The Apprentice - Week 9

As Sir Alan doesn't like cocky, arrogant people (rather ironic that!! Ever heard of pots and black kettles?!?), I was surprised, almost outraged that Ben was still gracing our TV screens with his nasty presence. Thankfully that anomaly was remedied last night when Sir Alan gave Ben his marching orders. What exactly has been your contribution so far?? Ben was asked and his reply was the usual amount of waffle. However there was very little substance which meant that James and Debra went back to the house whilst our wee man from Belfast is now free to pursue to his Sandhurst career where (you heard it here first) he got a scholarship.

Mind you, Ben's bravado and cockiness made him (or his TV persona??) so odious that - if he actually goes to Sandhurst - he's going to get the mother of all bogwashes. In the studio with Adrian Chiles later, Ben cracked up a lot, which in my humble opinion means one of two things: either he can take defeat quite gracefully (hhhhmmmm.....) or he was just like the school boy that wanted to compete with adults and eventually came unstuck. It was great fun for him but... hey, he was the first one to know that he was punching well above his weight.

In this week's episode, Ben and Debra were responsible for losing their team's task. Debra was adamant that the rocking horse would win them the task. Who in their right mind would pay 17 hundred sheets for a hand-made rocking horse?? I am not saying that no-one buys them but the ideal customer that I'm thinking of usually tends to have from 4 to 7 wives, wears long, white robes and probably does his shopping in Harrods, not Earls bloody Court. Did you see any of these characters last night?? Well, neither did I.

Other highlights of the week?? Well, how about Lorraine almost succeeding in singlehandedly destroying the collapsible buggy that she's trying to sell?? Don't expect her to land a prime time slot on QVC anytime soon. James and Lorraine were picked as Team Leaders as both are parents so theoretically they were meant to know what they were doing (hhhmmmm..... ). I was almost shocked when I heard that she is the mother of two kids. Single ladies, spinsters, aspiring mums.... the subliminal message here is that there is hope for every one of you. And I mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.