Department Store The Apprentice: You're Fired

Useless. Totally, absolutely useless.

I feel so angry. I can't put up with loose cannons.

You're fired. You're fired.

You're fired.

Good evening.

Good evening, and welcome to You're Fired. I'm Rhod Gilbert.

In this week's task, the candidates competing for

a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar had to introduce

a new product line to a high-end department store.

But Aleksandra decided to shut up shop, and walked out

on the whole process at the start of the task.

The announcement left Lord Sugar reeling,

a broken man struggling to deal with his grief.

The process is very, very tough, and if you can't hack it,

you know, get out.

In Apprentice News tonight...

BONG!

Karthik gets all philosophical.

I'm like water. You put water in a cup, it becomes a cup.

You put water in a bottle, it becomes a bottle.

That's right, and if you put someone who speaks a whole load

of metaphysical business guff in a suit, it becomes a Karthik.

In an incredible display of multitasking,

Jessica sings the lyrics to Cool For Cats while singing the tune

to something completely different.

# Co-o-o-ol fo-o-r cats! #

And finally, Dillon catches a fly.

Let's see that again.

And that was tonight's Apprentice News.

Let's meet our panel ready to whip back the changing room curtain

and take a peek inside this week's department store task -

international entrepreneur Frances Dickens,

presenter and Apprentice fan Gaby Roslin

and comedian Hugh Dennis. Welcome to You're Fired.

High drama in the process this week.

Two candidates left the SS Apprentice.

Mukai was fired, but the other left of their own accord.

Yes, Aleksandra didn't even give Lord Sugar

a chance to chuck her overboard.

Instead, she took it upon herself to walk the plank.

Guys, I just have to say something. I...

I'm going to leave the process.

-I'm really sorry.

-Why?

I'm just... I'm just not...

I'm just not enjoying this. And I'm not...

-Is this a joke?

-No, it's not a joke.

-Good luck, guys.

-Good luck.

-Sorry.

Please welcome Aleksandra King.

-So, Aleksandra.

-Yes.

-Aleksandra, what a dress.

-Thank you.

-Ladies and gentlemen, what a dress!

-Thank you!

CHEERING

Incredible.

Why? Why...? Why? Obvious question - why walk out?

There are two sort of main, core reasons for me,

and one of them is I just find the whole sort of...

perhaps blame culture a bit unnecessarily stressful.

And the other thing is that I believe in a very healthy

work-life balance, and I don't believe

-that was possible in this process.

-Yeah.

I don't think anybody watching it at home or any of us would argue

that it looks brutally tough.

-I wouldn't even enter it, I'll level with you.

-Yeah.

Look, I mean, it's tough and I could have definitely carried on that way,

but I just kind of put my foot down and said,

"Actually, I have a choice and I don't want to carry on that way."

I could have, but I wouldn't have been true to myself at all.

You said at the time that you wanted to see your family,

you really miss them.

Who is this family you are so fond of?

-Where are...? Ah!

-Are they here?

Give us a wave. Where are you? Hello!

You know when you left the house, though,

you hadn't talked to anyone in the house

about the fact you were leaving.

Were you able to tell your family you were coming back?

Because it would have been tragic if you'd left and you'd found

they'd all gone on holiday.

LAUGHTER

Frances, you've worked in lots of different organisations,

large and small. Have you ever been tempted to walk?

-Yeah, all the time.

-Oh.

I throw my toys out of the pram

pretty much every week over something.

But I think, for me, you know, when you've mortgaged a house,

you've invested so much in the business,

you don't have the luxury of doing that.

You've just got to tough it out and make it work.

Do you think Aleksandra should have toughed it out and made it work?

I probably did at the time.

I mean, I'm hearing her explanation.

I'd have liked to have seen her tough it out

and seen it through to the end, actually, yeah,

or at least to the point where it was the end for her.

-I mean, surely you'd watched The Apprentice before.

-Yes.

-So you must have known what you were getting yourself into.

-Yes.

Well, to that I'll say, sometimes you think going into a relationship

is a great idea and you think, "Oh, yeah, perfect."

Once you're in there, you think, "What on earth was I thinking?"

So, Aleksandra took flight this week.

A surprise, or were the signs there from the start?

Let's have a look where it all went wrong.

I have found the process overwhelming and stressful

and really intense.

Well, ladies, first task.

Headless chickens comes to mind.

Michelle is trying to put all the blame on the market team

and I think she should be very, very careful doing that.

You said you worked well with me on day one.

Because I didn't want to bring

-your confidence down for day two.

-Nonsense!

She is an utter nightmare to work with.

Nightmare.

The weakest link would have been Aleksandra in terms of the fact

that she did make mistakes on the pricing.

-I corrected myself, though.

-I corrected you.

I don't know what it is, but even though I didn't make a sale,

but I'll blame it on Aleksandra.

I'm going to leave the process.

-AUDIENCE:

-Aww!

How does that feel, watching it?

It feels kind of removed, because when I was in it,

you know, I kind of felt so much more emotional at the time

and I was like, "This cannot be like this

"and it must be like the way that I think

"and it has to be more my way."

And kind of now it looks a lot more...

looks light-hearted, it doesn't look so bad, I would say.

I'm sort of genuinely interested, though,

what it is like in the... in the house.

Because one thing I am finding watching this programme,

that I find sort of wearing, in a way,

is that everybody is going on about how brilliant they are all the time.

-Now, does that happen in the house?

-Oh, yes.

Is it like The Waltons, but before you go to bed,

there's everybody going, "I am brilliant"?

LAUGHTER

"Are you brilliant?" "I'm brilliant." "I'm brilliant."

"I'm fantastic."

It is very much like that.

How much worse is it in the house, having to live and work together?

That has got to be... There's no escape.

Well, I was in boarding school, actually, as a kid,

so I was used to that kind of thing.

Although living with the candidates is a totally different story.

What was the worst thing about living with them?

Was it...? You know, is it just living with egomaniacs

or was it finding Karthik's monobrow in the plughole every day?

What is it?

LAUGHTER

Frances, have you ever lived and worked together with people?

I can't think of anything more ghastly than having to

live 24/7 with people that I'm working with and competing with.

I love the people I work with, but I've seen what they do

to the kitchen at work.

I can't imagine what the bathroom is like in that house

-and the bedroom, the whole...

-How many bathrooms are there, actually?

Well, there were several, but you had...

Hugh's fascinated by the details!

Was there a mixer tap or was it separate taps?

LAUGHTER

-Just curious!

-I am genuinely interested in this.

Has it got one of those nonslip mats in the bathroom?

There were some battles, actually,

to do with hygiene, and Paul was at the sort of...

like, leading that and saying, you know,

"Can you please pick up after yourself?

"Wipe that. You've left a stain. That dish is not washed properly."

So, he would kind of be always doing that.

-Oh, that's a surprise.

-Yeah.

-Gaby, how would you get on in there?

I think I would get... I'd be self-conscious and embarrassed.

I'd want my own space. I can imagine...

And also, if you're used to having your family

and your kids around you,

that's very different than a bunch of adults who are all competing.

We do have a little bit of unseen footage to remind you

of those happy, happy times in The Apprentice House.

Thank you for choosing to stay at The Apprentice House,

your home for the next 12 weeks.

Maybe.

Our patented open-plan accommodation is designed to house

even the most horrifically inflated egos.

Our aqua-gym and in-built sauna are the perfect place

to revive those aching limbs after another brutal mauling from Claude.

Our state-of-the-art kitchen means your ideas might be half-baked,

but your dinner doesn't have to be.

And when the going gets really tough, what better than a pair

of red monkeys exposing themselves to take your mind off it all?

Thank you for choosing The Apprentice House...

Let's start getting into...

We're all so fascinated by the house.

I don't know if you've noticed...

I think it was Karthik opened the wardrobe... Wardrobe?

Cupboard, the kitchen cupboard. Look at that.

-Look at the beans in there!

-Yeah.

Did you just live on baked beans in that house?

Yeah, you don't really have time to eat that well.

Is it just for show, though?

No, no, they're real beans for real eating.

-Are they?

-Yeah.

They do sort of explain a comment,

a strange comment you made earlier in one of the interviews.

Have a look at this.

The sheer energy that I am going to bring is going to mimic

that of a nuclear explosion.

So, with Aleksandra gone, the fifth candidate to leave

was super-fly, king of the bowtie, Mukai.

Titan's tills rang all the way to the top floor

whilst Nebula's sales got stuck in the service lift in the basement,

and it was early closing for Mukai.

The fault lays here with handbags.

Mukai, I do believe that you did influence Grainne and I don't think

you have the potential of being my business partner.

-Mukai, you're fired.

-Thank you, Lord Sugar.

Now, unfortunately, Mukai couldn't be with us tonight.

He's packed up his dickie bows and moved to Japan for a new job.

But we had a techno chat with him earlier and asked him about

his experience in the process.

Hello, everyone.

I'm really sorry I couldn't make it to the studio this evening.

I've just recently got on a plane and moved to Tokyo in Japan.

I'm feeling a little frustrated I got fired, but, you know,

I made my recommendations,

I've said that I've got experience, I know products,

I did sell the highest value item on the task.

But in terms of making a decision,

that was up to the PM at the end of the day.

My personal choice would be bags.

First, handbags. Second, scarves.

So the New York skyline and the Majorca sea view

that was the original concept really didn't come off.

Unfortunately, it ended up being a bit of a fudge.

This is the New York skyline on this side.

I don't get it!

How would I know that's the New York skyline?

What really went wrong is that we didn't use the window effectively.

You get 30% to 40% more footfall if someone stands in the window.

Grainne's decision not to put Rebecca into the window

was a critical one...

Are you not going to use the window at all?

..and I think that was one of the key factors in losing the task.

Mukai, you're fired.

I found The Apprentice process really interesting as a whole.

I think there's a lot of challenges that I didn't expect.

The biggest challenge was actually the other candidates

in the process and working with them in an effective way.

You know, I'm not too upset.

I'm here in Japan now and I'm doing well.

Lots... Lots to talk about.

There's so much to talk about just in what he was saying there.

I mean, if we start with the bags.

Frances, how big a mistake was it

that they followed Mukai and went with bags instead of scarves?

I think that's an absolutely crucial mistake.

That particular store is worldwide renowned for its prints

and its scarves, but I think it's absolutely crucial.

-Did his New York skyline, Hugh...? Have you been to New York?

-Yeah.

-Did that take you back there?

-No.

LAUGHTER

What was that bit of wallpaper?

That wasn't a bit of wallpaper. That...

With a cloud on, that was a stunning southern Spain resort.

Of course it was(!) Silly me!

Didn't it evoke Andalucian sunsets, sangria, the...?

What were you going to do?

When he said, "Go put her in the window," what was she going to do?

Would you really, if you walked past a London store and you saw

a woman walking around with a handbag

between white columns and a piece of blue wallpaper...?

Yeah, but maybe that's why he didn't do it,

because the scale was all wrong, wasn't it?

If those are actual skyscrapers, she's going to look massive.

Like King Kong wandering around.

Do you think he's actually in Japan as well? Because when...

LAUGHTER

No, because when he said... that he did it in a room

where you couldn't see out of the windows...?

-Didn't he? That filming - there was no daylight.

-He did!

-It could have been anywhere.

-Did he...?

-I reckon Wembley.

Is it a Travel Lodge in Wembley?

Karren said he had an air of superiority, I think.

Not in this task, I think one or two ago.

But did that come across to you?

She said he rubbed people up the wrong way, Gaby.

Absolutely, he did me, and I'm sitting there at home.

-He did you?

-Yeah... He didn't do me.

LAUGHTER

No. No, I'll rephrase that.

Not in the Travelodge in...

Certainly not in Wembley. No.

No, he absolutely rubbed me up the wrong way at home.

That's still not right!

That's still not working!

-Still not right? It's getting worse! He was in your house?!

-Stop!

I think you can salvage the "at home" bit of that sentence.

OK, thank you.

I was sitting at home watching it and he would irritate me, too.

-How's that? Does that work?

-I think that...

-Yeah, we're clear.

-Did that work?

So, Mukai has been in the bottom three in the boardroom three times.

Was it third time unlucky or was he lucky to get that far?

I think it was only a matter of time, to be honest.

I think he definitely deserved to go,

but then I also think probably that Grainne

had quite a lucky escape on that, because she was the PM,

she did listen to him in the face of the rest of the team

saying it should be scarves, and then she didn't do the one thing

that might have salvaged it, which we just discussed,

which was putting somebody in there

to try and get some foot fall through.

But also, I believe that she didn't use her artistic...

I believe she's a make-up artist, and she...

she should have that kind of artistic eye

to bring a bit of colour and pop into that,

you know, so I just feel...

Why did she leave the design of the window to Mukai?

Yeah, she shouldn't have done that, perhaps.

Or she should have at least put some input in, cos...

Cos he said he was an expert again.

Face-to-face selling like that, you know, in a shop,

what's the most important thing?

We saw lots of different tactics and flirting to hard-sell to...

Well, I think it's like any type of face-to-face selling.

People have got to like you, but in that one, you can't be too pushy,

because the minute you start to push, you're going to push them away.

And it's really about making them want to buy something

-rather than selling to them, if you know what I mean by that differentiation.

-No, I don't.

LAUGHTER

No, I don't. Do you...?

Well, they've got to like you. People want to do business with people they like.

If you storm over there and you're in your face,

they're not going to buy from you.

Alternatively, if you do what Sofiane did

and just completely ignore the buying sale from the woman who said,

"I'd like one in black," and he went, "Oh, I think" there's one over there.

-Yeah, that was a very odd moment.

-Yeah.

You're not going to sell anything like that, so...

So you're saying it's sort of... The technique is to make

somebody like you enough that they kind of go,

I want to buy something...for this person to fulfil something...

-Yeah, I think Jessica did it really well. I think she was...

-Yay!

She was quite lively. She was approachable.

She was fun, but she was efficient with it.

So I think she nailed it pretty well.

It was a bad week for Mukai, but every cloud

has a silver lining, and it was a damn good week for awkward hugs.

Yes, you guessed it. It's time for Awkward Hug Of The Week.

At three, she's here tonight.

It's Alexandra and Rebecca with their

"I feel slightly obliged to give you a hug, even though nobody else is giving you a hug" hug.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Straight in at number two...

It's a reluctant one-armed bandit from Mukai on his nemesis, Grainne.

The "I don't like you enough to bother lifting my other arm" hug.

Sorry, dude.

But our Awkward Hug Of The Week this week goes to Dillon for his

astonishing switcheroo.

The old "now you hug me, now you don't" on Alana.

Keep your eye on him.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

-It is amazing.

-Isn't that amazing?

Blink and you miss it. I want to see it again. Let's see it again.

It's incredible. It's incredible.

It's, "Oh, God, it's Alana. Abort, abort, abort."

Hugh, would you have gone through with...

-I mean, once you've committed to that...

-Yeah, yeah. I like hugging a lot.

I don't care who I hug, to be honest. Not bothered.

-Would you have committed to that hug?

-I would have.

-Or would you have walked out halfway through?

-No, I would have...

-It's a cheap shot. Don't bother answering. It's just a silly joke.

-I like hugs, too, so yeah.

You like hugs, too. Well, it was just a silly joke.

Who else has caught your eye this week, Frances?

I like Trishna. I think she speaks a lot of sense.

I'd like to see her go forward, and I quite like Paul as well.

I think, you know, he has a lot of good things to say.

I think he's going to have to control his frustration.

You know, the box-throwing moment.

Do you think he'd learned from that this week? He seemed to be a bit...

calmer.

He probably was a bit calmer, but perhaps there was less irritating things going on.

-And he did quite well at certain times.

-Yeah, he did.

And, as I say, he upsold very well.

Who's caught your eye, Gaby?

-Well, obviously, Jess.

-Jessica.

I'm a huge fan of hers, but I also now...

I've suddenly changed overnight to Karthik.

He was driving me mad.

But I thought he was so warm in the personal shopping bit.

I suddenly saw a different side of him and I was really impressed.

-We've definitely seen a different side of Karthik, then.

-Yes, yes.

He's totally changed.

He was given the task and he said, "OK, I'm going to make

"the most of it and do the task in hand," and he did that so well.

I really have done 360 on him.

-I was screaming at the TV, like you.

-Don't start this again.

And I thought he was... I think he's so warm and genuine.

He's definitely...

I think, technically, if you go 360, you end up pointing in the exact...

-180. 180.

-180.

-Do a 180.

No, because by next week, I'll probably be all the way back again.

You're going to do another 360 on him next week?

-No, by next week...

-You would have done the old 720.

"Done the old 720 and I feel exactly about him now as I always have, in fact."

-JD had a funny old week, didn't he? A quiet week.

-Oh, bless him.

-Bless him.

-Yes, he looked like a heavy in a...

He did look like he was a secret service agent

in the background, and he's, "Got the tea?"

Yeah. Is that why the tea became so important, Hugh, because that's all he had?

Yeah, probably. It was his job, but he did it really well.

He really wrestled it under control. How did you get on with JD?

-He seems like a straight guy.

-He's a very... He's a great person.

You know, he's a bit more serious, I think, in the house.

He kind of keeps to himself a little bit, makes his tea,

prepares his lunch, eats it, and kind of sits... He always used to go on his own, really.

But I really like him. He's also a very, very lovely guy.

Is he starting to run out of steam, though, do you think...?

-He was very lost this week.

-I think he's got a lot to offer.

Well, JD might not have quite found a place for all his skills

this week, but he wasn't entirely useless.

JD, no offence, but what were you doing?

Yeah, I certainly struggled to find a place where I was...well, needed.

Do you think we should have asked their clothing size?

No, definitely not. I think it's a little bit intrusive on the phone.

JD, did you find out about the tea?

I did. It's under control.

Feeling happy with that one?

-We need something from your side.

-Make the exchange, JD, for Jessica.

You did make a mean cup of tea.

Aleksandra, I'm sorry you felt you had to leave the process,

but let's see what advice Lord Sugar has for you.

Aleksandra, a very confident lady. Very positive, spoke her mind,

got involved, and I think that was quite impressive.

I've often told people that this is a tough process.

She's not the first to have felt homesick,

not the first to have missed her family and all that stuff.

How would she improve her ways?

You can't improve on that, because if that is how she feels,

it's a very commendable feeling.

It's just that, you know,

perhaps she shouldn't put herself forward for anything in

future which requires her to be away from her family and loved ones.

Yeah, I mean, I completely agree with that, because before I had kids,

I did the sort of work that took me around the world,

really, and I would never take a job like that now,

since having kids, where I leave them, because they are part of

my life as well.

-So you agree with him totally?

-Only about the family thing.

You made your own decision, as you know, to leave the process,

but do our panel feel it was the right decision? Frances?

-No, I would like to have seen you stay longer.

-Thank you.

-Gaby?

Hearing what you have to say now, I understand the family thing,

so I wish you the very best of luck.

Thank you.

Hugh?

I think it's a shame that you're not in subsequent programmes,

but I absolutely understand why you've done what you've done.

-OK.

-Thanks very much.

Understanding from the panel, but let's see what the audience think.

If you agree with Aleksandra's decision to walk, hold up "fired".

If you disagree, then hold up "hired" now, please.

Ooh.

It is very, very close,

but our audience think you made the right decision to walk.

Yeah!

Aleksandra, you took control of your own destiny,

you left the process voluntarily, but nobody leaves here empty-handed.

Now, I started making you a "sorry you're leaving" cake.

Oh, really?

Unfortunately, I wasn't enjoying the process,

so I left it halfway through.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

It's half-made.

You've got hundreds and thousands and little baubles there.

You've got everything to carry on making it yourself if you so choose.

This is the best gift, because my daughter asked me,

"Mum, whatever present you get, can I have it?"

-Yes, of course you can, Isabella.

-You certainly can.

We're going to bake some cakes. Thank you very much.

Obviously Mukai isn't with us tonight, but we did post

his goodbye gift to him in Tokyo.

On the task, he was banging on about something so much

that we felt we had to do something.

Here's the moment he unwrapped his gift.

Thanks, Rhod, for the gift. I've just received it today in the post.

As you can see, it's Rebecca in the window.

Unfortunately, it's a couple of days too late for me to get unfired,

but many thanks and I appreciate it.

Grainne, there you go.

He was very, very keen to see Rebecca in the window.

Now he can look at her each and every day for the rest of his life.

Aleksandra, thanks so much for coming on the show.

I hope you've enjoyed it. Let's have a look at your highlights.

Oh, Aleksandra, I think she's so eloquent, I find her so interesting.

-Very toned.

-I get on really well with Aleksandra.

We're down there, we sell lovely vintage things.

-I'm sad she left.

-Yes, you love it? You've got a deal.

Sold to the lovely man. She's like, "Yeah, I'm in power."

If you hold a beautiful, big diamond in your hand,

that's going to have some weight to it.

I think she would have done really well if she'd continued

and persisted, but it's everybody for themselves, really.

Nebula, it's an interstellar collection of gas and dust,

and it's basically where stars like us are born.

Overall, when all's said and done,

-are you glad you went on The Apprentice?

-100%.

Rhod, sorry, I've just got something to say. I'm leaving.

LAUGHTER

It's not a joke, I'm leaving the process because, to be honest,

I haven't enjoyed it. So, um...

I'm sorry, I just don't feel...

I'll come back for that, but I just need to.

We seem to be going together, which is quite exciting, to be honest.

-Thank you, bye.

-Right, let's crack on!

Saved me a cab fare, anyway.

Saved me two cab fares.

Ladies and gentlemen, Aleksandra King and Hugh Dennis.

Also, please thanks to our guests who stayed,

Frances Dickens and Gaby Roslin.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

If you want to see more of The Apprentice,

head over to BBC iPlayer, where you can watch exclusive clips

and find out everything you need to know about this year's series.

Next week, our candidates will be running their own

crowd-funding campaign to raise money for some cycling products.

For your next task,

I want you to bring a new cycling product to market.

Three, two, one.

I feel like I'm in Tron.

-I think it's really cool.

-That's amazing.

-I think we're onto a winner.

-Riding our cycles through London.

You are so rude to me.

-I just don't think we can get crowd-funding into a song.

-Stop.

Stop! Stop!

# Don't blame it on the sunshine Don't blame it on the moonlight

# Don't blame it on the good times

# Blame it on the boogie. #

Does that make sense or was that stupid?

-Hashtag London, hashtag crowd-funding.

-Hashtag concern.

You're concentrating too much on one aspect.

-If he doesn't want to listen to me, that's fine, let's lose.

-And relax.

-Cut it there.

-Hold on. I'm not having this conversation.

I am in the right room, thank you very much.

I will eat my shorts if that gets traction on social media.

Who will get the winners' yellow jerseys and who will be

our Lance Armstrong?

I'll be back next Thursday at 10 for more You're Fired, when I'll

be joined by Allyson Stewart-Allen, Jenny Eclair and Guz Khan.

Goodnight.

APPLAUSE