Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It's the job interview from hell.
00:08From across the country, Britain's brightest business prospects head for London.
00:14For me, making money is better than sex.
00:17It's that rush, it's that pump of adrenaline, I absolutely thrive on it.
00:22I am outstanding.
00:24It's a given.
00:25I'm intelligent, articulate, eloquent, and I've got lots and lots of ambition.
00:31Being successful is more important than being popular, you don't need to make friends on
00:34the way up when you're not coming back down.
00:37Chosen from thousands of applicants, 16 candidates.
00:42I'm a winner, I'm a winner every single month that I do what I'm paid to do.
00:45I was born to do great things, and if I turn up, I'd win it, simple as that.
00:50I am a rough, tough cream puff from New York, and I am in it to win it, absolutely.
01:00They'll fight it out for a top job with a six-figure salary.
01:06When people say it's a taking part that counts, absolute rubbish, it's a winning that counts.
01:13In business, you play to win.
01:18But to succeed, they'll have to impress the boss, Sir Alan Sugar.
01:26You ever open your mouth like that again, and don't even bother to come back in this
01:29ballroom.
01:30Do you understand me?
01:32Toughened to the point, Sir Alan left school at 16, selling car aerials from the back of
01:37a van.
01:38What the hell's gone wrong here?
01:40You didn't sell, you didn't sell, and you didn't sell, all the book, zero.
01:46Forty years on, he's still at the top of his game, heading up a vast business empire.
01:52Now he's on the hunt for a new apprentice.
01:56First prize, you get to work for me.
01:59Second prize, don't exist.
02:04Sir Alan will put these young business prospects through a punishing selection process.
02:10I'm going to have this fight.
02:11You want to see me whip balls?
02:12I'm going to give you balls right now.
02:13You're yelling.
02:14It's upsetting me.
02:15You are screwed.
02:16To come in with a loss is inconceivable.
02:19Sixteen candidates.
02:21No, that's not okay.
02:23That is not okay.
02:24I'm not having it.
02:25You'd better say some more, because I tell you what, you're half way out the bloody door.
02:29Twelve weeks.
02:30That was absolutely hideous.
02:32Oh my God.
02:34You were looking like complete prats.
02:36One job.
02:38I always told you never to underestimate me.
02:41You're fired.
02:42You're fired.
02:43You're fired.
02:44You're a fucking mess.
02:45You're fired.
03:15Hello?
03:17Can you send them all in, please?
03:19Yes, sir.
03:20You can go through to the boardroom now.
03:45Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
03:47Welcome to my boardroom.
03:50Now, those astute ones amongst you will notice that the chaps are one man short.
03:57There's eight girls and only seven boys.
04:00And that's because someone's already bottled it, believe it or not.
04:06And you can't even blame me, because I've never met him.
04:11Pressure.
04:13And that's what business is all about.
04:15Pressure.
04:16Simple as that.
04:17Are you tough enough to put up with it?
04:19Because matey wasn't.
04:22This job interview is like one you've never had before.
04:25I'm going to find out if you're the real deal.
04:28Or just a bunch of empty designer suits and dresses.
04:33It could be, of course, that you're here because you're good with words.
04:37You know the right thing to say at the right time.
04:40I mean, I know the words to candle in the wind.
04:44Don't make me Elton John, right?
04:49I don't care where you're from, what your last job was.
04:52Don't tell me you're a global strategist, because all that means to me is you're talking a load of balls.
04:59You think you can second guess or play me?
05:02Well, let me tell you.
05:03I'm as hard to play as a Stradivarius.
05:07And you lot, I can assure you, are as easy to play as bongo drums.
05:14All I care about is how you perform in the next 12 weeks.
05:18It'll be the hardest job interview you've ever had.
05:22But for one of you, it might be the last one you ever need.
05:27So what am I looking for?
05:29Simple.
05:30I'm looking for a diamond.
05:32And remember, a diamond started out as a lump of coal that came good under extreme pressure.
05:38And trust me, you are going to be under extreme pressure in this next 12 weeks.
05:45So, it's straight down to business.
05:54I started my business from nothing.
05:56I was never shy of hard work.
05:58I always dirtied my hands.
06:00And I can assure you, in this first task, you will be dirtying your hands also.
06:06This first task is all about cleaning.
06:09Cars, windows, houses, toilets, I don't care what it is.
06:13You just go out there and you clean things.
06:17I've laid on two vans, which are full up with cleaning materials.
06:22I'm going to give you a bit of walking about money.
06:25And every time you take some of those materials from the van, you're going to have to pay for it.
06:29And the team that comes back here with the highest profit wins.
06:33And the team that doesn't loses.
06:35And in that team, one of you will definitely be fired.
06:44Now I'm going to start you off, girls versus boys.
06:48Nick will be following the girls.
06:50And Margaret will be following the boys.
06:53Don't underestimate these two.
06:55They are dead sharp.
06:57Off you go. And I want you back here at 7 o'clock tonight.
07:12Ahead, ten hours of hard graft.
07:17First, for the 15 candidates.
07:19Just time to turn themselves from perfect strangers.
07:22Hello, my name is James. How are you doing?
07:24James, Philip. Nice to meet you.
07:26Into close-knit teams.
07:28What do you guys do?
07:30Well, I'm a trainee stockbroker. What about yourself?
07:33I'm a retail business manager.
07:35Right. I'm actually a teacher.
07:38I love the sound of my own voice.
07:40At work, I stand out from the crowd.
07:42I look the part, I talk posh, and I look posh.
07:46I'm field-based, so you were going to vote recently.
07:50Not working in a field.
07:52It's a huge mistake for people to see me as a dumb blonde.
07:55I've always been a high achiever.
07:57I'm a straight-A student with a first-class honours degree,
08:00and that's why I should be the next apprentice.
08:02I'm a commercial development and strategy manager,
08:04but I'm actually a trained lawyer.
08:06I'm the complete package.
08:08I've got the rainbow of skills that nobody else will have.
08:11It's my opinion people are going to want,
08:13and it's my business card they're going to want at the end of the night.
08:16I don't think there's any one job or background
08:18that gives anyone an advantage in this at all.
08:24Starting a successful business in a recession is a tall order,
08:28but Sir Alan knows it can be done.
08:31I think the simplest thing to do is just to get a bucket and a sponge
08:34and a rag and just go and clean cars.
08:36That would be very cheap.
08:38Or they could hire the whole blooming van out,
08:40in which case they'd better take a lot of money.
08:43I think the cleaning task is all about, you know, just working hard.
08:46I mean, how hard is it to clean?
08:48I employed someone called my wife to do it for me.
08:50No, only joking.
08:52Carpets. Office carpets.
08:54What about shoes? Dry cleaning.
08:56I like windows.
08:58I wonder if we can clean people.
09:00I love it!
09:049am.
09:06One hour before trading can start.
09:10The team's headquarters, two disused warehouses.
09:15Looks like a mafia den.
09:17It does, man. This is ominous.
09:24First job, agree a team name.
09:27Usually from a marketing perspective,
09:29it's usually good to have something that will stick out in people's minds.
09:32So if we picked a word... A short, snappy word.
09:34Yeah, a short, snappy word, like Shazam,
09:36people would be like, you're from where?
09:39LAUGHTER
09:42I'll get the ball rolling.
09:44I was thinking something like Strike.
09:46I think Strike sounds very off-the-scope.
09:48I'll go with a sort of Latin slant.
09:50I was thinking something like Carpe Diem,
09:52which is like a season of the day.
09:54Carpe Diem. Sounds like a coffee, man.
09:56Altavolo, which is like fly high.
09:59Sounds like a Volvo.
10:01Empire.
10:03Distinctly British, collective of the greatest nations,
10:06one superpower, and it's cool.
10:08OK. Empire.
10:10I quite like Empire. Empire it is.
10:12Good stuff, Team Empire.
10:14It's got to be strong, business-like, not stupid.
10:18We need to be taken seriously.
10:20Genesis.
10:22Why Genesis?
10:24I don't know, just... Like the name.
10:26Ignite is a good idea because it's the start of a burning flame.
10:29Shall we go for Ignite, then?
10:31All in favour?
10:33All in favour? Aye.
10:36Right, Team Leader.
10:38Next, to lead Sir Alan's first task,
10:41the teams must choose a project manager.
10:43I don't think we should sit here and make excuses why we shouldn't do it.
10:46If we want to do it, put your hat in the ring and I'll put mine in the ring.
10:49At the end of the day, somebody's going to have to do it.
10:51Do you want to put the hat in the ring? Yeah, I'll put my hat in.
10:53I'm quite happy to do this one. Thank you.
10:55Have you started anything up from scratch?
10:57No, nothing like that at all. I'm a simple bloke.
10:59I run pubs, that's what I do. I run ten pubs.
11:01That's my background.
11:03You've got a fairly managerial position.
11:05Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:07I think we're all quite happy with our project manager.
11:09Have we chosen? Yeah, fine.
11:11What you're going to expect from us is, basically,
11:13you're going to get 100% from every single one of us here.
11:15I'll just give you a bit of a heads-up on my style.
11:17I'm not a complete autocrat. I'm not a dictator by any means.
11:20My management style is normally fair and gentle,
11:22but if anyone steps out of line, I'm going to be tough on them.
11:25People would be unwise to think that I'm a pushover.
11:27So, right, I know it seems pretty obvious, but what is our objective?
11:30Is there anyone who's run a cleaning business
11:32that has some sort of background experience or anything like that?
11:35Negative. No. Everyone's no? OK.
11:37Who feels, you know, anyone can speak?
11:40Who feels that they can actually do it?
11:45Yeah, I think the thing is, don't be afraid of any of you being project manager.
11:48Someone's got to do it, we're all going to have to chip in.
11:50You all seem like very bright girls.
11:52We have to choose somebody, so if there's anyone else who wants to do it,
11:55if there isn't anyone, then I'll do it.
11:58No reflection on you, but Deborah seems to be the more confident
12:02to take this challenge for task one. I feel about that. I feel so and so.
12:06If that's the way you think and everyone else thinks...
12:08Well, we've got to make a decision between the two of you.
12:10But does Deborah actually want to do it?
12:12Because I know Mona said that she would do it, and Deborah, will you do it?
12:15Do you want to do it? I don't really mind.
12:17How do you feel about that, Mona?
12:19That's fine, fine. I'm project manager then.
12:21Good girl. OK.
12:23Well, a lot of support, yeah.
12:25As I say, there's more of us than there is boys.
12:27We have to beat them, and it's a cleaning task, for God's sake,
12:30so we've got to do it.
12:35From Sir Alan, a van, and up to £200
12:39to spend on industrial cleaning equipment.
12:42What's this? It's a duster.
12:44Do we need it? No.
12:46All they have to do is decide what kind of cleaning service to offer.
12:50In my opinion, the best thing to do would be car wash.
12:52When you want your car cleaned, you want your car cleaned.
12:56Find themselves some customers...
12:58Hi there, sir. My name's Philip Taylor.
13:00I'm actually calling from Empire Car Valley.
13:02..and turn a profit.
13:04Let's get the products.
13:06Anita, I need you to report to me how much we've spent. Yeah.
13:11Already, Philip's fixed a meeting
13:13with one of London's biggest minicab companies.
13:17We'd love to give you a very, very competitive quote.
13:19Would you be keen for us to pop down there and negotiate with you
13:21and see what we can put together?
13:23So if we pop down and see you shortly, mate, is that OK?
13:25OK, guys. See you, mate. Bye-bye.
13:27We want to be off. We just want to be straight off.
13:29If you guys are going to do car wash,
13:31then we need to work out something else to do.
13:33Exactly, because there's no point in us both doing the same thing.
13:35Seriously, guys, what you need to be doing,
13:37if you're looking at other avenues, you need to be doing some market research.
13:39We're going to Shoeshine. Shoeshine? Yeah.
13:4110am. Trading can start.
13:45Eight hours to earn as much as possible
13:47before facing Sir Alan in the boardroom.
13:50Good luck with getting the pitch.
13:52On the way there, please do all your costing
13:54so you know exactly how much you need to spend
13:56because then you'll be able to work out exactly what your profit's going to be
13:58and what you need to charge.
14:00The other thing is...
14:03if it involves interiors as well,
14:05it takes so long to do the inside of the car,
14:07you might be better off going for something else.
14:09We'll just keep in touch by phone.
14:11We'll speak to you later. Cheers, guys.
14:14Howard, can we go?
14:16Well, what I want to say, guys, is...
14:19Right, boys, let's get down to business.
14:21My strategy is to go full throttle, 100%.
14:24I'm going out there to win.
14:26I like 100% control of whatever I'm doing and 100% effort.
14:29If things are done half-heartedly, I'm not interested.
14:31Right, we're good to go.
14:34Let's go shine some shoes.
14:36Right, can we get the cleaning products put into the car right now?
14:39The van is going with them.
14:41Mona's girls have set up two meetings to clean cars.
14:44Guys, can we keep going?
14:46We've washed 12 cars and we're still talking.
14:48I'm just getting the rest of the stuff we need from the van.
14:51But they're struggling to agree
14:53on how much of their £200 budget to spend on equipment.
14:57Two big wheelie combo buckets at £19.50, which is £39.
15:01Guys, it's not, let's get the £200 spent.
15:04It's going to come off the profit.
15:06Come on, let's go!
15:08And we need two vacuum cleaners.
15:10£15.30 for the hire each day.
15:12It's the old, old story. Everybody talks over everybody else.
15:15It takes for ages to get some sort of concise conclusion
15:18to the whole debate.
15:20And the consequence of that is they start late.
15:22And you start late, you've got less time to do it in,
15:25you make less money, and then you go spanking in the boardroom.
15:28Oh, it's stressful, isn't it?
15:30Right, guys, I've added up all the equipment that we've got
15:33and I come to a grand total of £196.45, so well done.
15:38We've come in just within budget,
15:40but I think we've used our budget wisely.
15:43OK, excellent. We'll see.
15:45Right, come on, let's go. Let's go.
15:52I think we've spent too much.
15:54I think we have spent too much money.
15:56£197. How much fricking cars are we going to have to clean
15:59to make the money back?
16:05Half the boys, Philip, Rocky, James and Ben,
16:10arrive at the minicab office to pitch for a contract
16:13to clean its cars.
16:16We've actually got £30 we want to go to auction this week.
16:19£30? Great.
16:21What we'll actually do is give them a going-over inside and out.
16:24A gel wash on the outside, shampoo and polish,
16:26and a hoover and polish inside.
16:28So we're probably looking at £17 a unit.
16:30How does that sound for you?
16:32Yeah, well, we're currently paying £17.50,
16:34so you're not doing us any great favours on that.
16:36I'm with you.
16:38We're putting you into it. You want to do it for £15.
16:40There's 30 cars sitting downstairs ready to go.
16:42£15.
16:44But do it for...
16:46Would you do £16? And you've got a deal.
16:48We'll take it. £16, yeah?
16:50One bottle of wax stuff.
16:52That's going in the box.
16:55OK, so if I leave you with Rob, he'll sign off all the cars.
16:59We're only going to pay for the ones we're happy with.
17:01So any that you rush, any that you bodge, we're not paying for.
17:04So if he's happy, I'm happy.
17:07We've got to get on with this.
17:09We can't stand here scratching our nuts all day.
17:15This looks like bleeding Sudoku or something.
17:19By the way, boys, we're Muppets if we can't do these 30.
17:23Yes!
17:27I think this task is more one of those ones where he's looking for a doer.
17:30If you're not fast on this, then you're going to be last.
17:33Shut the doors!
17:4011.30am.
17:42A limousine company in West London.
17:44We're here!
17:46Project manager Mona and half her team arrive to size up the job.
17:50Got to be near 200.
17:52200 for the three of them, yeah. I mean, look at them.
17:54I think you should go in at 250.
17:56They're big. At least.
17:58I don't know why you guys are all freaking out at the size of the Hummers.
18:00What's the size you think they're going to be?
18:03Off to lead negotiations, finance director Yasmina.
18:07How are you doing?
18:09Richard?
18:10That's right, yeah.
18:11How are you doing? Yasmina.
18:12Hi, nice to meet you.
18:13Nice to meet you too.
18:14Now, we're here. We want to clean all of your three Hummers.
18:17Okay.
18:18Okay, they look like absolutely beautiful vehicles.
18:20And what are your rates?
18:21Okay, we're going to charge £300 to do all three cars.
18:24£300?
18:25Yeah.
18:26We've already got a supplier and it's a lot less than that.
18:29That's fine.
18:30What does your supplier do for you?
18:31They do the full wash inside and out, full wax, tyre shine.
18:35And that's for £60. That's £20 per car.
18:37Okay.
18:38£20 a car?
18:39That's right.
18:40That's impossible.
18:41Seriously.
18:42How long do they spend on each car?
18:43Enough time to make them look nice.
18:45We can't possibly do it for £60. That's just not viable.
18:48We're here right now. We're ready to go.
18:50We want to tie the deal and get on with it.
18:52If you want to match my current supplier's budget then.
18:54I'm sorry, but I just don't think that you could be getting that cleaned for £20 a vehicle.
19:00Let me speak with my vehicle manager and see what he says, okay?
19:02Okay.
19:03Yeah, do that because I think you've got it all wrong.
19:05You probably have got your figures wrong.
19:07I really do. It's impossible.
19:09In North London, Mona's second in command, Debra, and the rest of the girls are pitching to clean four classic cars.
19:17We've got the car that side.
19:19Those cars will need to be valeted fully inside and out.
19:22So if you get those done and they look good and we're happy, then we can move into the showroom.
19:27So what we're looking to do is £80 for the cars out front.
19:29If we deliver on that, then you give us the opportunity to do the other ten cars in the showroom for £10 per go.
19:33I'll have a deal on that.
19:34Thank you very much.
19:35No worries.
19:36Better get our Wellington boots on.
19:41With up to £180 to be made, Debra, Kate, Lorraine, and Anita swing into action.
19:49I don't know how to set up a crush washer.
19:51Right, I would say that screw's on the front.
19:55Does this definitely belong with this?
19:57Right, anyone any good with pressure washers?
19:59Michael, could you give us a hand to see if we can get this pressure washer started?
20:04Because we've got no idea how to put together a pressure washer.
20:07So how do we get water in it?
20:08We've got another hose somewhere.
20:10You're all flipping around trying to work out how the power washer goes and dragging the customer out,
20:15which is not really what the customer's paying for.
20:18Thank you. Sorry about that.
20:19That's all right.
20:20It's not a very good start. The strategy was good, location's good, contracts are good, and the execution's bad.
20:27No pressure washer. We're using the hose. We're using the hose.
20:32With three huge limos waiting for a clean, Mona's half of the team are still haggling.
20:38We are willing to come right down on the price that we first walked in here with,
20:42to come down to £60 per hummer, and we're going to spend 40 minutes on each hummer inside and out, the full work.
20:47£60 per hummer?
20:48Yeah, right here, right now, we'll do it for you.
20:49That's a lot of money.
20:50£45, that is a bloody good deal. That is a very good deal.
20:54It's too much.
20:55Too much, yeah.
20:56£40?
20:57£40.
20:59We're going to expect an amazing job.
21:01You will be getting an amazing job, plus it's done by women, not stinky men.
21:05£40?
21:07We need to just do this as quickly as possible.
21:09We need to get out of here in like half an hour.
21:12I'm going to say as team leader, we've got a good deal with the hummers,
21:15but we thought we'd come in quite high and see what we can achieve.
21:17It was a really tough negotiation and I didn't want him to think that we were desperate,
21:21but in the end we did get the deal and I'm happy with it.
21:25It's a huge vehicle, isn't it? My arms are hurting.
21:33St Pancras Station.
21:37Project Manager Howard is polishing shoes, along with Madge and Neural.
21:44So do you use this station quite often?
21:46No, it's my first time ever actually.
21:48Oh brilliant, thank you so much.
21:49Thanks a lot.
21:50Cheers.
21:51I've made some money.
21:52You've made some money.
21:53And it turns out that I can shine shoes because I didn't really know what I was doing before.
21:56Come on ladies and gentlemen, get your shoes shined here.
21:58The best shoes shine in London.
22:00From £4.
22:01Nothing to be shy here at St Pancras International.
22:04It's extortion.
22:05£4?
22:06People go, I've had a cup of tea.
22:08It's £4.
22:09It's a joke.
22:10Really?
22:11Yeah, get with it.
22:12I'm an old army man, I'll clean me own in two minutes.
22:15Get somebody else to clean your boots.
22:17Cheers boss, thank you.
22:18Obviously this is a fairly low value service.
22:21They get £4 or £5 per shoe shine, so they have to shine a lot of shoes.
22:25Perhaps it's better to clean more cars at £16 a throw.
22:29But I don't know how quickly the car cleaners are getting on with their work.
22:341.30pm.
22:36At the minicab company, a first inspection of the boys' handiwork.
22:42One of the things I did notice earlier, he was jet washing the car down when the doors opened.
22:46You just want to be careful where the seat seats get wet.
22:48Keep it closed.
22:49Did you wash all the roof?
22:51Yeah, we've done as far as we can.
22:53The roof's still dirty, isn't it?
22:55Yeah, OK, that'll be done.
22:58You'll need to do the windows as well, you've got all the stains on the glass.
23:01Absolutely filthy.
23:02See all the yellow flap up here and all the marks on the glass on the check.
23:06Door shafts are still filthy on this one, they haven't done...
23:09Whoever's doing the hoovering, they need to be a lot better with the hoovering.
23:11Right, hoovering needs to be a lot better, lads.
23:14If you look at it as if you're coming to buy the car, that's the standard that it's got to be to it.
23:19Lads, we need to get moving.
23:20It's a cracker, but don't condemn the hoovering, it's not a sin.
23:23But I'm doing wheelchairs as well.
23:25Hi, how's it?
23:26You making good money over there, yeah?
23:27Yeah, we've done like £60, £70 in an hour.
23:30Right, OK.
23:31How are you getting on?
23:32We're just finishing our first car.
23:36Your first car?
23:37Yeah, but bear in mind, once we get this first one done, the rest are going to roll through.
23:41Because now we know what we're doing and we know what kind of the chap's looking for.
23:44Are you doing inside and out?
23:46Yep.
23:47Oh, bloody hell. Right, we're going to shut down and we're coming straight over.
23:50OK.
23:51Because I'm worried that you guys won't get it all finished in time.
23:54They're coming now.
23:55They're on their way now.
23:56And sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth.
23:58And, er...
24:00I'd love to see how we clean the car as well.
24:02Not sure how that'll go down.
24:05But it damages his nice shirt.
24:08I'm really worried about this because we need to get to the bottom of the whole inside-outside car cleaning argument.
24:14Because they made it very clear that cleaning the inside, I thought, was a really bad idea.
24:18They'd have been better off taking a fiver for each car just for doing the outside and getting it done.
24:22The thing is, I don't listen.
24:23But you don't want to lose on the first task.
24:25Not to girls, but not sexist or anything.
24:29As you can see, it looks brilliant.
24:31Mona's girls have almost finished the three limos.
24:36What do you think?
24:37Well, you're very happy, yes.
24:38OK, what have you got next?
24:39Customer satisfied, she spots a gap in the market.
24:43Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
24:46A curbside car wash on the busy industrial estate.
24:50Look at the state of your car.
24:52My new strategy right now is to try and get the volumes.
24:55I feel that we're sitting in a goldmine. There's cars everywhere.
24:58If we see a car, we don't want it to go by without talking to us.
25:01And that's what we're doing.
25:03If you just park it up next to the two cars we're doing for you, sir, you won't regret it, I promise.
25:07In between a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce is where any girl wants to be, eh?
25:11In North London, Deborah's half of the girls are buffing up their first four classic cars.
25:18Right, five minutes. Everyone polish like mad.
25:22If the customer's happy, they'll clinch the deal for another ten in the showroom.
25:27Right, guys, listen. Stop cleaning, because it's got to take its customer now.
25:30It's going.
25:31It's going, like, right now.
25:32Did you get time to inspect it?
25:33I did.
25:34Well?
25:35I did. Not fantastic.
25:36Surely you would like us to do another ten vehicles for you?
25:40Listen, guys, to be honest, I don't think you're going to have time to do this showroom.
25:43Yeah, we are. It won't take us an hour to do five of them.
25:46Well, you're not, because it's taken, like, three hours to do four cars.
25:49You know, I've got stuff all over the roof of this car.
25:53I've got polish all over the Mustang.
25:55Let us do what we can of the ten for the wash, without the polish.
25:58Stop talking.
26:00I said, it's great that you've done it, but I'm not going to go ahead and get the other ten done.
26:04OK, we can just sign up and get paid for the four cars at H&M.
26:07Yeah, that's fine.
26:08What are we going to do?
26:09Well, first thing we need to do is consult the project manager, because ultimately she's the boss.
26:15Hello?
26:16OK, right, just a bit of an update for you. I'm afraid there's been a slight change of plan here.
26:22We've really grasped it in a nutshell.
26:24We haven't got the additional ten cars that we thought we had, so we've got £80.
26:29And we're now at a loose end.
26:31I can see you've tried, but we need more money.
26:34You do?
26:35So, I reckon, sort of like a supermarket or something that you can go to.
26:39Yeah, OK.
26:40Bye.
26:41Bye, bye.
26:43OK, don't worry about that. Let's get these cars done.
26:45I'm going to ask if they've got space for people to have cars washed while they wait.
26:50Four Minute Wonder or something like that, we're doing four minutes.
26:53I don't think we can promise four minutes.
26:55No, no, no, what I'm saying is it's like a, you know, not necessarily, like, what you get is what you pay for.
26:59Like speed dating, three minutes, you get something for three minutes, that sort of thing.
27:03I don't know. It's an idea.
27:05Let's call and see if there's any opportunity.
27:093.30pm.
27:12Having abandoned their pitch at St Pancras, project manager Howard and his Shoeshine boys turn up to reinforce his car cleaners
27:20as they struggle to finish the minicab contract.
27:23All right, lads. Who did the deal with these guys?
27:26Me.
27:27It was Philip who started it all out.
27:28Right, and at what point was the decision made about doing it inside and out?
27:32That was basically...
27:34It was what the lad wants, he doesn't want...
27:36It was going to auction, it was a deal he could.
27:38Adolf Hitler, he's, like, a bit picky.
27:40Get the sleeves rolled up, lads, because you're going to get dirty here.
27:43Cheers.
27:46Stop fanning around, boys! Get over here!
27:51Howard's turned up. He's looking for a fall guy.
27:54He just sort of came in and struck the deal.
27:56You know, rather than just getting on with it and putting his gear on and cracking on,
28:00he's come in looking for a fall guy straight away, and that's just the mark of an idiot, isn't it?
28:03And the way he's crying over there, sponging on that van.
28:06The drunk would do better.
28:09Come on, keep it up! Let's get it going, lads! Let's get it going!
28:14Never before in the history of car washing
28:16have so few cars been washed by so many people in such a long time.
28:20It's four o'clock already, and I think they have to do another four cars
28:24and have them approved before they've even broken even on the car washing side of things.
28:28The fine glass is clean as well, so, yeah, perfect.
28:31Spot on. We can do 20, honestly.
28:34That was a whiff, wasn't it?
28:36So you don't want your car cleaning? No.
28:38OK, thank you.
28:39Having lost the rest of the classic car contract,
28:42Deborah and her team try their luck at a shopping centre car park.
28:46Excuse me, sir, can we stop you?
28:48Ah, can we stop?
28:50No, I'm not scary, really.
28:53Obviously I am.
28:56And you need more water in that, don't you, to be honest?
28:59OK, well, I think what I want to do is just get round and get cleaning ASAP first.
29:03Nightmare.
29:04Hi, Deborah, it's Mona.
29:06Oh, mate, are you all right? It's such a nightmare in here.
29:08Why? Oh, is it? Why?
29:10Some people are quite intuitive to the fact that cars need to be cleaned and how to do it,
29:13and other people kind of wander around with hoses in their hand,
29:16looking like they need to be instructed, which is extremely frustrating.
29:19I can't be responsible for, you know, two puppets.
29:22I can't be responsible for people who don't want to pull their own weight
29:24and have to be told every two minutes what to do.
29:26Now, Deborah, all you need to do, listen, I know it's easier said than done, OK?
29:30Just calm down and pull together.
29:33Let's hope the boys did absolutely shit.
29:35OK? Thanks.
29:37Bless her. I do feel sorry for her.
29:39We know how well we've done. It's just a shame about the other team.
29:42Go, go, go, go! Ten pounds, all hands on deck.
29:46This lady would like it washed while she waits.
29:496pm, one hour before the teams must face Sir Alan in the boardroom.
29:54Imagine, though, if we'd done this all day, we'd probably have met a killing.
29:57Yeah.
29:58I mean, it is hard work, but it is actually much higher turnover, isn't it?
30:01Yeah.
30:05Things have sped up, which is no surprise now that there's seven of us
30:08instead of four, but I don't really know what was going on before
30:11that it took an hour and a half to do one.
30:13It's not that hard, is it?
30:15You're up in off the top, all right?
30:17I'll do 80, 290.
30:18Oh, thank you very much.
30:20Oh, look at that, they've got money.
30:2220 minutes to go.
30:23In a final push, Mona takes her girls door to door.
30:27Right, you go sit down, watch telly, we'll let you know when it's done.
30:30Thank you very much for your time.
30:33Nice car, mister.
30:36Under pressure, we're just going to do this, get our tenner and go.
30:40Thank you.
30:41Excellent.
30:42That's very kind, thank you very much.
30:43Thank you very much for your time, have a lovely evening.
30:45Right, come on, girls.
30:47Well done, girls!
30:49Well done.
30:52Trading over, the teams head for the boardroom to discover their fate.
30:57I'm just a little bit nervous because the day could have gone better.
31:01We could have taken more money.
31:02Howard, he wasn't positive at all, he didn't motivate anybody.
31:05He sort of rolled up at the final minute and then, you know,
31:07patted everyone on the back and I just thought, well, what have you done?
31:11You need balls to put yourself out and say,
31:13I will be project manager in the first week.
31:16And I have been a fantastic team leader, there's no doubt about that.
31:33MUSIC
31:46You can go through to the boardroom now.
32:02MUSIC
32:11Evening.
32:12Evening, sir.
32:16You've had a long, hard day, dirtying your hands.
32:21Yes.
32:22Hmm.
32:23Well, let's start with the ladies, first of all.
32:26The name of your team is...
32:28Is Ignite.
32:29Ignite.
32:30I hope so, yeah.
32:32Who's your team leader?
32:34I am, Sir Alan.
32:35Mona?
32:36Yes.
32:37Did you put yourself forward as a team leader?
32:39I did put myself forward because otherwise we would have been there all day
32:42just deciding who's going to be team leader.
32:44What do you think, ladies, good team leader or not?
32:46I think Mona did a good job, considering, you know,
32:49she had seven very, very hyper women this morning to contend with.
32:52They were quite a lot of strong personalities
32:54and we really needed somebody to take control and leadership.
32:57Did she take control?
32:58Get things done.
32:59Not enough, I don't think.
33:00We needed somebody to be more autocratic and just get things done,
33:03get things started.
33:04I think it's quite funny some people say that
33:06because if that's the way one feels,
33:08then why did one not put themselves forward?
33:13Gentlemen, you start off with a disadvantage.
33:15One of your would-be colleagues bottled it, so you're a man down.
33:19Who was the team leader?
33:21Me, Sir Alan.
33:22Howard?
33:23Yes.
33:24Yeah, and the name of your team, I understand, is Empire, is that right?
33:27Yeah.
33:28Right, so you were the emperor for the day, yeah?
33:31Yeah, OK.
33:33So, chaps, what was he, Alexander the Great or Howard the Horrible?
33:38Good team leader or not?
33:42Well, speak, don't pull faces.
33:44I think he was half-half, some good things, some bad things.
33:48What did you decide to do, clean cars, clean windows?
33:51One sub-team were doing cars and one sub-team polished shoes.
33:53How did you get on with the car cleaning?
33:55We probably spent a bit too long on getting our first car ready.
33:59A bit too long?
34:01I'll rephrase that, we spent way too long.
34:04How many cars did you do in the end, then?
34:06Eight.
34:07In hindsight, would you say that if you all went shoe-shining,
34:10you could have made a lot more money, you think?
34:12I think that's what we would have done, with hindsight.
34:15I don't necessarily agree, because I think if you've got two guys there
34:19shining shoes, it's pass and trade, I think trade can fall off.
34:22This was a fixed price, we knew the money was in the bag.
34:24There was no money in the bag, though.
34:26The money was in the bag.
34:27If we'd had all seven on that fleet of 30 cars, we'd have got 30 cars out.
34:35OK, well, look, I think it's time we get down to the money side of things.
34:39So, Nick.
34:41OK, so, Ignite, they took £357.
34:48They spent £196.45,
34:52which gave them a profit of £160.55.
34:56OK. Margaret.
34:58Well, Empire took slightly less.
35:00They only took £347,
35:03but they only spent £107.39,
35:07so they made a profit of just over £239.
35:12Well, there you are, Emperor.
35:15You won.
35:17You look surprised.
35:19Relieved. Relieved.
35:21You were one man down,
35:23and one's got to congratulate you on it.
35:25I'm going to send you off now.
35:27You're going to be the first to see the luxury apartment that I've got you.
35:31And on top of that, I've laid on two of the country's top cocktail makers.
35:35They'll teach you how to make cocktails,
35:38and I'm sure you're going to down a few.
35:40Off you go.
35:42Thank you.
35:45Yes, you bad boys.
35:48Well done.
35:55Well, ladies, not a good start.
35:58You actually, ironically, took £10 more than them.
36:01You'd better go off now and talk about what went wrong,
36:04because tomorrow you'll be back in this boardroom
36:07where one of you will get fired.
36:09MUSIC PLAYS
36:14They're a classic business message, isn't it, really?
36:17They just simply overspent, didn't do their calculations,
36:20they clearly didn't do any planning.
36:22It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow.
36:27For the girls, the inquest begins.
36:32I have been waiting for this moment to speak to you guys,
36:36and I just want answers.
36:38I think we're missing the point a bit.
36:40Yeah, I'm just thinking that.
36:42We're going to explain to you what we did.
36:45This isn't you against us.
36:47We made £150, and you guys made, what, £200 and something?
36:50£227.
36:52OK, so the difference in there is about, what, £60?
36:55At the end of the day, we did better than you.
36:57So, somewhere along the line, something must have gone wrong.
37:01When I spoke to you on the phone, you said,
37:03Mona, I can't do everything, there's only two of us doing things,
37:07the other two, what was the exact terminology that Deborah used?
37:12Puppets.
37:13Puppets.
37:14The other two puppets aren't doing anything.
37:16I thought, good grief, there is a split in the team.
37:19From my perspective, I found Anita wasn't as confident
37:23at going out and cleaning a car and just doing it.
37:26You were being quite bossy.
37:28Because you didn't know what to do.
37:30No.
37:31No, we were not.
37:34Guys, can you wire us a tyre?
37:41For the winning team, first sight of their home for the next 12 weeks.
37:47Oh, my word.
37:49No way, man!
37:5111,000 square feet of luxury penthouse.
37:55Awesome, check this out.
37:57Oh, this is the life.
37:59So feng shui.
38:00Yes.
38:02Oh, it's so nice.
38:04So it's me and one girl each side.
38:07That'll work, thank you.
38:09I feel like P.D.
38:10Let's get a look at the view, lads, come on.
38:12That is awesome.
38:15Oh, my God.
38:17Once I'm a millionaire, this is what I'm going to do.
38:20I'm the king of the world!
38:22Someone bring me a drink.
38:32No one comes, there's no one coming.
38:37This is going to be the nicest drink I've had since yesterday.
38:49No!
38:51No!
38:58Smile, smile, smile.
39:02Hello, girls.
39:03Hello.
39:04For one of the girls, it'll be their only night in the penthouse.
39:08Are you eating old food there?
39:10Yeah, I know, I should be ashamed of myself.
39:12I'm eating the boys' leftovers.
39:15I'm going off you very, very quickly, and I'm not going anywhere tomorrow,
39:19so you'd better be nice to me.
39:25It's amazing.
39:27It's absolutely stunning.
39:29Right, I'm definitely not going home tomorrow, right,
39:31because I'm not just spending one night here.
39:45The boardroom awaits.
40:00I think Mona took the hat of project manager and wanted to wear it,
40:05but didn't fulfil any of the criteria of being a project manager.
40:09I don't actually think she managed,
40:11and that's probably the biggest thing you need a manager to do, isn't it?
40:15I'm not scared at all. I will fight my corner.
40:17I will make myself heard.
40:19I will not just sit there and listen to someone lying
40:22or trying to be manipulative.
40:24I think she'll take me to the top.
40:26Or trying to be manipulative.
40:28I think she'll take me to the boardroom.
40:30I think she'll definitely take me to the boardroom,
40:32and I can't wait for it.
40:34Quite simple.
40:35If she doesn't take me to the boardroom, it would be a waste of a good suit.
40:39MUSIC PLAYS
40:56I'm going through to the boardroom now.
41:08MUSIC FADES
41:26Now, you've had overnight to reflect
41:30upon the reasons for your failure in this task.
41:34Basically, you spent too much money.
41:36Simple as that.
41:38You actually sold £357 worth of services,
41:42£10 more than the actual boys did.
41:45You failed because you spent too much money.
41:47So...
41:49..who was it that was supposed to be responsible for...
41:53..the business plan?
41:59I think we didn't have a business plan of,
42:01you're responsible for finance, you're responsible for the van,
42:04you're responsible for sales.
42:06There was no delegation. There was no delegation.
42:09If you asked anyone along this team what they were responsible for,
42:12I would be gobsmacked if anyone could give you an answer.
42:15Mona, is that right?
42:17I did do it, Sir Alan.
42:19I did it in a way that the one thing I am going to admit,
42:22as project manager, I do take the responsibility
42:24that the reason there was so much chaos
42:26and the reason that these plans were not implemented
42:29is because of the amount of time we wasted.
42:31By the time I came to realisation of the time we've wasted,
42:34I had to make quick decisions and I, as project manager,
42:37I say, I should have managed that well.
42:39That is something that I've learnt.
42:41Are you digging yourself a hole, then?
42:43No, I'm not digging myself a hole.
42:45I'm not ashamed to say where I've gone wrong
42:47because I'm not right at everything.
42:49That's why I'm here and I am human.
42:51To be honest, at the end of the day,
42:53there's a lot of people here with a lot of ego and everyone can talk.
42:56People can talk but they don't do the things.
42:58I had the courage to stand up and say,
43:01yes, I am going to be project manager.
43:03OK, you've done that.
43:04You took the decision to be the project manager.
43:06Yes.
43:07When you took it on, you took on the responsibility
43:09of mapping out the business plan also.
43:11Yes.
43:12And I haven't heard about the business plan.
43:15When we decided what we were going to be doing,
43:18I designated Anita to be looking at all the figures for me.
43:24No, my mandate was very clear.
43:26It was, can you just tot up and make sure that I have a figure
43:30in ten minutes of what merchandise,
43:33the cost of the merchandise we are taking.
43:35In my business, I define the business plan
43:38and define the strategy and tell people what they've got to do
43:41and I've got an accountant that looks at the figures.
43:44You know, no-one here yet has piped up and said
43:47that this is all about profit and that's what we've got to focus on.
43:51It seems to me that you all went running to this van willy-nilly
43:54and then there's you, I'm told, Anita, who turn around and say,
43:59oh, well done, girls, we're within budget.
44:01We're in budget because you'd spent nearly the whole 200 quid?
44:05I think because of the haphazard nature of what we were doing,
44:09the risk was we don't want to go over budget.
44:12So that was why I made the comment.
44:14That's the point. What was budget?
44:16This figure of £200, there seemed to be a perception
44:19that because we got a budget of £200, let's spend the £200.
44:23I did try to point out... I'll get in somewhere now.
44:26Someone should have piped up and said, can we stop spending money?
44:29I agree, somebody in this team should have piped up and more strongly said,
44:33we absolutely can't spend all this money.
44:36What I did do is say to my teams, once I split the teams up,
44:40say, Deborah is in charge of that team, you lead that team,
44:43you got that sale for the luxury vehicles, go ahead and do it.
44:46Was you expecting Deborah, then, to be conscious of her costs?
44:49Precisely. What have you got to say about that?
44:52Apart from laughing. Sorry, I don't mean to...
44:55I'm just quite shocked by it.
44:57The allegation is this completely out-of-control purchasing,
45:01half of it was down to you, in the sense...
45:03We'd already bought it. Pardon? We'd already bought it.
45:06We were standing there and Paula was standing there.
45:09We'd already bought the product. Anita, you were there as well.
45:12We knew how much we'd spent before we left the warehouse.
45:15Long before we left the warehouse.
45:17We made a list of things that we thought would be beneficial.
45:21Everyone was present when that was going on.
45:23I had the calculator.
45:25We were making a list of things that we would need
45:27if we were going to clean cars.
45:29Is that all you did, Anita, sit there with a calculator
45:31and actually dirty your hands?
45:33I did dirty my hands throughout the task.
45:35I was in charge of vacuuming, so I vacuumed all the cars.
45:38But tell me something, whilst you will claim
45:40that you was only asked to add it up on the calculator,
45:43didn't it occur to you that the way you were going to win this task
45:47was to spend less?
45:51I believed that my colleagues were telling me what we needed
45:56for the projects that had been secured.
45:58Didn't you think that you need to question it,
46:01or did you feel, if that's what you want, I'm going to give it to you?
46:05I felt that judgements were being made by colleagues
46:07as to what we needed.
46:09So you were just a warehouse manager then, as far as you're concerned?
46:12Not part of the team, not using this business acumen
46:15that you claim you've got, not using all this wealth of experience...
46:18I think, just to be clear, I think, if I can just rewind,
46:21we had a team of very strong individuals,
46:24and I did not want to try and be a strong individual as well,
46:28so I wanted to listen to what the team leader wanted me to do.
46:34Well, I'll tell you what, Mona, part of this process
46:37is that you're going to have to bring two people back into this boardroom
46:42who you think are responsible for the failure of this task, right?
46:47Now, I've been sat here for 30 minutes and I haven't got a bloody clue,
46:51so I want to know who you think is responsible
46:56for the failure of this task.
47:01I would say Deborah is responsible,
47:07and the reason I say that is because she was managing our sub-team.
47:12The next person I'm mentioning is Anita,
47:14and that is purely from feedback I got from Deborah.
47:18It seems as if that...
47:20They got to a point where I was told by Deborah
47:23that apparently just herself and Katie were the ones pulling the weight,
47:27and she said she couldn't work with the other two puppets.
47:30I'd just like to be clear, I'm extremely pleased with the people
47:33who are on my sub-team and the effort that they each put in.
47:36I think they did a remarkable job.
47:38And I do think, Anita, and you know this,
47:40that I think she was out of her comfort zone
47:42in terms of maybe dealing face-to-face with consumers,
47:44but she still pulled her weight.
47:46You told me on the phone that you were so pissed off
47:48and it almost seemed like there was a split between her team.
47:51Anyway, let's hold it there.
47:53You have chosen Deborah and Anita to come back into this boardroom, right?
47:59The rest of you, go off back to the penthouse.
48:07You three ladies, I'd like you to step out there into the reception
48:10and I'll call you back shortly.
48:12One of you is going to get fired.
48:21They're either very, very clever or very, very dumb.
48:24Completely avoided answering the question
48:27as to who was supposed to be in charge of a strategy of profit.
48:31I think they're a complete shambles.
48:33I don't think any of them have shown any commercial nose, whatever.
48:41PHONE RINGS
48:43Hello? Yeah, can you send the three in, please?
48:48Sir Alan's ready for you now.
49:04Right, ladies, clearly some violent disagreement here
49:08as to who's responsible for the failure of this task.
49:12Mona, you made it quite clear
49:15that you hold Deborah and Anita responsible, right?
49:19That's correct. Yeah.
49:21So just run past me again and, you know,
49:24keep it brief as to the main reasons for that.
49:27The reason I brought Deborah in is because she didn't clean enough cars,
49:30she didn't manage her team well,
49:32she certainly didn't motivate them,
49:34she managed to create, you know, some sort of hatred between her team.
49:39You worked on the sub-team with me.
49:41Do you think there was hatred and disunity?
49:44I think there was not hatred.
49:47I think there were things that we could have done better.
49:50I have picked you, Deborah, right from the beginning
49:53because you've failed me, you've failed this task.
49:56You have proven in front of everyone that you keep changing your story.
50:01You say something and then you say something else elsewhere.
50:04I don't think in business you can be dishonest.
50:07At the end of the day, whatever deal that I did...
50:10Where's the dishonesty? I'm missing that.
50:13Because she called her team puppets
50:15and then in front of her team she said she didn't call them puppets.
50:18I've said I did say that word to you on the phone.
50:20I said it's like dealing with puppets.
50:22Mona, we lost that task because you did not delegate out
50:25people and responsibilities in the morning
50:27and therefore nobody knew what they were doing.
50:29We spent too much money in the morning.
50:31I've been having a conversation with you.
50:33If you think abdicating your responsibility to me
50:35is going to make you feel better about the fact that that's why we failed...
50:38It's not about feeling better, it's about being honest and truthful.
50:41We lost that task because we spent too much money in the morning.
50:44Don't give me about the shoulder thing, Deborah.
50:46You still didn't sell as much as us.
50:48It's a simple maths exercise, which clearly you lot are lacking in,
50:51that, Deborah, your so-called B team
50:55was responsible for £140 worth of sours.
50:59Yeah? Yeah.
51:01As opposed to Mona's team took £217.
51:04Do I wish we'd sold more? Absolutely.
51:06No, I can understand why she thinks she's done better than you.
51:09What's tragic is that there were ten cars three metres away
51:12waiting to be dusted off at a tenner each.
51:16And you failed to win it.
51:18You walked away from ten cars, you walked away from £100.
51:22Sir Alan, if I could just put my case forward to you now,
51:26hopefully as succinctly as possible.
51:28What was I asked to do in this task?
51:31To be a team member, to do what my team manager had asked me to do
51:35and to add up some sums.
51:37Did I do that? Yes.
51:39You're standing in a warehouse, you haven't done anything yet,
51:42you haven't got taken one penny,
51:44and in front of you, you've got £196 of cost.
51:47And then you were elated.
51:49Well done, girls, we're in budget.
51:51In what bloody budget? You've got no budget.
51:53You thought it was an achievement.
51:55I appreciate, Sir Alan, I could have done more.
51:58I should have, with hindsight, challenged more and said,
52:02let's keep costs to an absolute minimum,
52:04and that is a mistake that I made,
52:06but I do not believe that that mistake...
52:08So what are you going to bring to my party then, really?
52:11Sir Alan, it has been one task,
52:13it has not been a task that I have excelled in, I accept that,
52:17but I'm really hungry for it and I have absolutely learned
52:20that I need to be much more challenging
52:23and not just do what I have been asked to do.
52:25I'm sorry this was not my finest hour,
52:27but I really, really want this job
52:29and I do not believe I was responsible for the failure of this task.
52:33Right.
52:35And, Deborah, perhaps you can tell me why I shouldn't fire you.
52:39I may have made mistakes yesterday
52:42that I would rectify to make more revenue,
52:44but in actually being one of these people
52:46who is happy to put their head above the parapet
52:48and actually take on responsibility,
52:50get on the phone, book things,
52:52go out there and graft and get things done,
52:54I think I'm different from a lot of other people
52:56who, as you've seen earlier, just want to sit there quietly.
52:59They want to remain under the radar,
53:01they don't want to step up to the plate,
53:03they don't want to make sales calls,
53:05they don't want to negotiate with clients,
53:07they just want to be instructed to pick up a sponge and clean a car.
53:10I'm not that kind of person.
53:12I don't want to be winning business.
53:14Mona, you've heard what these other two ladies have had to say.
53:18You were the team leader.
53:20You surely should have been responsible
53:23for the fact that we shouldn't spend too much money.
53:27At the end of the day, Sir Alan, if this was your business,
53:30let's say you gave me this business to run,
53:32at the end of the day, I made you profit.
53:34Recommendations, the people that we dealt with would recommend it,
53:37would refer us... Your lack of money meant that we did not make
53:40as much profit as we should have done.
53:42Whereas that other team, they wouldn't buy from them again.
53:45How do you know?
53:47Because obviously he didn't want them to do the 10 cars.
53:49If he was happy with the service that he was provided with,
53:52they would have got that deal.
53:54Mona, we lost the task. I got recommendations.
53:56That is what all business is all about.
53:58I don't think you can see that we lost the task
54:00because of poor business planning and no management delegation.
54:03We lost the task because the service you provided...
54:06You would have made more money if you had managed it correctly.
54:09And spent less.
54:11You would have won if you had cleaned the other 10 cars.
54:13Thank you. We could have made easy money
54:15if we had secured that deal to do the other 10 cars,
54:17but that's not why we lost the task.
54:19That is £100 we're talking about.
54:21OK, ladies.
54:25It's a very difficult one, this is, as far as I'm concerned,
54:28because I think there's reasons
54:30why each one of you should get fired.
54:36Mona.
54:39You've shown me a bit of spirit.
54:41You haven't shown me any business acumen.
54:43You've shown me some spirit.
54:46Anita.
54:49You were on the back of that van.
54:51You were seeing the money flow out.
54:57Deborah.
54:59At the end of the day,
55:01you are seriously responsible
55:03for a lot of things that went wrong on this task.
55:07And for that reason...
55:11..I'm struggling.
55:14It wasn't just me on that team.
55:16Yeah, I'm talking now.
55:18My gut instinct is telling me something.
55:26Anita, you put yourself forward
55:28as one of Britain's best business prospects.
55:30You showed no initial confidence.
55:33As one of Britain's best business prospects,
55:35you showed no initiative, as far as I'm concerned,
55:38in spotting that you were going for a disaster.
55:41And on that basis, Anita, you're fired.
55:45OK, so...
55:51Off you go.
56:04She claimed in her CV,
56:06she claimed in her application for this process
56:08that she has a business acumen,
56:10and I just didn't see it.
56:12I think Deborah, she should count herself lucky.
56:15Yeah.
56:17She screwed up badly. Yeah.
56:33MUSIC SWELLS
56:44Back at the penthouse, the candidates wait to see
56:47who has survived Sir Alan's first firing.
56:50The fact of the matter is,
56:52we started an hour and a half later than the boys...
56:55Yeah. ..and we outsold them.
56:57What are you talking about, man?
56:59You need more money than you... What are you talking about?
57:01The bottom line is, the profit...
57:03It's not an opinion, it's just a fact.
57:06Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.
57:08That's the end of it.
57:10Oh!
57:12No surprise.
57:14CHEERING
57:20I was in deep shit.
57:22I'm not going to, you know, lie about it.
57:24I was so scared of him. I was chuckling.
57:27You know what? The day you go to the boardroom,
57:29when you come back, trust me, you won't remember anything.
57:32LAUGHTER
57:36I'm bitterly disappointed,
57:38but I accept that I wasn't a stellar performer,
57:43and without appearing to have a chip on my shoulder,
57:46I just think that Sir Alan doesn't particularly like lawyers.
57:50Let's see in ten years' time whether he doesn't sit and think,
57:54hmm, maybe I made the wrong decision.
57:57One job, now 14 candidates.
58:01Sir Alan's search for his apprentice has begun.
58:05Next time...
58:07What are we going to do? We're going to win!
58:09Yes!
58:11Oh, Christ.
58:12..it's corporate catering for city slickers.
58:14We've got people who are saying they're hungry.
58:16We do need to keep people fed.
58:18Can they rise to the occasion...
58:20It looks like you've dropped it.
58:22This is not a chicken wrap. Oh, my God.
58:24..or will they bite off more than they can chew?
58:27Oh, dear.
58:30I'm not at all happy.
58:32Be under no illusion. You will not escape the net.
58:35You're fired.
58:40Well, after all that cleaning, Anita dishes the dirt to Adrian Childs,
58:44the apprentice you're fired on BBC Two now.
58:47But did she deserve to go?
58:49And was Mona a good team leader?
58:51You'll see it online at the Apprentice Message Board.