But what was this? In a cunning twist to celebrate the show’s (first) decade, Sugar broke it to the 12 wannabes in the room that there were, in fact, 8 more for him to choose from. And this bucket load of braces-tugging cocktail-swilling greed-is-good talent meant that more than one of them would be going home on some weeks. The message was clear: no one was safe.
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Sarah (right) thought that victory could be assured for the girls as long as they wore makeup and short skirts
Which can have been the only excuse for project manager Sarah’s diabolic display of postmodern sexism in the workplace. Comprehensive marketing strategy? Don’t be ridiculous. Playing each team member to her respective strengths? No time. Instead, we had the unedifying sight of a 21st century woman telling her female colleagues WITH A STRAIGHT FACE to “wear lots of make up and short skirts tomorrow, please”. And, no, she wasn’t being ironic.
It was just as well Karren Brady wasn’t witness to this spectacle, but the looks on the faces of Nick Hewer and the other girls were comfortingly sour, nearly as pithy as those lemons that would not be cut, however often Sarah tried to slip it into her non-existent sales plan.
Despite this nonsense, the girls calling themselves Decadence (“because it’s kind of like decade, isn’t it?” according to one candidate who swiftly tried to disown this equally disastrous idea in the boardroom) somehow managed to do very little other than sell very average cups of coffee and STILL come out on top over the boys’ team.
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Somehow, the girls' risible coffee-making efforts got them past the boys in terms of profits
How disastrous did this make the boys? Well, pretty unimpressive. With Felipe running the shop. And Chiles. And Robert. Oh, and Steven, busy firing off a rear guard action and pursing his lips all the while. With no one telling them to wear makeup or bare their chests for the Shoreditch masses, this lot were left running around like headless chickens, not selling any T-shirts and dressing up as hot dogs. Lord Sugar looked genuinely weary, faced with them all back in the boardroom. He contented himself with calling them “a shambles” and, for once, he might not even have been hamming it up.
Have you spotted a winner in our midst yet? I'd be amazed, but do let us know...
Meet The 2014 'Apprentice' Candidates
Bianca Miller(01 of20)
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In her own words: "I regret not becoming a scientist so I could clone myself and be more successful in half the time." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Mark Wright (No... Not That One)(02 of20)
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In his own words: "I’m very, very aggressive. I will not leave the room without getting a sale." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Nurun Ahmed(03 of20)
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In her own words: "I’m the type of person that doesn’t take five hours to do one job, I do 20 jobs in five hours." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Scott McCulloch(04 of20)
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In his own words: "From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep, making money and conducting business is on my mind." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Jemma Bird(05 of20)
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In her own words: “I’m always the girl that nearly wins, I’m hoping this time it will be different.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Robert Goodwin(06 of20)
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In his own words: "I’m fearless, and if I don’t shut up about something, you should just trust it’s a well thought out decision." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
James Hill(07 of20)
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In his own words: "Me and Lord Sugar could build an empire together. I think I am him when he was my age." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Lauren Riley(08 of20)
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In her own words: “I’m absolutely not a shrinking violet. I’m very known for speaking my own mind.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Steven Ugoalah(09 of20)
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In his own words: "I can deliver in minus 50; I can deliver in plus 10. If we went to Mars right now, I’d find a way to be excellent." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Ella Jade Bitton(10 of20)
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In her own words: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Felipe Alviar-Baquero(11 of20)
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In his own words: “I studied law because I wanted to change the world. But my real passion is business.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Sarah Dales(12 of20)
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In her own words: "I am the pioneer and the ground breaker, and I possess all the talents to succeed." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Daniel Lassman(13 of20)
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In his own words: "I will out-sell them, I will out-class them and I will perform the best just by being me." (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Pamela Uddin(14 of20)
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In her own words: “I am street and people savvy as well as being business savvy.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Sanjay Sood-Smith(15 of20)
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In his own words: “If I had to choose between friendship and profit I’d choose profit. I’m not in this process to make friends with people, I’m here to win.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Roisin Hogan(16 of20)
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In her own words: “Manipulate, persuade and conquer. I would identify my opponent’s weaknesses and pick them off one by one.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Solomon Akhtar(17 of20)
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In his own words: “I am from the ‘ideas generation’; because of my age I understand technology and how to turn it into a business.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Lindsay Booth(18 of20)
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In her own words: “The other candidates will underestimate how feisty I am, and how I will fight and prove that I can get to the end.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Chiles Cartwright(19 of20)
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In his own words: “I consider myself one of the most credible candidates in this process. I don’t believe that anyone has the wealth and breadth of business acumen that I’ve gained over the years.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)
Katie Bulmer-Cooke(20 of20)
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In her own words: “In business I’m like a little stealth bomber that flies under the radar and smashes the competition before they’ve even realised I’m here.” (credit:BBC/Boundless/Jim Marks Photography)