what
14:25I've said. What I've had to do now is try to just let that go and just be myself, and I've definitely
14:31done that. In week 10, against the ropes, Stella finally found her voice. Welcome to the Cockney
14:40Tour. Delighted to have you all here. I absolutely loved this task. It was really nice to be on my
14:46own for the first time in ages, because I had control over what I was doing. If I'm honest,
14:51I did feel quite conscious that I'd taken a hell of a lot on my shoulders, and it was very much
14:55a do or die thing for me, and just hope to God that it would pay off.
14:59Knees up, Mother Brown. Knees up, Mother Brown.
15:03I think that Lord Sugar was probably quite surprised to hear that I'd been going up and
15:07down London singing Knees up, Mother Brown, and I probably took it a little bit too far,
15:12if anything, but I think I've made my point.
15:24I am impressed with Stella. She is everything that depicts business women today. The ability to be in
15:30control, the ability to see the bigger picture, to be good at finance, the ability to lead a team,
15:35and at the same time, she has been able to step up and face her criticism that she's far too corporate,
15:42and has been able to show that she has a softer side, an emotional side, that she can engage with people.
15:49Stella will be Lord Sugar's apprentice. I hope she will, but I'm as proud now as I'll ever be.
15:57I don't know why I'd be any proud of Lord Sugar having her. I don't know.
16:09Hello, my name is Jamie and I do not bite. This task is going to require a huge amount of
16:17organisational skills. I've got all of that in abundance. Salesman Jamie, a man not short on
16:22confidence. We sold £12,000 worth of units.
16:27We couldn't have done much better. Do you like the product?
16:34We're going to work with it. That was pants, wasn't it? That was diabolical.
16:40I need to show Lord Sugar that I've still got my spark.
16:43We had five children in our team. That's an understatement. Not like that.
16:46On our left is the River Thames. It's the second largest river in London.
16:58The sooner you eat them, the better, because they were made this morning.
17:01Part of being good at business is being good at sales. And I look at someone like Jamie, who I
17:08undoubtedly think is a natural salesman. He has an ability to get on people's wavelength. People like him.
17:15You've got four stores, we understand. Commit to the thousand, I can meet you at that price.
17:21Yep. All right.
17:22Task four, we sold our hearts out. That village hasn't got a thousand showers.
17:27And we pitched really well to some DIY stores and made some excellent sales. And we are all ears.
17:35Brilliant order. Giving you a total of 76,518 pounds and 80 pence.
17:45That's a big number. I was chuffed to pieces that I broke a boardroom record, but disappointed to hear
17:55that Chris then smashed it three seconds after. Well, when I heard that figure of 76,000, I just assumed
18:03you were home and dry. Lord Sugar saw that I conducted a very good team and he even said that it was just
18:10bang out of luck that we lost that task. I think for me, even though he was actually my opposing project
18:17manager, he still did very well to break a record. It just happened that I broke it afterwards. But equally,
18:25I think he also showed the fact that he wasn't fired in that task and also won a very big order in his own
18:31right through pitching, that he brings a hell of a lot to the table.
18:35Highest earner of the final five. From an early age, Jamie has revealed a skill for negotiation.
18:45When Jamie was 14, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. He was absolutely determined to get a Saturday
18:50job. He went out and he actually got a Saturday job, but then he decided that wasn't good enough. So
18:56he went to another estate agent, got a job there and then played the two estate agents off to get the
19:02highest salary, which was absolutely amazing to watch. I had two job offers when I finished school
19:11through these two estate agencies as a junior negotiator. And I saw it as a career race. You
19:19know, my friends stayed on to do college and then university and how far I could get in the career ladder
19:27by the time they came out at 21. So far, I think I'm ahead.
19:40I've been with Julie now six years nearly, and she's just my rock.
19:48You know, we've got a little dog as well, which I adore, you know, and I miss both of them dreadfully.
19:56And it's actually now towards the end of the process that I'm really, really missing her. You
20:02know, that's a massive void in my life that I can't wait to fill again.
20:08Age 24, Jamie set up his own property company.
20:11One day, Jamie came home and said, look, I'm very happy at work, but there is a part of me who thinks I
20:18can do it by myself. And I'm not the most entrepreneurial person. So I was a bit like,
20:24ooh, we thought about it over and over. And he's the one who would say, you know,
20:28let's just do it. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. And what can we lose?
20:32At its peak, Jamie's company turned over more than a million pounds.
20:40To set up your own business, you need courage and buckets of it because it ain't easy.
20:47And when you set up your business, especially in the first stages, you need to excel in all the
20:56areas. You haven't got a boss telling you that you're no good or you're running behind deadlines
21:01or what have you. You live by the swords and you'll die by the sword.
21:05For the past four years, Jamie has been his own boss.
21:09I'm asking one of the team members to say to me, yes, I'm confident to do the pricing.
21:13I can't just pick things up halfway through.
21:16Before I came in here, people told me I was really aggressive, a go-getter. Having your own
21:23business when you're managing people as well, you've got to address it because you can't make a
21:28successful company on your own. And I was so scared of coming in here being accused of being that.
21:34Pitch in is all I'm saying. I'm helping you all the way through with the pitch.
21:37Jamie's young, but he's been his own boss for years. And one of the difficulties in that situation
21:44is it's hugely difficult suddenly to take instruction and discipline and authority
21:49from somebody else. And he struggled.
21:51You need to listen to what I'm saying.
21:53I am listening.
21:54It's important.
21:55No, I've got it. I've got it. I know.
21:56So what are you going to talk about from the engine?
21:58That's what I'm trying to figure out. That's why we're standing here.
22:00That's why, why not the problem?
22:01Okay.
22:04Jamie, do you want to wait?
22:04I was the project manager and I don't think Jamie respected that. Unfortunately,
22:10it saddens me to say I'm actually thinking about it, but he may just think about himself
22:14and not be able to work as part of a team.
22:20His inability to take orders followed him into the boardroom.
22:26I felt quite sorry for Sandy at times because you were constantly pulling her to one side,
22:31saying pricing, costumes. I'm being made out to be some kind of bulldozer here.
22:37It's feedback. It does come across as quite negative,
22:39and it seems a bit sulky because you're not actually doing it yourself.
22:46In week nine, with all to prove, Jamie stepped up as project manager.
22:51I knew it was going to be a tough task. Lord Sugar said he felt that the fire was going out,
22:56so I thought there was no better way to show him that I have still got fire in my belly.
23:00A very risky strategy, and then I further increased the risk by putting
23:05Stuart and Chris together and me all by myself.
23:10I need to find a wooden kitchen worktop four meters long.
23:14Four meters?
23:17Four meters.
23:20This kitchen worktop is haunting me.
23:23I think he feels like he's been fired already, to be honest.
23:25Okay, that's cool.
23:26All right, appreciate it. Bye.
23:28Jamie was really under pressure by week nine, following some very lacklustre performances,
23:33and as it happened, this was discount buying right up his street, play to all of his strengths,
23:39sales, negotiation, and this was the chance for him to really shine.
23:44I need a good price on the gold. What I can do for you, I'll do six grams for you on 140 pounds.
23:49Unless I get my price, I'm going to go to Southall, so it's six grams, 130, and we've got a good deal.
23:54We're shaking hands, we'll meet in the middle. One, three, five, yeah?
23:57All right, no problem.
23:58Thank you very much.
23:59It's very clear that Jamie's a great salesman, much harder actually, to teach others how to negotiate,
24:06and that's exactly what he did as the PM. Start at 70% lower than what he's looking at.
24:12That will be kicking around their cost price, okay? You can always go up.
24:17Yeah.
24:17What I did do is tell my team the standards I wanted when it came to buying.
24:22I buy for my business, and you never buy things at face value, and that clearly saw us through to make a win.
24:28No, I can't believe that. Wow, you won. It didn't sound like you bloody won.
24:3670 quid difference. I don't think we were expecting to win.
24:39You bought really well.
24:46I think that Jamie has the potential to slot into Lord Sugar's organisation. He's a good salesman.
24:52Good salesmen are hard to find. Good salesmen are those that people like to buy from.
24:59And Jamie has got that ability.
25:01The big question confronting Jamie is, is he adaptable?
25:08Can he take instructions from others? In other words, can he be a number two?
25:12Or has he always got to be his own boss?
25:23Have I got my point across clearly enough?
25:28Straight-talking Joanna Riley stands out from the crowd.
25:33What you need to incorporate with these crisps are sausage and curry.
25:37Jo, Jo, Jo, Jo, please.
25:42I don't think it is all on you, because if I don't think that you're doing it correctly,
25:45I will take you off.
25:46Okay.
25:47So just so you know, you are making the wrong decision.
25:50That's how I feel.
25:51Just in here, Jo, Jo, you all right?
25:52I reckon Jo's a bit of a scrubber.
25:56But Jo owns the cleaning company.
25:57We were hoping to start off at £50.
26:03And Mum, what about you? Are you going to spoil yourself today?
26:06So Rob said I'd look after you.
26:07Well, I was hoping that you would as well, regardless of what he said.
26:10It sounds good.
26:13What you see is what you get.
26:14She's to the point.
26:15She's direct.
26:17She's strong.
26:18She's opinionated.
26:19Week one, and Joanna jumped in to take charge.
26:22What should we just take about and who would actually like to put themselves forward
26:26for project manager?
26:29I'll take it if you're for it.
26:31Let's go for it.
26:32Really?
26:32As soon as I said I was project manager, it was absolute chaos.
26:38You know, my head, I was spinning around.
26:41I thought, oh my God, what have I done?
26:44But I really thought, you know, you're going to come unstuck throughout this process.
26:47So just put your neck on the line at the start and show them what you're made of.
26:51I feel my customer, we went there and pitched to him.
26:53I would like to finish it with him.
26:55No, I'm not doing that.
26:56We're all a team.
26:57It doesn't matter who closes it.
26:58I'm project manager for all of the teams.
27:01Task one, a very tough task.
27:03Joanna had to control seven women.
27:08Egos galore.
27:10And yet she forged this lot of squabbling, squawking women into some sort of team and
27:16led them to victory.
27:17Good start.
27:18Good start for a tough task.
27:21Stepping up to be project manager in the first task, for me, is a fantastic statement of intent
27:26for the rest of the process.
27:27And it shows somebody who really holds no fear.
27:30So I'll have to give Joanna a great deal of respect for doing that.
27:33She's very tenacious.
27:34She won't take no for an answer.
27:36And she'll knock down any walls in her way to make sure she gets what she wants.
27:39But Joanna's, in your face style, ruffled feathers.
27:42Melissa, I thought that you would have known how to nail this.
27:46I disagree with that.
27:47I disagree with that.
27:48No, I'm not being unfair.
27:50If it was unfair, I'd be saying it behind her back.
27:52I think Joanna, in the initial stages, didn't approach people in the correct way when she
27:57disagreed with them.
27:58Sometimes a little bit too forceful in her negativity, effectively.
28:02I'm going to bring back Joanna.
28:04You are making the wrong decision.
28:05Who else did she bring back in?
28:07Joy and Paloma.
28:08Joy hasn't contributed much at all.
28:10The whole reason.
28:11Guys, listen to yourself.
28:12Listen to yourself.
28:13Listen to yourself.
28:14Week two, there was a very unpleasant moment in the ballroom where the girls got completely
28:20out of hand, screaming and shouting.
28:22And Joanna was really the focal point of that with her aggression, her determination to get
28:27her point across.
28:30Joanna, you're disruptive and loud and perceived to be quite aggressive.
28:35And I cannot have that going forward.
28:38I will change it.
28:39And if I don't see a remarkable recovery, then you will be shortly leaving the process.
28:45This is your last chance.
28:47Yes.
28:48I'm glad that I was brought into the boardroom at the early stage on the second task,
28:52because I would have carried on being this aggressive person.
28:55And as soon as he told me that, I changed.
28:58And that is most definitely the reason why I'm here today.
29:02Stung by Lord Sugar's early warning, Joanna thrived.
29:09Please, that's worth the while.
29:10Let's get it nipped in the bud.
29:11Joe, you're really good at cold calling.
29:13Thanks, Jamie.
29:16She's excellent on the phone, like tele-sales.
29:19Very, very strong, very, very capable.
29:21She's a massive grafter.
29:23She's quite relentless, actually.
29:25Seven times on the winning side, she never faced the final boardroom again.
29:32I've had to raise my game to stay in this competition.
29:35And that's something that I've learned in life.
29:37You know, when you get knocked down, you've just got to dust yourself off and bounce back.
29:43Joanna grew up on a tough council estate in Leicestershire.
29:48As a child growing up, I was a pain in the backside.
29:50I was a nightmare.
29:51There was no direction.
29:53I was just, I was a ticking time bomb, to be honest.
29:57At school, when you do PE and there'd be two captains and they could choose who they want
30:02to come on your team, I would always be the last person standing there.
30:06None of the kids would ever want me.
30:08Never used to get invited to any of the birthdays.
30:10I was a rotten child.
30:12I was awful.
30:12I remember once ringing up the school and putting on a voice saying, oh, Joanna won't
30:19be here today.
30:20And the secretary was saying, hold on a minute, just why go and tell Joanna's teacher.
30:24And then the headmaster came on the phone and he said, Joanna Riley, I know it's you,
30:28get to school now.
30:30I was just a nightmare.
30:32At 16 and with few qualifications, Joanna left school.
30:36Because I grew up on a council estate, a lot of them unfortunately went on to drugs and
30:42to stealing and to prison.
30:44And I thought, you know, it can go one way or the other, but I was strong-minded and I
30:49thought it's down to me.
30:50You can't feel sorry for yourself.
30:52You've just got to get on with it.
30:53And that's what I've done.
30:55Age 22, with newly born twins, Kai and Riley, Joanna made a decision.
31:02I was laying in bed one night and I thought, what can I do where I can earn good money
31:07and I want to work for myself, but I want to spend time with my children.
31:10And I thought, you know, I'm good at cleaning.
31:12I love to clean and everyone needs a cleaner.
31:15So I got the phone book and I called around all the local businesses in Leicester, got some meetings.
31:20I'd never ever even been to meetings with professional people before, you know,
31:24brought myself some suits and just went for it.
31:26And there, from then on, my business grew.
31:28Joanna makes it look easy running a business and being a mother.
31:33But deep down the side, I know it's not.
31:36One side, you've got a hardened businesswoman and 10 minutes later, you've got a soft, cuddly mum.
31:43You couldn't get a better mother than Joanna.
31:46It's her number one priority. She's just there for the boys every step of the way.
31:50She's a perfect mother.
31:52I don't want my children to have a life that I've had that goes without saying.
31:56And in order to do that, you need to work hard and you need to earn money.
31:59And that's why I'm here.
32:04I'm not surprised to see Joanna in the final five because I understood her to be a tenacious person.
32:10She was not going to give up until she got what she wanted out of it.
32:13If I'm being honest, I was slightly surprised because of her background.
32:17You know, that she had the skill set to do it.
32:20How do you reckon she'll do in the pictures today?
32:22I think it will go something like this.
32:25Do you want to buy some crisps? I think you should really buy some crisps, guys,
32:28because this is a really high-quality crisp.
32:29I'm going to talk really fast and really point my finger at you a lot like this.
32:32And you're going to buy some, aren't you?
32:34But in Germany selling crisps...
32:36So how I was thinking is maybe if we order them for the year,
32:39and then we have a call-off period.
32:41Joanna charmed one client into a €5,000 deal.
32:44And you can keep the crisps because we knew how much you enjoyed them.
32:47Share them with your friends.
32:48I must say, Joanna, that you were really firing on all 12 cylinders.
32:52I've most definitely been underestimated throughout this competition.
32:56People have corporate jobs and on a lot of money every year.
32:59It's apparent that they just see me as Joanna the Cleaner from Leicester.
33:03Joanna, you run a cleaning business, don't you?
33:05Yes, I do, Lord Sugar.
33:06So you're an expert in your midst.
33:08Did you take any notice of her?
33:09We did. We sort of asked Joanna for her input and we were looking at it all.
33:13Unless she's got something wrong with her neck, she doesn't seem to agree.
33:16What they're forgetting is that Joanna the Cleaner from Leicester started that own business.
33:21I've done that on my own from not knowing anything.
33:23These people, some of them have been working at their business for 10 years.
33:27So what's that got to show for them, really?
33:36Joanna came into this process with a little bit of a chip on her shoulder,
33:39thinking that people were somehow looking down at her because of her lack of qualifications,
33:43and used her aggression to overcome that.
33:46But Joanna shouldn't be underestimated. She's a businesswoman, and she's determined,
33:50and she's actually of everybody learnt to listen to what Lord Sugar is saying to her.
33:55And that's why I think she would make a great apprentice.
34:02It's just desperation for a sale. Keep it as it is and move on.
34:05Wise beyond his years, 24-year-old Chris Bates marked himself out from the start.
34:10I can keep a level head. I'll keep a strong, firm grasp on this one.
34:14I'm really up for it.
34:16Could I interest you in a muffin?
34:19That's very, very cool.
34:20You're right. It is that damn good.
34:27I don't believe that you wouldn't have maybe a little bit more than 40 in the bank.
34:31We actually executed another sale. It looks like it was built for you tonight.
34:34This is fantastic. It really shapes your figure well.
34:36Maybe even just creep into the overdraft. Good work. You're not just a pretty face, mate.
34:42You're a good salesman, too. I don't know if you remember,
34:44but I was also a winning PM from last week.
34:48Chris gets on with everybody. He's a very likeable person. He's professional.
34:52He's got selling skills. He's good with numbers. I'd say he's an all-rounder.
34:57Yes. Come on. Come on. Yes.
35:03In week four, it was time for Chris to shine.
35:06I was a project manager. I really liked the look of the task, you know,
35:10picking different products, selling them to the trade. I thought it sounded like something
35:13you could really get stuck into. We call it the world's softest thermometer
35:16because it actually changes colour as the baby gets too hot.
35:19It's an absolutely fantastic product. I think, if I'm honest, it's the best thing I've seen today.
35:23The critical element of the success of this task was getting the right product.
35:28Both teams spotted the baby grow, but it was Chris's ability to persuade
35:33the inventor of the baby grow to let him have it. That was an absolutely key thing.
35:4124-year-old bachelor, what does he know about baby grows? But he spotted the fact
35:45that that was the product to have, and he got it.
35:48Whereby, men are metrics... I'll be better doing this when I'm actually in there.
35:53All right, you're doing well. When it came to pitching the body sculpting t-shirt,
35:58Chris took the lead. A completely revolutionary men's undergarment,
36:02I introduce you the ripped T-fusion t-shirt that succeeds in sucking in the gut.
36:07We were all completely amazed by Chris's pitching style. It was dull, and it was monotone,
36:15and it was boring. Pitching style, I've got to tell you, Chris, it's monotonous. To me,
36:20it sounded like a sort of a low-flying heavy bomber coming home. But content, excellent.
36:26I get a bit of stick about that, but, you know, it was quite funny, and I'd like to take the
36:30compliment out of it and maybe forget the rest, to be honest.
36:33Right. I think we'll get down to some numbers now. The total, the £122,625. Wow.
36:40Well done. Wow, wow, wow. My God. Well done.
36:44That is a record for this boardroom. To be fair, it's always nice to hear that you're a record-breaking
36:50project manager. It was obviously a team effort, but at the end of the day, you kind of will fall
36:55if you lose as project manager, so I think in some ways you're granted to take a bit of credit when
36:59you do win. And it definitely gave me a bit of a boost in confidence for the rest of the process.
37:06Born in Epsom, Surrey, Chris has always had a passion to succeed.
37:10Chris has got this phenomenal drive. We've never had to push him. Everything he's done,
37:16he's done from within himself.
37:21We've grown up from working-class backgrounds,
37:25and everything we've achieved, we've achieved through working hard. And I think, you know,
37:29it does rub off on your children.
37:34To me, to sum up Chris's drive is to see him play rugby for the first time when it become contact.
37:39As soon as he could pick up the ball and run through brick walls of people to score a try or whatever,
37:45that's when you know Chris has got drive. Incredible drive.
37:49A high achiever off the pitch, Chris left school with four A's and a place at university.
37:57It was important to me to go first because the time I was finishing my studies was, you know,
38:03a recession and I wanted something which is going to separate me from the crowd. But I guess as a
38:07personal thing, you know, I've always kind of aimed to do the best that I possibly can.
38:12I would say that Chris is definitely very confident. And when you first meet him,
38:17that may come across slightly as arrogance. In everything that he does, he always wants to
38:21be the best. From it being captain of rugby teams to everything that he's done throughout his life
38:27at university, et cetera, he always wants to be the best. Bucking the credit crunch,
38:31Chris took a high-powered job at investment bank JP Morgan.
38:34He likes the challenge. Some people shy away from that, but Chris likes it. We're proud of him in that
38:40way. And he will succeed in what he sets out to do. He's a child of man now that we always knew. We
38:48will never have to worry about Chris. Chris will make his way in the world and he'll be a success at
38:53anything he does because he's just that sort of person. Despite his determination to be top,
39:01Chris has been on the losing side six times. I don't think that my record at all really reflects
39:08my ability or, to be honest, my input. Times when I've been on the losing team, I genuinely feel like
39:13I've contributed a hell of a lot more than most other people. And it's hard to really look at them
39:17and really criticise myself. I think the Germinator task is the only one which I can genuinely say,
39:23OK, maybe I've got this one a bit wrong. That week, the task was to brand a cleaning product.
39:31It's quite cheesy, but I had an idea for an advertising campaign you could do as well.
39:34Germinate. Keep them coming. Lots and lots.
39:37I think germinate is a good one. Like, terminate the germs.
39:40Germinate will get laughter. I'm telling you, the ad agency will laugh it off.
39:43I've never professed to be a creative mind. You know, I work in an investment bank. I'm not
39:48a marketing genius, but when nothing else is around, you have to try and push something.
39:53And maybe I've got a bit carried away with the directing. Action.
39:56I just can't get rid of this gravy. Being even more dramatic, Sean, to be honest,
40:00I'm really kind of, oh, I just can't get rid of this gravy. That's great, actually.
40:08That's brilliant.
40:09The idea of the germinator was that it kills all germs, but the actual advert showed the product
40:16being used to take off gravy. So the actual message in the advert didn't match at all.
40:21The germinator. Chris, I think that this task is really not the one for you to have taken the helm
40:28on. It's an example of someone getting a little bit too cocky. It's really unforgivable.
40:37Chris found himself on the losing team two more times.
40:40Is this a message that I'm getting from above somewhere that's telling me that you are a loser?
40:52Being on the losing team six times is a dangerous place to be. It's like going around the grand
40:58national course at Aintree. Beechers Brook will get you in the end. And Chris kept finding himself
41:05coming up to Beechers Brook once again. Dangerous stuff. I don't think that I'm genuinely responsible
41:12for any of those losses. You know, I find myself in the bottom three here because I at least stepped
41:17up to the plate and actually wanted to be project manager, even though I've been in here the last
41:20two weeks. Whilst it doesn't annoy anyone more than it annoys me to hear those numbers,
41:26he's judging this on individuals, not on teams. And he's judging it on how you performed throughout.
41:30So the fact that I'm still here clearly illustrates that they see something in me.
41:34I'm not here just to make up the numbers or try and survive a few weeks. You know,
41:37I want to win this thing.
41:39The more I sat and watched Chris in the boardrooms, the more I liked him.
41:43He's a young guy. We forget that. He's only 24. He's not long out of college. And yet he
41:50conducts himself in a very adult way. There is a bit of arrogance, but not over much. But most of all,
41:57I think he's got courage. And that's what you need in business, in hard times, courage.
42:04Chris got the message. In week 10, it was London calling.
42:12Hi, Colin. Nice to meet you. How's it going?
42:14I think my highlight of the bus tour task was almost certainly the securing of the pitch at the
42:19tourist centre. It's a really tough thing to do on your own, to go in and pitch with no real
42:24background information from the rest of your team. You're really relying on your own instincts.
42:27I've negotiated it to say that basically we've given 20% of our sales that they chose us.
42:32And how many tickets they sell? No, no, no. It's our total sales room.
42:36Oh, 20% of everything? Yes. Oh, jeez.
42:39I took a real gamble, to be honest, offering the amount of money that I did. I think at this
42:44stage of the process, you have to take risks. He's not looking for somebody who's going to turn
42:48down a potentially lucrative deal.
42:51Total profit, after exactly everything, including the rather remarkable 20% global commission,
42:57came in at £1,099.33. Well done. That deal, that 20% guarantee was absolutely the sole reason why
43:09Chris and his team won this task. You rolled the dice there, Chris,
43:13with this rather innovative way of doing things. You've come in with a good win.
43:27Chris really is a risk-taker, he's strategic, and actually, very importantly in business,
43:34is able to see the bigger picture. He's the one to watch.
43:43Stuart Bags, a man who shoots from the lip.
43:46Guys, it's your funeral. What's in the sausage?
43:51Don, how many sausages did you make yesterday?
43:53One idea was I married a team that produced over 1,100 sausages.
43:56That's on a calculator, naught.
43:58I'm just going to use my psychic instinct here and predict what they are now saying.
44:04I need everything spoon-fed to me. Where's the spoon? Where's the spoon?
44:08Tourists were essentially just juicy money bags, aren't they? Dip my hands into their pockets.
44:14I saw you looking. I saw you looking. Lovely day in business, Vinnie. Thanks very much.
44:17That's his wunderbar. Tomorrow's a new dawn, a new day.
44:20Let's make some money. Stuart Bags, the brand, sold less, but at a higher price.
44:25Yeah, that's where you made the profit.
44:27Mm. That's a thumbs up.
44:30If I'm given the opportunity to work for you, then with your massive resources,
44:34I can make millions of pounds for you.
44:39I've done it already selling yo-yos in a school playground.
44:44I can take your resources and make you so much money. I will absolutely shine.
44:49Thank you very much.
44:54When it came to Stuart, I always thought he's the type of person, he's either going to be super,
44:58super successful, or he's going to crash and burn, such as his sort of volatile and,
45:03you know, crazy character.
45:04In week one, sausages, his aggressive sales technique got him noticed.
45:11If I trip over, I'm going to be very upset. Would you like to buy some sausages?
45:14Nah.
45:14Are you sure? Nah.
45:16Thank you very much.
45:18And there's your lovely sausages.
45:19OK, if you have any problems, feel free to keep them to yourself.
45:21Thanks very much.
45:23I can't believe Stuart is still here.
45:25By 12 o'clock on our very first task, 12 o'clock midday,
45:31he had upset two members of the public, me.
45:35There's a line and I think you're stepping over it.
45:38Well, I just think it's a key to good sales, to be honest.
45:40I mean, I've never had a problem with it.
45:41Your energy is great and you're doing very well.
45:44Who's sold the most?
45:46You.
45:46Would you like to buy some sausages?
45:51I really threw myself in as if it was a sprint, really,
45:55as opposed to a marathon.
45:56And I went all guns blazing and I tried to sell as many sausages as I could.
46:00And really, I didn't think about what I was saying.
46:02And, you know, I thought we were going to win,
46:04so I didn't think it would matter, but we lost.
46:07And that really bit me in the arse when we went back into the boardroom.
46:10Stuart.
46:11Yes, Lord Sugar?
46:12Why shouldn't I fire you?
46:13If you give me 100 grand a year,
46:14I will deliver to you 10 times that.
46:16And if I don't, take it back.
46:18I'll give it back to you, a money-back guarantee.
46:20I'm that confident.
46:21And that's why you shouldn't fire me, Lord Sugar.
46:23Stuart, you've made some ridiculous statements across the table here to me.
46:28It ain't going to get you anywhere.
46:30When Lord Sugar reacted almost angrily to my offer,
46:34I honestly was incredibly surprised.
46:36And, you know, I make offers like that to people.
46:40You give people money-back guarantees and it's what happens in business.
46:43And perhaps he just was never expecting anybody to have the balls to say that to him.
46:47Say you'd fired me there and then,
46:49then we would have never been compatible as boss and employee anyway.
46:52So there's no point in hiding who I am.
46:54You're counting him out and you can count me straight back in.
47:00Over the next weeks, Stuart's mouth continued to talk him into trouble.
47:04Am I right in thinking that a baby would be dead if it reached 39 or 40 degrees Celsius,
47:08so the product actually would never...
47:09That's dangerous.
47:10What I'm trying to say is that the product wouldn't be completely white when you needed to look.
47:14Don't speak to somebody like that.
47:18You still find it hard to control your mouth, which is something that I cannot accept at all.
47:24Stuart is a really funny one. He's a wild card.
47:28You know, he's intelligent. I'll give him that. But, you know, is he hero or zero? I don't know.
47:36In week seven, Stuart finally got the opportunity to prove himself.
47:40Quick, turn, turn.
47:42I've got two orders.
47:44It was time for Stuart to prove that he wasn't just all gone and no dinner.
47:48Time for him to prove there was some substance behind the rather vacuous Stuart the brand.
47:54I threw myself in as project manager and it was something that I'd never done before.
47:58I'm selling DVDs in front of a grey screen.
48:00Oh, look, he's won the race.
48:02If you've got a queue, 15 quid. Up the price, right?
48:06I didn't want to fix rigid pricing strategy because people that come in with
48:10you know, expensive handbags and purses are going to pay a lot more.
48:13And, you know, I think if somebody had a diamond engagement ring the size of a golf ball on their
48:17finger, they need to pay £35 for a DVD. You know, we won and we won because of my strategy,
48:24my pricing strategy.
48:25Well done.
48:26I'm so proud of everyone.
48:27I've laid on a masterclass of champagne tasting.
48:31Wow.
48:32Are you old enough to drink?
48:35Legal almost everywhere.
48:36Okay.
48:37The youngest candidate ever at just 21, Stuart spent his early years above his parents pub
48:46on the Isle of Man.
48:47Stuart gets all his business acumen, really, the wheeler dealer type of cut and thrust
48:53business thing from his father. He's grown up the whole time with his father sitting there
48:58counting the money. He wasn't that interested in doing the work to get the money,
49:01but he used to love counting it.
49:03Somebody's got to do the hard work.
49:09When you live in a pub where every day there's business occurring, you naturally become curious.
49:14And I've been trying to sell stuff all my life, some with success, some with without.
49:18And this is what shaped me.
49:20And I think I want a better car.
49:23I want a better house.
49:24I want a better holiday.
49:25I want better everything.
49:26And the way to do that is to make more money.
49:28And you make more money by working harder and having better ideas.
49:31He always wanted to do things which normal children probably didn't want to do.
49:38He never, ever, I don't think he even has even to today, read a fiction book.
49:43The books he read were always manuals of some sort or another, really boring manuals.
49:48I think he even...
49:49Only boring for you.
49:49Well, yes.
49:50He loved them.
49:50About how things worked, mobile phones when they came out, computers.
49:56The number of books he read about computers, I can't believe it.
49:58I think I'm essentially like the office IT geek, but maybe with a little bit of a personality.
50:03I absolutely love technology, but, you know, I've managed to get myself a girlfriend,
50:08which kind of makes me a little bit different from all the other IT geeks out there.
50:12But I absolutely love communications.
50:15I love basic business.
50:17And really, I've been driven throughout my life to make as much money as possible.
50:21At 18, Stuart launched himself into business as a broadband provider.
50:26We're really proud of Stuart and what he's achieved at such an early age.
50:30We haven't really helped him or given him any financial backing.
50:33So everything he's done, he's achieved himself and his parents.
50:36We're sometimes amazed as well as being proud.
50:41He's a one-off.
50:42I mean, as is Lord Sugar in his own right.
50:45He's a one-off and we think Stuart is a one-off.
50:47I think Stuart, without doubt, identifies with Lord Sugar.
50:54He models himself on Lord Sugar. He wants to be him.
50:58The difference between Stuart and Lord Sugar, well, there's many differences,
51:03but the main one is that Stuart has to understand that working as a team,
51:08listening to people, being strategic, getting the best out of people, is what makes you a great business person.
51:14In week 10, Stuart took his fight to the streets.
51:18Anyone that Joe sells to, we can neutralise by stealing them on the way.
51:23Stuart, can you get off our pitch, please?
51:25This is all of our pitch now.
51:26No, it's not.
51:27It is.
51:27Sorry to hassle you, but we would do it for £5 cheaper, the exact same tour.
51:31I think you just ignore this, please.
51:33These idiots are just amateurs, frankly.
51:35This is actually...
51:36We're not doing it on it, yeah.
51:36It's OK, yes.
51:37That's it.
51:38Hi, guys.
51:39Hi, guys.
51:40Can I trust you on a tour today?
51:41What the hell is going on?
51:42You've got the most spectacular open-top tour bus which will go on today.
51:44He's an absolute liar.
51:45Don't believe anything.
51:46It's absolutely amazing.
51:47Everyone painted his tour and he's far too expensive.
51:50Eh?
51:50Waste of time, definitely.
51:52It's £5 a ticket.
51:53Just ignore him.
51:54It's not worth it.
51:55It's just obviously they're nervous.
51:57I've had a couple of really close encounters with a black cab since I've been in this process.
52:02The toughest fight that I've had, though, was after the tour bus task.
52:13Stuart, you see yourself as some kind of entrepreneurial, young, rough diamond.
52:19Let's start a new company and not only will you be able to put me in an existing one, I can run one for you.
52:23There have been some great speeches from the doc, but none greater than Stuart's when he faced Lord Sugar and went into the most eloquent plea for a reprieve.
52:37I want you to wake up in the morning and check the bank balance and think, he has made me millions and I won't be happy with myself unless I've done that for you.
52:44I'm not a one-trick pony. I'm not a ten-trick pony. I've got a field of ponies waiting to literally run towards this.
52:52I thought I was so fired and I fought my corner and it really was a comeback from the ropes.
52:58There's 60 million people in the country. There's bound to be one of them which shines through.
53:01And I'm thinking, yeah, you're right. Out of 60-odd million people, there's got to be another one around.
53:06Are you that person?
53:08I'm not going to lie to you. Betting on me will be a punt, but it will be one that is going to pay off massively.
53:18Well, okay.
53:21When you think you're about to be fired, you have a very strange feeling come over you.
53:25And I imagine it's kind of like you feel when you're about to die. It's a strange sense of acceptance.
53:37You do start drifting almost towards a white light.
53:40Sir, as hard as you work, and as hard as you have worked, I'm going to let you go.
53:51Liz, you're fired.
53:55He even looked at me as he said, you're fired, Liz. So, really, that was the toughest fight,
54:02not only this process, but I think the toughest fight of my life.
54:10Lord Sugar said right at the outset of this process. He wasn't looking for some sort of, you know,
54:14boring, staid sort of character. He wanted flair. He wanted people to take a chance.
54:21Stuart Bags will take chances. Stuart Bags has got flair. So, in that sense, he's a candidate
54:27that, given time, could be tailored into something really quite valuable.
54:30It's certainly worth putting a few pounds on Stuart Bags as a candidate.
54:43I am so glad that I have made it through to the final five,
54:56because this is where I think I belong. And, you know, I am full of passion and ambition,
55:13and I have absolutely no doubt that that is why I'm in the final five.
55:19It's been a really grueling process. It takes an incredible amount of stamina to come through all
55:22of these tasks. It's just a massively character building experience, to be honest. It's that,
55:26as much as anything else, which is driving me forward now. The fact that I've come through so
55:30much already, I'm desperate to see it through to the end. We're in the final five. Two girls,
55:36three boys. Bring it on. Run our race. Jesus.
55:44Ten weeks gone. Two to go.
55:47Next, the final five face their toughest trial yet.
55:58Now it's crunch time, because for the first time, they'll be on a one-to-one
56:04interrogation with somebody they've never met before, with somebody that Lord Sugar knows very
56:11well. And let me tell you, these are hard men. These guys know where to find the skeletons. There
56:17is no hiding place. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes.
56:27Throughout my whole life, I've always set myself a goal, something that at the time,
56:33is a real challenge for me. The point in my life now, this is it. It's all about winning this process.
56:40It would be my proudest moment of my whole life, for sure.
56:49I don't settle ever for second best. I just don't see any point in living if you're not going to
56:53push yourself to really try and excel in every single thing that you do. This situation is a prime
56:58example. I'm not satisfied with going to the top five. I want to win it. I want to go the whole way.
57:03And, you know, I will fight every single inch to make sure that that happens.
57:11I want this job to give myself and all my family a better quality of life. And the fact that I've
57:16left my children for such a long time shows how passionate I am about getting this job. But also
57:20to show people out there that haven't had a good education, dust yourself off, work hard,
57:26and be determined, and good will come out of it.
57:28I can't tell you enough how much I want to win. Going home is just, it's just not an option. I need
57:40to get to the final and then I need to win. I really, really want this job.
57:45I have no doubt in my mind that I'm going to be the next apprentice. And the reason really is that
57:56this is tough times. And Lord Sugar could go out there and hire any of these other four people any
58:02day of the week. They're just professionals that have reached a certain path in their career. I am
58:06something completely different. There aren't thousands of me around. There is one. And he needs to
58:13hire me. Otherwise, he'll never see anybody like me again.
58:23Five candidates. One job.
58:27And the search continues Wednesday night at nine here on BBC One and BBC One HD. Keeping those
58:48unruly boys in check, Miranda is the host of I Got News for you next. Then in half an hour,
58:53Dara O'Brien with a fab funny line up live at the Apollo. And on BBC Three now,
58:58a teenager with a rare disorder is the real Sleeping Beauty.