The Apprentice UK – Series 1 Episode 1

In the first ever episode of The Apprentice UK it starts by showing clips of London.

From all over the country, the very best of Britain’s “young” business prospects are meeting in London.

We then see some clips of the candidates saying cheesy lines to describe themselves.

Thousands of people have applied to be on the show, but only 14 people were chosen and shortlisted for a unique opportunity.

They’ve all come to compete for a dream job with a salary of £100,000 and all they’ve got to do is impress the boss!

We then get introduced to the boss, who is Sir Alan Sugar.

There are clips of him and we find out some facts about him:

 

Sir Alan, 57, is looking for an apprentice to help take his corporation into the 21st century.

The candidates arrive at Brentwood House, which is Amstrad HQ.

We find out that the show it going to be on for 12 weeks and that it’s the ultimate job interview.

All the candidates are in the reception with their suitcases.

There are 7 men and 7 women each with a business background, some have degrees and others left school with nothing at all.

Some of the candidates have had corporate jobs and others have not.

They all quit their jobs in the hope that they will be the one person chosen to work with Sir Alan Sugar.

Sir Alan calls the receptionist and asks her to send the candidates in.

Alan starts looking at the candidates as they come in.

Some candidates sit down and some of the candidates remain standing.

Sir Alan addresses the candidates and says that as far as he is concerned, he has 14 of Britains best prospects.

He then adds that quite a few thousand people have applied for the job that has a six figure salary.

 

Sir Alan tells the candidates that every week he is going to set them tasks and that they will be split into 2 teams, boys and girls.

He also let’s the candidates know that each team will have someone following them.

These are Sir Alan’s business aides.

He introduces Margaret Mountford first, he explains that she has worked with Alan for over 20 years.

 

He then introduces the other person as Nick Hewer.

 

Sir Alan continues by informing the candidates that Nick has also been working with him for over 20 years.

Nick and Margaret will be Sir Alan’s eyes and ears.

Sir Alan goes on to explain that every week, on the losing team, one of the candidates will be fired.

He tells the candidates that this is not a game, but a 12 week job interview and then adds that he is the one who is going to decide who gets fired.

Sir Alan let’s the candidates know that their good looks is not going to make a difference whether they get fired or not.

Sir Alan then gives them a warning to never underestimate him and let’s them know that he knows everything.

He also tells them that he doesn’t like liars, cheats, bullshitters, schmoozers or arse lickers.

He tells them to go back to the house and have a drink, but to be on their toes as they could receive a phone call about the first task at any time.

 

Narrator: “The candidates will be staying in a 8 bedroom luxury house on the Thames in West London… a first taste of the lifestyle the winner can expect.” (Why the winner would want to stay in an 8 bedroom house I don’t know lol)

All the candidates go around the house and say how beautiful and fabulous they think it is.

One of the candidates decides to test the bed by bouncing on it.

They check out the garden and are equally as impressed.

One candidate asks where the snooker table is.

Everyone seems to be getting along fine and they are all wishing each other good luck whilst drinking a glass of what appears to be champagne.

One of  the candidates makes quite an astute comment ‘We’re all going to be at each others throats come tomorrow, so at least today we’re all friends”

We then cut to the candidates talking and getting to know each other and it looks like they are eating a chinese takeaway with chopsticks.

We then find out that the candidate that made that comment is Paul Torrisi and like Sir Alan, left school at 16.

He’s now 34 and fought hard to become a successful property tycoon.

He then says “I would expect the candidates to be sly, ruthless, dogs basically!”

He said he expects the other candidates to use terrible methods but because he expects it, he’s ready for it.

He adds, that he will be sharp, cunning and use whatever he can to get ahead.

The next candidate to be introduced is Ben Leary, 29, who left school with 1 o level and now runs his own head hunting agency.

He says how he was once told, that you can’t bullshit a bullshitter.

He then continues with how he used to be a massive bullshitter and how he had to blag his way into a white collar job.

He also says he doesn’t know yet, who out of the candidates is his main competition, but he doesn’t believe there is anyone as streetwise as him.

Saira Khan is the next candidate. They mention how she is 34 and from the west midlands.

Her parents are from Pakistan and she is the first one to go to university.

Saira says that her family call her bossy, but she thinks bossy is the wrong word and that she is just really good at getting things done.

She adds that she has a lot of get up and go and a lot of energy.

She also says that she thinks she may have too much energy and that could be a problem for other people.

Next up is Matthew Palmer, a mature student who is 39 and a father of two and the oldest candidate in the process.

Matthew mentions how he tries not to follow the herd, how he thinks like an individual and how that can be an advantage.

 

Matthew says he definitely has a lot of entrepreneurial ideas.

He adds that ideas just appear in his mind from nowhere.

It’s important to have a good lateral mind for a lot of businesses.

He says it’s the old phrase of “Thinking outside the box”

He mentions that it is important, i do that quite often and enjoy doing that.

He also says that whether or not he wins is up to Sir Alan.

The teams then get split into their teams of boys and girls.

One of each of the teams reads a letter from Sir Alan, which welcomes them to the house, suggests that they drink the champagne and eat the canapes.

It also says that the teams need to come up with a team name and choose a project manager.

Only someone from the losing team will be fired, so how the team gels is crucial.

Miriam Staley, a hotel manager, says what image do we want to give of ourselves?

 

 

She then says that she thinks their name has to project all of that.

One of the boys says “What sets us apart from the women?” to which another one says “Our Testicles!”

We find out that the guy who said “Our Testicles” is Tim Campbell

He says that most people would consider him a nice personable kind of guy.

Tim also mentions that underneath that calm veneer, is someone who is determined and can usually get what they want.

He mentions he can also put his foot down when it’s necessary if called for.

It cuts back to the boys team and you can hear someone suggesting something solutions.

One of the boys mentions that they are just being creative.

Another mentions that we need to think of a word that is successful and aspirational.

Paul suggests the word “Dynamite”.

Tim then says that is the right wavelength.

Someone then says “Impact” and everyone starts to agree. that is a good name.

Matthew says that the team name Action would suggest action.

We then go to the girls, who are still deciding on their team name.

Some suggestions they come up with are:

• Amelia..
• Ocean or water (One of the other candidates says she likes ocean and waves and crashing)

One candidate suggests exploring fertility in some way and then Saira makes a point that she likes their suggestions, but they are all strong individuals and not pansies or lillies.

Saira suggests they need a name with passion.

The boys take a vote for their name and most of the team vote for Impact. They say that’s done.

Cut to the girls who are still trying to think of a name.

Miriam says she likes Spirit or Energy, but then Saira asks her, “What does it mean?”

The girls appear to be arguing about what name to choose and one of the candidates says they appear to be going around in circles.

The boys then ask who wants to be project manager and Tim says he is happy to take responsibility, step up to the plate and be the first project manager for the boys.

Tim tells the boys, if they win, no one will get eliminated (he means fired) and he says to the boys that they can win if they work together as a cohesive unit.

The show then cuts back to the girls who are still arguing about what name to choose.

It then cuts back to the boys who are having a glass of wine and saying how happy they are with the name and how they are glad they are being nice to each other.

Going back to the girls who are still arguing and they say we all keep voting and nothings happening.

Then it cuts back to Paul and Matthew playing snooker and having a great time.

The narrator says “An hour and a half after the boys have finished, the girls finally reach an agreement.”

They decide to go with the name “First Forte”

Saira says she will be project manager for the first task.

At 9:30pm, the phone rings and Matthew answers.

He has it on speakerphone and it’s a bit muffled.

The lady on the phone says Sir Alan would like to meet them at the Financial Times building and the cars will be outside in 5 minutes.

Tim lets some of the other candidates who are in the garden relaxing with a beer and Matthew goes upstairs and tells some other candidates.

Saira tells some of the ladies that they have to go now.

In the car on the way to the financial times building Saira mentions that her priority is that they are a team and not the enemy within.

Paul tells one of the ladies in the car that the girls team need to have a better attitude and that the boys team has 7 lions in it.

Saira then says she loves being a woman and would not want to be a man. She also adds that she has loved being a woman in business.

Saira continues with if you’re a clever woman, then you have an edge over a man. She also says that she loves the boys team name “Impact.”

She mentions that it is just so boyish.

To brief them on their first task, Sir Alan has arranged to meet the candidates at the Financial Times printworks on the Isle Of Dogs, East London.

Alan starts by talking to the group of candidates and says that in this factory over 3 million newspapers are going to be printed in a short period of time.

He continues by saying by 5pm tomorrow night, they’re all going to be sold. What these people have learned is to get it sold quickly and don’t have any inventory left over.

Alan says that he can see everyone is dressed up smartly, suited and booted. Alan also says that he thinks maybe the candidates heard financial times and they thought it was something grander than what Alan actually has lined up for them.

Alan mentions that it isn’t going to be grand at all, he’s taking them back to his grass roots and they are going to be selling Flowers.

(Grass roots, flowers… do you get the pun there?)

He mentions that flowers, like newspapers, are also worthless the day afterwards.

Alan says he will give each team £500 and each team will need to buy £500 worth of flowers.

He tells the candidates that Nick will be following the girls team and Margaret will be following the boys team.

The team that sells the most and has the most money at the end of the day will win.

Alan is also quick to mention again, that in the team that loses, one of them will get fired.

It cuts to Alan in the car talking to the camera.

Alan says that the tips he would’ve given to the candidates are that they need to find a good position because everything is about position and location.

The ones that will impress him the most, will sell out before the deadline,  then they could and should go and buy some more flowers to sell.

The team that won’t impress him, will have to come back with a load of wilted pansies.

At 1am the teams are still awake and are planning a strategy for the day ahead.

Each team has been given a list where each London borough permits street selling.

In 6 hours, (7am) they will have to start buying at Covent Garden flower market.

It now shows Tim, this time it says he is the project manager and has the teams name displayed “IMPACT”

One strategy Tim comes up with is to buy nothing at all, that way if the opposing team buy some flowers but don’t sell anything then they’ve made a loss and the boys will have won by default.

Cut to Saira again and now Saira’s name is displayed again and likewise it says Project manager for her and the girls team name is displayed “FIRST FORTE”

I don’t know why the team names are in capitals.

Saira says not to get too bogged down on the details, she also mentions that there is a lot of experience and points out that another candidate, Miranda.

Saira mentions that Miranda is a key salesperson.

It cuts to an outside shot and we then get introduced to Miranda Rose, who is an estate agent.

Miranda says she hasn’t come onto the show to make a load of new family and friends, of course, she’s come on to get on with people and enjoy the experience.

She wants the other candidates to respect her, but she understands that respect is something that is earned.

Miranda continues by saying that she considers herself to be a strong leader and a strong character.

She says she thinks she works well in a team but she excels further as a team leader.

The show cuts back to them sitting around the table.

Miranda starts discussing a strategy of buy cheap sell high but gets cut off by Saira.

Saira says she wants to get tips from the market sellers that are there every week and wants to use their experience.

Miranda keeps trying to talk, but keeps getting rudely cut off by Saira.

The show cuts back to the boys and Matthew suggests selling the flowers door to door to residential customers, ie housewives.

Ben agrees with Matthew and thinks it would be a good idea.

He mentions that they’ll be in the London Borough of Islington and says “Do you know how many bored housewives there are in Islington?”

Saira says the most important thing to realize is that they are working as a team.

She says “We are not the enemy within here, the enemy is our competitors.”

Paul comes in to the kitchen to get his suitcase and says “Pause! Pause!”

The ladies stop talking and Paul wishes them goodnight.

Paul goes away and the girls start talking again.

One of the candidates suggests keeping £50 back for lunches, but then they decide to make packed lunches to save money.

Matthew had the same idea and grabbed a lot of food for the boys to eat from the kitchen before the girls took it all.

He explains to the camera that he is trying to get what he can for the benefit of the boys.

It then goes to Saira sitting in the living room, the camera cuts to the clock on the wall showing it is 2:20am, then goes back to Saira who has a big glass of wine.

She is in her pyjamas and she says she wants to get her thoughts clear on paper and look at it in a bit more detail.

She mentions that everyone else is tired and has gone to bed, but she says she’s got the energy to go on and is quite happy to do that.

She says tomorrow is about her being project leader and bringing in the cash to win and making sure that is what happens.

She goes on to say it’s about leading from the front.

It then shows them entering the flower market.

Saira tells the girls to not buy anything in the first 15 minutes as she wants to use that time as research time to talk to the other traders.

It’s 7am and both teams have 30 minutes and £500 to spend on flower stock for the rest of the day.

Saira tells the girls before they go in, anything you can get for free, scraps or whatever, get.

The narrator then lets us know that the teams will be closely monitored by Sir Alan’s business aides, Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford.

Nobody in either team has any experience in the flower trade.

The girls ask the traders what do customers normally do and the first trader says the customers say they want multiple boxes of different flowers and another trader says that they are probably best to stick to one thing like Roses.

The boys also ask what seems to sell well and a lady suggests lillies.

It cuts to James Max, an investment banker.

He asks a flower seller what type of Lillies sell, white ones or coloured ones, open ones or closed ones?

The trader he is talking to just replies and says, what you really need are the ones that show just a little bit of colour.

James relays his findings back to the boys, he says “Men buy Roses and Women buy Lillies”

Considering that they have decided to go door to door, they figure it’s probably more likely that there are women at home during the day.

They decide to go with Lillies and Tim negotiates with the flower seller.

The boys spend a third of their money on Lillies.

Saira tells the girls they need to start buying.

The girls have also decided to buy Lillies, but they’re divided over presentation.

Basically what happens is a few of the girls go into a shop to look at ribbons and sleeves.

Saira tells the other candidates in the shop that when you buy lillies you don’t buy ribbons.

She also informs them that they’re wasting time.

She let’s them know that the Lillies already come in sleeves.

One of the girls asks what about carnations or other flowers to which Saira replies, “They all come in sleeves!”

It then cuts to Adele Lock, a retail manager who says she is a very competitive person.

Adele says she will not tolerate confrontational people, people who want to be loud all the time and make their point by being loud.

It then goes back to the shop where Saira is adamant that they do not need extra ribbon.

Adele then asks a flower seller in his opinion, would you need extra ribbon to go with the flowers and he says it’s all about the look and the design and that’s where you make your money.

Adele says to Saira that she might buy them as they are but she wouldn’t take them like that to her mum in hospital.

Nick says that his view is that the girls are running out of time, he thinks Saira is holding her own but is under a bit of pressure.

Nick continues by saying he thinks that their ideas are good but they should really start buying or they’re going to be in trouble.

The girls rush back to buy some ribbons to make the flowers look presentable when they sell them.

Saira and another candidate say to the shopkeeper that they are really desperate, they want the cheapest ribbon and loads of it.

The boys and the girls rush to spend as much of their £500 as they can before the time runs out.

The boys seem to be in high spirits and say well done team.

One of the candidates looks at a get-well-soon balloon and Saira is quick to put it back on the shelf.

Both teams have spent £400 of the £500 given to them by Sir Alan.

Restaurant owner Adenike Ogundoyin wants to target hospitals and funeral homes, but she is being overruled by the project manager.

Adenike says that she sees her role in teams that she participates in as a leader. She continues by saying she is a natural leader and has always been a leader.

She says that is all she knows and she doesn’t know how to be a follower.

Saira tries to give her a pep talk in the middle of the flower market, saying how we have to work as part of a team and Adenike says she will talk to her about it, but not there as they are running out of time.

Tim mentions to the boys that the girls don’t look too happy.

Saira says to the girls in the car that there was a lot of pulling in different directions, there is only one of her and there are lots of things she has to think about.

She adds that what will let them down as a team is if under pressure, they become hysterical and stressful.

She also says that when she sees other people get stressed, it affects her and she doesn’t need to feel it today.

Almost like a bit of a warning to the other candidates.

As well as being able to sell on the streets, both teams have been given a pitch at Portabello Road Market in Notting Hill.

Saira gives a bit of a pep talk to the girls that are in the car with her.

She tells them that she wants to see lots of personality.

She mentions that they are all sexy girls and that the punters are already there so this should be the fun part.

They get to their location and they have no stall at all.

Saira goes into a butcher and asks them if they are Pakistani, she then talks to them and asks if they can give her some water and a table.

One of the butchers says water is no problem and he will look for a table for her.

The boys turn up and see the girls have managed to get a table.

It’s 8:30am and before any flowers are sold, each team adopts and different strategy

Tim decides it would not be wise to try and sell next to them, so they give up on the market and go all in on the door-to-door sales strategy.

While the boys are deciding where to go to sell door to door, Matthew starts becoming enthusiastic or passionate about the fact that this is area is his manor and he has a suggestion of where they should go.

Tim gets a bit offended and tells Matthew, that if he talks to him in the right way, he’ll listen to him.

Matthew lives nearby and is convinced he knows the best area for door to door selling.

Tim tells the other boys in the car that Matthew needs to watch his tone. Paul tries to help but suggesting that maybe Matthew is just a bit excited.

Meanwhile, in the other car, Matthew says they cannot target council tower blocks and suggests to the boys in his car that they should target the upper middle class.

 

Matthew says to the boys in the car, this is my manor! I can promise you I know this place VERY well.

Matthew says he will argue the smaller points no matter what the issue, he also adds that he can do it to “irritating levels.”

He says that diplomacy and tact are things he has to work on a lot more.

He says he’s sure everyone else could work on that as well, but particularly him.

Paul points to a man in a white shirt queuing up for the post office and says.. look at him, he is desperate for a bunch of Lillies.

Paul mentions that the flowers are already in bunches and sellophane wrapped so they don’t have to spend any money on ribbons, sellotape and the like.

The girls are banking on presentation to add value, that means staying in the market until all of the flowers are prepared.

Saira tries to sell a bunch of Lillies to a passer by for £4.99, but the passer by isn’t interested.

Miranda tries to sell some to a couple honing in on the man and suggesting he buys some for his partner. He isn’t interested however.

Saira is shouting “The freshest Lillies you’ll find in London.. we haven’t got any customers so I’ll just talk to myself!”

Nick points out that it’s an ordinary street market, but there is no traffic.

He says he thinks they’re going to stay here and be disappointed,

Miranda tries to sell a bunch to a lady and suggests she could put them in her bag, but the lady wasn’t interested.

Saira keeps shouting and then looks confused and says I thought London was a commercial haven of the world.

Tim asks the boys, who is confident at selling and Paul says that he is.

Then Tim asks again who is very confident at selling and Paul responds again that he is very confident at selling.

Paul asks James are these £7 but we can do them for £5?

James agrees it’s £5 for the three Lillies and let’s the homeowner know that a mixed bunch is a tenner.

The homeowner isn’t too keen at first, but mentions if his girlfriend was here she probably would have bought some.

Paul says he will do them for £4, then says he will do 2 bunches for £5 to which the homeowner reluctantly agrees. (Probably just to get them off of his doorstep)

Someone off camera (Perhaps the producer???) asks Paul how would he describe his sales technique, to which he replies, “Desperate!”

Paul says there is nothing clever about his sales pitch, he just pleads and begs until he gets the items sold.

He mentions that there is no art to selling and that there are American gurus who say you need to sell in a certain way, but you’ve got to come across every person as their own.  (So in a way there is a bit of an art, because people buy from people and I think that’s what he was trying to say)

The homeowner answers the door and Paul says “Hello I’m looking to sell some flowers to all of the lovely young ladies on this street!”

The homeowner mentions that Paul is a wonderful salesman.

Paul then replies “Well I sold to you, so I must be!”

I don’t know what he means by that, but nevertheless, he tries to sell to another old lady in the street.

He says If she buys a bunch, he will buy her a bunch.

When she talks to Paul, he detects an Irish accent and asks the lady if she is from Ireland.

He then says his wife is from Ireland!

It then cuts to a shop where he is speaking to someone and asks her if she is Polish.

When she says she is indeed polish, he tells her his Aunt is Polish so he is going to cut a good deal for her boyfriend.

He sells her 2 bunches for £8 and her boyfriend has to pay Paul.

He talks to a girl and says when he was her age he was a champion at table tennis.

When she asked him did he win any medals, Paul replies by saying “I never lost any medals!”

He tells a painter that his grandad was a painter and decorator and he painted Buckingham Palace.

He also talks to a traffic warden and says that they don’t get the respect that they’re due.

He talks some builders as well and tells them to impress their wives.

It then cuts to Ben selling 1 bunch to a lady who pays him with a load of shrapnel and one coin falls on the floor.

Then it cuts to lots of short clips of everyone else selling flowers and then when Matthew asks someone they say they’re not interested.

The boys ask Matthew how many he has sold and he replies with “Nil!”

Paul tells him to “Watch and learn” and tells the boys that he is on fire.

After 2 hours at portabello road market, the girls have sold 3 bunches of Lillies for £7.50.

Adele points out that is it almost 11am, they just need to get out there and sell and they’ve still got travel time.

Saira says Miranda is in charge of the static team.

Miranda says she wants to leave and believes it’s a waste of time staying there.

Adele asks Saira if she can go with the Static Team and Saira says no she can’t.

Adele accuses Saira of not being consistent and changing the strategy.

She adds that if Saira is the project manager she should be consistent.

Saira keeps saying “Listen!” to Adele over and over and adds that they need to be positive.

Then it cuts to Adenike holding an umbrella getting absolutely soaked.

Saira says to the girls as they are leaving the market, everytime she tries to do something, she gets lots of questions asking why.

Saira continues by saying she’s giving them direction and if she tells them to do something, they need to do it.

It’s raining where the boys are as well. Ben says he needs 5 minutes to stay out of the rain.

It cuts to Paul still selling even in the rain.

Paul tells one of the other candidates, who we now know is called Raj, that when he is knocking on the door, don’t say sorry to trouble you, because they’re doing them a favour by bringing them the flowers.

Then it continues a few clips of the boys selling the flowers.

The boys are selling steadily and seem to be doing well.

The girls have abandoned the market and have taken to a high street in North London to try and sell their Flowers.

Saira tells Miriam to wait for her to give her the go ahead to lower the price.

Without the permission of her project manager, Miranda, sells a load of flowers at less than cost price.

Miranda says they bought the flowers for £2.25 and sold them for £1.60.

Making a loss of 65p per bunch. That’s good business!

Miranda uses loads of cheesy lines and says “To be fair” and “At the end of the day”

She then says rather than having stock sat in the van, she would, even at a loss, turn the stock into money.

Which she thinks is the best plan.

(Not selling the stock for a profit)

Mid afternoon and the girls are finally selling on Hampstead High Street.

Although based on the clips being shown, it appears to be only Saira doing the selling.

Nick appears to be enjoying a nice pot of tea at a nearby cafe and he is quick to point out that it’s only Saira doing the selling.

He adds, that it may not be that pretty, but it is effective.

It does appear that Saira is physically dragging customers by their arms and Nick mentions this, but he also says she is shifting the merchandise.

It’s 5:30pm, the girls head to Kings Cross station to target the commuters who are going home and the boys decide to head to Baker Street.

(I don’t know how they come up with the idea to go to Kings Cross and Baker Street stations, were they given the choice of 2 stations by producers????)

The boys say it’s the last hour of trading so they need to be high energy, they also add that Kings Cross (which is where the girls are going), will not be a good place to sell.

In the other car, Paul tells Raj to never lose a sale!

Saira calls Miriam on the phone and tells Miriam to keep the prices high.

Then there is a montage of clips showing the girls all doing well selling flowers outside Kings Cross Station.

Then it cuts to a montage of clips of the boys trying to sell outside Baker Street station but people don’t seem too keen to buy.

It seems like based on the footage, that Kings Cross was the better choice.

Paul suggests everyone linking arms and not letting anyone past until they’ve bought some flowers.

At 6:30pm, The girls sell out of flowers with half an hour to spare.

At 7:00pm. the boys sell out also, but only by slashing prices to well below cost price.

Matthew says he has great fears that they wouldn’t clear their stock, but they have.

He continues by saying they may have done the best or they may not, he isn’t sure.

Nick then asks the girls, Who has got the money? (A bit like a pimp)

Margaret gets the money from the boys and tells them to rest up tonight and she’ll see them tomorrow.

The boys all congratulate each other.

It goes back to the house and the narrator tells us that tomorrow someone from the losing team will be fired.

Tim says to the boys that the good things they’ve found today was that they were adaptable.

Ben says that Paul was the main seller today, and he was giving it 120% and more than anyone else.

He adds that there was faffing and points out that Matthew wasted the teams time at certain points during the day.

Saira says if the girls lose, she’s up for a firing.

Miriam says that Saira really led the task, even if it bordered on being quite dictatorial.

Miranda adds that Saira may have come across as slightly condescending or patronizing.

Adele mentions that she didn’t like how things were changing during the course of the day.

Adenike adds that as the day progressed, Sairas management skills did come out and get better and they really were a team.

It’s 9am the next morning and the candidates are heading for the boardroom.

All 14 candidates have packed their bags, whoever is fired will not be coming back to the house.

The narrator tells us that in less than an hour, having given up highly paid jobs to work for Sir Alan, one of them will find out that the gamble hasn’t paid off.

It then shows us Alan’s Rolls Royce on the move.

The candidates enter and wait in the reception area.

The boys all stand together and the girls are all together.

The phone rings and the receptionist tells the candidates that they can go through to the boardroom.

The boys go through first and we see that Nick and Margaret are already in the boardroom.

Sir Alan enters the boardroom.

He asks the girls how they think they did.

Saira replies and says she thinks as a team, they performed exceptionally well under the circumstances.

She mentions how they had bad weather on the day.

She adds that they had a bit of a shaky start, but by the end of the day they had gelled and were a strong team and very motivated.

Alan asks the rest of the girls if they all share that view to which they all agree.

Alan then shifts his focus to the boys and asks Tim how the boys did.

Tim says he thinks himself and the team performed admirably under the circumstances.

He adds every single one of the team pulled their weight and they remained as one all the way through.

Alan asks the rest of the boys team if they’re happy with that and if they agree and they all start nodding and say yes.

Alan says “Let’s not keep you in suspense any longer!” and then he asks Nick for the numbers.

Nick replies by saying the girls team, First Forte, sold out of flowers and from their seed money of £500, brought home £602.

The girls look pleased with this result.

Alan then turns to Margaret Mountford and asks her how the boys team did.

Margaret says how the boys team, Impact, were pretty desperate by the end of the day and they only just managed to get rid of the last of their flowers at Baker Street.

She then says “But they brought in £865”

So the boys have won.

Alan said he had a gut feeling that the ladies would win.

He said he is very impressed and not a lot of people impress him.

He explains that the winning side gets a treat.

Alan says to the boys he has got a capsule on the London Eye and he has managed to allow caterers on so there will be a champagne reception for the boys.

Alan tells Saira that she needs to pick 2 people who she thinks didn’t support her on the day and then one of them will get fired.

The candidates all then leave the boardroom.

Alan says the boys seemed to celebrate their victory and Nick says it was a hell of a result.

Alan says that he would have bet on the girls winning that one what with it being flowers.

He adds that the boys must be great salesmen to have beaten the girls.

Alan also adds that the girls seem to have a bit of trouble in the team.

Paul tells the boys in the car that the girls are now very down psychologically, he also adds that they weren’t just upset, but they were dejected and absolutely mortified.

He says when he turned around it looked like a funeral.

He thinks that the boys now have the upper hand for future tasks.

The boys have now reached the London Eye and are enjoying a champagne reception.

James says you can never have too much champagne.

James continues by saying that Impact is a really good team, because they are all good at different things and as long as they play to everyones strengths and listen to each other, then there is no reason why they can’t go into the next task and do well.

It then cuts to what looks like a police line up of the girls waiting for Sir Alan to call them back into the boardroom.

The narrator tells us that Saira needs to choose 2 of her team mates to join her in the firing line.

The receptionist gets a phone call and then tells the girls that they can go through to the boardroom.

Alan asks the girls was there any negotiations when buying the flowers or did they just pay whatever price the seller was asking?

Saira replies by saying she decided to break the team into two because there were two very strong opinions the night before when she was laying down the strategy.

Saira says in order for everyone to work as a team, she made sure that each of the two teams had at least one person with experience.

Sir Alan asks who is that and Miranda said that’s me.

He asks Miranda if she knows about Market Trading and she says yes she does.

Alan then asks her why did she sell the flowers below cost price after only 2 hours of trading?

Miranda says she made a decision on her own, that they were not going to sell out of the flowers.

Rather than sitting on dead stock, at the end of the day, it would be better to get something for the flowers, even if it meant at a loss.

Alan then asks Miranda, what was the end of the day?

Miranda then replies “7 O Clock”

Alan then says “This was at 1 O Clock”

LOL

Miranda continues by saying there wasn’t enough passing trade and in hindsight, she believes she made the right call because they only just sold out by 7pm.

Alan says if the end of the day is 7pm, the time to start cutting prices would be 4pm or 5pm and it sounds like she panicked a bit.

Saira says she recognises that they made a bit of a mistake in terms of the purchasing of the flowers.

Adenike says that in the morning there were a few teething problems getting along with each other.

Alan asks Adenike if she is saying there were a few differences of opinion?

Alan said they should’ve had the strategy sorted out when they were at the print works not when they were out in the field.

Adele adds that the team didn’t gel immediately and because of that the team has suffered.

Alan says he has heard enough to get a picture of what went on and says to Saira that she needs to choose 2 people that didn’t help her with this task.

Saira chooses Adinike and Miranda.

Alan tells the other 4 candidates that they are free to go and asks Saira, Adinike and Miranda to wait in reception and he will call them back in when he needs them.

Nick starts whispering to Alan (presumably because if he talks at a normal level they can hear him from reception?)

He says that Miranda is a good salesperson but she did make a mistake by selling the flowers under cost price.

He says that Adenike is a thorn in Saira’s side.

Saira, Miranda and Adenike go back into the boardroom and the narrator let’s us know that they have one last chance to convince Sir Alan not to fire them.

Miranda says she thinks she shouldn’t be fired because as far as Sales go, there is no stronger person than herself.

Alan replies by saying that anyone can sell at a loss.

He also adds that he can sell ten pound notes for nine pounds all day long.

Miranda says if she hadn’t have sold “Wholesale” when she did, they would have sold at a much greater loss at the end of the day.

Alan doesn’t seem very pleased with this and says he can only see it as panicking.

He then asks Adenike what was she doing?

He says to Adenike that Nick, his very good friend and advisor for 25 years, told him that she didn’t a lot.

Adenike says that she was doing most of the sales in Hampstead, but Nick is quick to correct her and says that Saira was doing most of the sales in Hampstead.

Alan says he has been a salesman all of his life and he knows how much he has sold.

Adenike says she knows she sold nothing less than 60 bunches of flowers.

Alan asks her where did she get that number from, did she just make it up?

He continues by saying “So you reckon you sold about 60 bunches” and Adenike says “I don’t reckon, I know I did”

Alan then says it’s funny how he had to prompt her to get a figure.

He then goes to Saira and asks her what she thinks.

Saira says as project manager she had a clear strategy and that strategy was not followed by Miranda and Adenike.

Alan seems confused and asks Saira to hold on a minute and then he asks her “Was it not you who said to me about 10 minutes ago, that you allowed your team members, because they had more expertise in something like market trading, to go on and do something themselves?”

Miranda says it’s all very well to pass the buck and Saira responds by saying she isn’t passing the buck.

Saira says she did say that, to which Sir Alan says “Well then, you gave them permission to not stick to your strategy”

Saira continues by saying in the time that they had and with the headstong personalities that she had to deal with, she delegated part of that responsiblity.

She said she belived they had the skill to go away and stick to that strategy.

Miranda says that she knows Saira is making reference to her.

Miranda also says she does have those skills and those skills prevailed.

She also adds that she feels like she is being taken for a bit of a scapegoat.

Miranda says to Saira, that Saira gave her responsibilites that Saira wasn’t confident enough to take on herself.

Saira responds to that by saying selling to a wholesaler at a wholesale price was not a decision made by her.

Sir Alan notices that Adenike is very quiet and asks her what’s going on?

Adenike says to Sir Alan that she suggested to Saira they sell the flowers wholesale, but Saira didn’t like that idea. (It sounds like she says Zara not Saira!)

Alan says to Adenike you can’t buy from Wholesalers and then sell to Wholesalers.

Adenike says she wanted to Funeral Directors in the middle of the night, because they are open 24 hours and get them to come outside and then sell them flowers.

Margaret repeats what Adenike just said and asks her if that was her strategy.

Adenike says that was just one of her strategies.

Alan says to Adenike, that it seems to him, she has a lot of suggestions.

Alan tells the girls he has heard enough and he summarizes.

He says to Saira, that he is convinced she worked very hard and put in a lot of effort selling.

He says to Adenike, that he is concerned she was just questioning the strategy, rather than just getting on with the selling.

He then says to Miranda how he cannot get his head around losing money and that really bothers him.

He tells them he has to make a decision.

He says his decision is Adenike is fired.

Adenike is crying now.

He says to Saira and Miranda that they are both lucky, in particular, Miranda.

He said Miranda talked herself out of being fired.

The girls leave the boardroom.

Alan talks to Margaret and Nick and says he thinks Adenike was undermining everything that was agreed.

He says that was the feeling he got and what’s done is done and now on to the next one.

Adenike says that she is a strong headed person and likes to get her opinion across especially when things don’t seem quite right.

She adds that if Sir Alan fired her for not supporting the strategy, then that’s fine.

Adenike says she is proud of what she has done and is proud of her suggestions.

Adenike says the bottom line is that she has been fired and you just have to accept it and move on.

The narrator says 1 job, now 13 candidates, Sir Alans search for his apprentice has begun.

It then shows clips of next weeks show.