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Series Two of The Apprentice (UK) was a television series which was broadcast on BBC Two between 22 February and 10 May 2006. As in the previous series, Sir Alan Sugar continued as the boss, assigning the teams specifically designed tasks. Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford also returned as Sugar's advisers and observed the teams in action.
The series was won by Michelle Dewberry in the final episode broadcast on 10 May 2006.
This series premiered in Australia on 27 August 2008 at 9:30pm on Channel Seven, under the title Sir Alan Sugar: The Apprentice to distinguish it from the US version. Despite heavy promotion of the series during Seven's Olympic coverage, the series only rated 583,000 viewers nationally, which was third for its timeslot[1]. The following week, the series was moved to 10:30pm, and ratings have continued to decrease. The series also airs in Australia on pay TV channel UKTV.
[edit] Candidates
- See also: The Apprentice candidates, Series Two
As in the first series, there were fourteen candidates and they were initially separated into two teams by gender. The women chose the name Velocity for their team, while the men named their team Invicta. Uniquely among the UK seasons of The Apprentice so far, each candidate got to be a project manager on at least one occasion.
The candidates were:
* as of the date of the programme.
[edit] Challenges
[edit] Week 1
- Project managers: Ben (Invicta) and Karen (Velocity).
- Task: Sell fruit and vegetables in Hackney.
- Result: The Velocity team obtained most of their fruit for little or nothing by asking for overripe products and acting flirtatiously towards the vendors. The entire Invicta team remained at Hackney market for most of the day, only selling fruit door-to-door in the closing hour. The Velocity team split up and sold both at the market and to small businesses. Velocity spent just £41 of the £500 they were given at the start of the task, and returned to the boardroom with £1143. Invicta spent £300, over seven times as much as their opponents, but only made a profit of £781.
- Winner: Velocity.
- Reward: Celebratory champagne in one of the Vertigo 42 bars at the top of Tower 42 in the City of London.
- Brought into the boardroom: Ben, Samuel and Syed.
- Who gets fired: Ben, for being a poor leader and not organizing his team properly.
- Notes: While Velocity won the task, Sir Alan Sugar questioned their tactic of using their sex appeal and the women had to present an argument why they deserved the win. Ultimately, Sir Alan awarded them the victory on the basis that if they had spent what Invicta had spent, their profit would have been £884, still enough to claim victory in the task. While Ben was fired, Syed was warned for trying to gain favour with Sir Alan in the final boardroom by claiming to come from the same background as him.
[edit] Week 2
- Project managers: Samuel (Invicta) and Nargis (Velocity).
- Task: Design, shoot and produce a calendar to raise money for Sir Alan's "favourite charity", Great Ormond Street Hospital, and then pitch it to three different purchasers; Virgin Megastore, Harrods and Calendar Club. The team that makes the most money from sales wins.
- Result: Velocity decided to go for a 'contemporary' calendar featuring kitten photos despite numerous protests from Jo. Invicta decided on a calendar featuring 'fun' photos of children dressed up in various costumes. Nargis' pitching went horribly wrong as she appeared to lose track of what she was saying and even snap at the purchasers, while their calendar came under heavy criticism for not having any relevance to the charity, and having the dates printed so small as to render it unusable as a calendar. Despite this, Velocity manage to sell to all three retailers, with sales totalling 3,500 calendars. Mani's pitching for Invicta wasn't as bad, but their calendar also came under criticism for being badly designed, and they only managed to sell to one retailer, Calendar Club. However, that one retailer bought 6,000 calendars, which gave them a substantially greater profit than Velocity.
- Winner: Invicta.
- Reward: A session of caviar tasting.
- Brought into the boardroom: Nargis, Jo and Karen.
- Who gets fired: Nargis, for having a terrible sales pitch, and being responsible for overseeing a poor product.
- Notes: Unlike the corresponding charity tasks in the US series and the first UK series (which do not usually have rewards), the winners here were given a reward for their victory. It was revealed in the boardroom that the only reason Calendar Club bought any of Velocity's calendars was so that they could make a contribution to Great Ormond Street, and that if it had been a purely commercial task they would not have bought any calendars.
[edit] Week 3
- Project managers: Syed (Invicta) and Jo (Velocity).
- Task: Purchase a set list of ten items for prices lower than those asked by the vendors. The team which spends the least of their £1000 budget wins.
- Result: Both teams decided to split up into two smaller groups to procure the items. Invicta immediately got on with the task, but decided to do a lot of shopping around before buying (Syed attempted to find and buy the dinner jacket in East London). They managed to purchase all 10 items. Velocity wasted time coming up with a strategy and bargaining for items that were not even in stock, and failed to purchase the tyre required on the shopping list. This resulted in a penalty, with the list price of the tyre being deducted from their total profit.
- Winner: Invicta, by £8.
- Reward: A day watching horse racing.
- Brought into the boardroom: Jo, Alexa and Karen.
- Who gets fired: Karen, for not sticking up for herself in the boardroom. The majority of the you're fired audience disagreed with this decision
- Notes: In firing Karen, Sir Alan stated that he didn't need another corporate lawyer. He referred to Jo as a "bloody nutter" but admired her vigorous self-defence. Sir Alan agreed to give Alexa a chance to prove her abilities after she defended herself.
[edit] Week 4
- Project managers: Alexa (Invicta) and Mani (Velocity).
- Task: To set up a food stall at the Thames Festival and make as great a profit as they could in a day.
- Result: With a budget of £2000 for each team, Alexa's team decided to sell pizza at an Italian-themed stall. Mani's team sold noodles at an oriental-themed stall. Mani's team made around £300 in profit and Alexa's team lost around £800. The loss of money for Alexa's team could arguably be blamed on Tuan's overestimate that the team could make and sell 500 pizzas (when they made 90), Syed ordering an excessive amount of ingredients (such as 100 whole chickens when they only made 90 pizzas) and Alexa for not controlling her team or dealing with Syed's mistake.
- Winner: Velocity.
- Reward: Dinner at the Oxo Tower restaurant.
- Brought into the boardroom: Alexa, Syed and Tuan.
- Who gets fired: Alexa, for not leading the team properly, not keeping costs under control, and not explaining or justifying any of her decisions in the boardroom.
- Notes: Sir Alan called out the project managers and told them to switch to the other team. Thus, Alexa ended up leading Invicta while Mani took over Velocity. In the boardroom, Sir Alan said that were the option available to him Alexa, Syed and Tuan would all have been fired for the failure of the task; however, the show's rules in the first two seasons permitted only one firing per week before the interviews. Partly because of this, multiple firings were introduced in the third season onwards. To date, Invicta's loss of money was the worst made by any team in the UK incarnation of the show.
[edit] Week 5
- Project managers: Paul (Invicta) and Ruth (Velocity).
- Task: To produce both a billboard and a short promotional video for Sir Alan's new venture: a card that allows booking of business jets and related services, with the advertising being made and shot at London Stansted Airport.
- Result: Paul's team had few ideas at the start, while Ruth's appeared to have a clear strategy throughout. However, Ansell and Mani misinterpreted the presentation they were given on the card's features, and told Velocity that its main feature was the concierge service rather than the ease of booking the jet. Sir Alan felt that Ruth's television advertisement focused too much on the concierge service and not enough on the card. Invicta's campaign, while clichéd and not especially impressive, was closer to what Sir Alan wanted.
- Winner: Invicta.
- Reward: Champagne reception and front-row seats at the London Fashion Show.
- Brought into the boardroom: Ruth, Jo and Mani.
- Who gets fired: Mani, for the apparent delivery of "misinformation" to the team and attempting to evade blame.
- Notes: Although Mani was blamed (and ultimately fired) for Velocity's advert having the wrong focus, it had in fact been Ansell that initially mentioned the concierge aspect to the team. Ruth later said that she bought Mani back in, because while Ansell had apologized off-camera for the mix-up, Mani blamed Ruth and went so far as to mock her in front of the rest of the team for the mistake. Sir Alan also said after the series ended that he felt there were equally valid reasons to fire all three, but added that Mani's arrogant behaviour in the boardroom was his downfall.
[edit] Week 6
- Project managers: Sharon (Invicta) and Ansell (Velocity).
- Task: Sell second-hand cars for a commission.
- Result: After a bad start, Sharon's team managed to take a lead by selling the extras which carried a higher commission. Syed got into trouble for falsely claiming that the dealership offered a scheme which would allow buyers to sell their cars at a profit in a few years time, and the manager of the car lot told Syed that he would have been fired for his actions, were he actually employed there. Ruth managed to sell six cars alone, giving Ansell's team an advantage at the start. However, the failure of Velocity to sell the extras in high quantities, combined with Jo and Samuel's failure to sell any cars meant they narrowly lost out to Invicta.
- Winner: Invicta.
- Reward: Boat trip down the River Thames.
- Brought into the boardroom: Ansell, Jo and Samuel.
- Who gets fired: Jo, for not selling anything and appearing for the fourth time in the boardroom in only six weeks.
- Notes: While the manager of the car lot branded Ansell's leadership "pathetic" and reported back that he deserved to be fired, Sir Alan decided to fire Jo instead since she had been bought back every single time that her team had lost, though he told Ansell that he was very lucky to still be in the competition after being responsible for two losses in a row (following him and Mani misleading Velocity the previous week). Sir Alan ended up having to tell Jo that she was fired three times, after she repeatedly begged for another chance. During the reward boat trip, an argument broke out between Paul and Michelle.
[edit] Week 7
- Project managers: Tuan (Invicta) and Michelle (Velocity).
- Task: Selling items for Topshop.
- Result: Invicta had a better display set up by Sharon (who initially refused to take part in the task after an argument with Syed the previous night), while Velocity lacked a clear strategy for much of the task. After getting off to a flying start, Invicta started to lose their 23% lead at the end of the morning. However, Michelle's unproductive time spent in the VIP Room drinking champagne for most of the morning and Samuel's lack of success at dragging in customers from the street led to Tuan's team emerging as victors. Velocity had a chance to win the task in the afternoon when Topshop owner Philip Green asked Ruth for £100 worth of clothing, but Ruth only gave him £65 worth and didn't try to sell him anything else.
- Winner: Invicta.
- Reward: A night in a top-class country hotel, with skeet shooting.
- Brought into the boardroom: Michelle, Ruth and Samuel.
- Who gets fired: Samuel, for his mismanagement of marketing and generally poor performances over the course of the series.
- Notes: Sir Alan felt that Michelle deserved to be fired for her poor decision-making, but added that he was "fed up with [Samuel's] excuses" as to why he could not contribute to the tasks. Along with his desiring to fire more than one person in week 4, this was a major factor in the introduction of multiple firings in the following seasons.
[edit] Week 8
- Project managers: Syed (Invicta) and Ruth (Velocity).
- Task: Buying a particular product from the designer and selling it on to the trade.
- Result: Both teams split up in order to sell their products in different parts of London. Velocity sold lighting kits and a designer coat stand, and managed to find more customers by asking for contacts from stores that they had sold to. Invicta had a fuel can with a flow control system, and a set of metallic shelves. Despite Sir Alan warning the teams not to bother trying to get sales from major chains, Syed spent most of the day trying to set up a major deal with a chain of petrol stations, and while he eventually secured the deal, the time spent and an accident in the middle of London made them two hours late back to the boardroom. Velocity made £3,237.50; Invicta made £3,840, but Sir Alan fined them 25% of their sales for being late, bringing them down to £3,140 and costing them victory.
- Winner: Velocity.
- Reward: A day at a luxury spa.
- Brought into the boardroom: Syed, Sharon and Tuan.
- Who gets fired: Sharon, for being too "nice" and not aggressive enough.
- Notes: Tuan told Syed to try and negotiate their penalty down to 20% in the boardroom, as this would have still allowed Invicta to win, but Syed ignored Tuan and accepted the penalty without argument. Sir Alan offered Syed Ahmed immunity from being fired because he was so impressed by his selling prowess. However, Ahmed refused this and put himself forward for firing with his team. The entire segment was edited out. [2]
[edit] Week 9
- Project managers: Tuan (Invicta) and Michelle (Velocity).
- Task: Rent out property in different areas of London.
- Result: With only three members on each team, Velocity split up and worked individually with Michelle keeping in contact with both Paul and Ansell. For Invicta's part, Tuan took a back seat role leaving Ruth and Syed to concentrate on sales. Syed made many mistakes including taking the wrong keys to properties on two occasions and mistaking a railway line for Wandsworth Bridge. Both teams closed six deals with commission earned in excess of £8500 (two each for Velocity, whereas in Invicta, Ruth closed five, Syed one and Tuan none). Invicta lost the task by approximately £250.
- Winner: Velocity.
- Reward: A day's tuition with chef Raymond Blanc.
- Brought into the boardroom: Tuan, Ruth and Syed.
- Who gets fired: Tuan for not managing to let out any properties, and for taking a back seat during the task yet again, despite being given a warning by Sir Alan the previous week.
- Notes The one deal Syed had managed to close had been signed by punters in the street he had managed to draw in, the suggestion of which even the estate agent had scoffed and this played a large part in Syed's survival in the boardroom. Tuan did manage to let out one apartment, but it fell through due to the potential tenants not having the money for a deposit on the day. Moreover, Syed had a deal fall through in similar circumstances, meaning that Tuan was still the least effective salesperson on his team.
[edit] Week 10
- Project managers: Syed (Invicta) and Paul (Velocity).
- Task: Devise and promote a service available to passengers aboard the cruise liner, the Grand Princess, on her voyage between Istanbul and Naples.
- Result: For Velocity, Paul hit upon the idea of running and promoting a series of dance classes and a competition with a grand prize of £50 to the winners. For Invicta, Syed came up with the idea of an above-deck fun day with events taking place across the ship. The teams were told that success would not be judged solely on sales, but also on many other criteria including marketing, originality and customer satisfaction. At the end of the task, Velocity had generated £507, whereas Invicta had only made £191.50. Invicta's deficit was due in part to Ruth buying more bottles of Moët & Chandon champagne (distributed as thank-you gifts to staff) than was necessary. Moreover, Invicta's team organization and customer satisfaction ratings were far below those of Velocity, meaning that they lost the task in every regard.
- Winner: Velocity.
- Reward: As the liner was docked in Naples on the coast of Italy, the winning team was sent to Rome to stay in a luxury apartment and spend a few days in the city.
- Brought into the boardroom: Ruth and Syed (only two team members remained).
- Who gets fired: Syed, who despite Sir Alan acknowledging as having "flashes of genius" was seen as "too much of a risk".
- Notes: Syed's firing was the first significant point in the series in which a key character was fired; Syed had become well-known, and a different style of ending with higher, slower music emphasised this. There was also an incident with raffle tickets where Syed lost the names of many people who had bought tickets and suggested going ahead anyway (the names were later found). Ruth came close to being fired after admitting that she hadn't read the task rules and thought they were being measured on turnover rather than profit, but Sir Alan decided that Syed was more deserving of being fired.
[edit] Week 11: Interviews
- Semi-Finalists: Ansell, Michelle, Paul and Ruth.
- Task: The four remaining candidates went through a series of interviews with each of three associates of Sir Alan. The interviews were based around the candidates' previous work and experience as well as their reasons and motivations for appearing on the show.
- Result: Despite consistent success with previous tasks, Paul's underwhelming employment record was unearthed and he was heavily cross-examined by the interviewers. His confident attitude and cocky personality meant the interviewers delivered bad reports to Sir Alan. He was described by one of the interviewers as a "door-to-door salesman". Michelle received better reports, yet Sir Alan was confused by the fact that she already had a £100k salary and was self-employed. Ansell was described by all as a "nice guy" and yet there were questions over his limited experience in sales and how well he would cope in a more aggressive environment. Ruth had an impressive sales record over the series and generally she impressed, despite Sir Alan having some doubts over the credibility of parts of her CV. Sir Alan spoke to Paul in depth for the first time in the series and despite Paul's record throughout the tasks, having been on the winning team seven times, Sir Alan was unimpressed with him and demanded a good reason why he should stay. Paul foolishly said that many companies would employ him if Sir Alan didn't, and was instantly fired. Michelle, when questioned, justified her cause and Sir Alan was impressed with her independent business nature and her apparent generosity with family and friends. He decided that she should stay. It was close between Ansell and Ruth, with Sir Alan obviously torn between them. It was Ruth's intelligence, however, that led to her staying – both she and Ansell were strong candidates, but Ansell was deemed to be too nice.
- Who gets fired: Paul, for his arrogant behaviour and unimpressive CV, and Ansell, for being too nice and too focused towards sales.
[edit] Week 12: The Grand Finale
- Finalists: Michelle and Ruth.
- Task: Each were given the opportunity to select from six previous candidates – Syed, Sharon, Tuan, Paul, Ansell and Jo. They had to put on an evening event to be staged at London's Tower Bridge with a theme of their choice. While money was not the main issue, costs were monitored carefully.
- Result: Ruth chose to have a "Murder Mystery Theme" and hired actors to play the parts of various characters throughout the night. Despite Sir Alan having doubts about this, her event took more money than Michelle's and sold more tickets, mostly because of the way in which her team of Tuan, Ansell and Jo worked through contacts made throughout the series. Sir Alan, however, having himself paid a visit to both evenings, questioned her originality in that she had directly implemented his suggestions to her of can-can dancers. Michelle's night also came under fire for being almost identical to Sir Alan's suggestions when he had briefed the two on the task. She chose a casino themed 007 (James Bond) evening called '00Heaven'. Her team of Sharon, Paul and Syed was an interesting choice as the group had experienced many confrontations in previous weeks. They failed to work as efficiently as Ruth's – Syed and Paul sold very few tickets and clearly did not enjoy working together, and this led to conflict between Syed and Sharon. In the end tickets were sold for as little as £10, despite the original price being £65, although Michelle did manage to improve their sales by reorganising her team.
- Who gets hired: Michelle.
| Elimination Chart |
| Candidate |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| Michelle |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
LOSE |
IN |
WIN |
IN |
IN |
HIRED |
| Ruth |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
LOSE |
IN |
BR |
WIN |
BR |
BR |
IN |
FIRED |
| Ansell |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
LOSE |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
FIRED |
|
| Paul |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
WIN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
WIN |
FIRED |
|
| Syed |
BR |
IN |
WIN |
BR |
IN |
IN |
IN |
LOSE |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Tuan |
IN |
IN |
IN |
BR |
IN |
IN |
WIN |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Sharon |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
WIN |
IN |
FIRED |
|
| Samuel |
BR |
WIN |
IN |
IN |
IN |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Jo |
IN |
BR |
LOSE |
IN |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Mani |
IN |
IN |
IN |
WIN |
FIRED |
|
| Alexa |
IN |
IN |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Karen |
WIN |
BR |
FIRED |
|
| Nargis |
IN |
FIRED |
|
| Ben |
FIRED |
|
- The contestant was hired and won the apprentice.
- The contestant won as project manager on his/her team.
- The contestant lost as project manager on his/her team.
- The contestant was brought to the final boardroom.
- The contestant was fired.
- The contestant lost as project manager and was fired.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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The Apprentice United Kingdom |
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