The Apprentice (UK series five)

The Apprentice UK
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Series Five

Series Five of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2009, from 25 March to 7 June on BBC One;[1] because of ITV's live coverage of a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match featuring England, the final episode was broadcast three days earlier to avoid clashing with this. It is the last series to feature Margaret Mountford as one of Alan Sugar's aides, after deciding to focus on her education. Alongside the standard twelve episodes, two specials were aired alongside this series - "The Final Five" on 3 June; and "Why I Fired Them" on 5 June.

Although 16 applicants successfully earned a place on this series, one participant was forced to drop out before filming began,[2] leaving production staff unable to replace them.[3] As a result, fifteen candidates took part in the fifth series,[4] with Yasmina Siadatan becoming the overall winner. Excluding the specials, the series averaged around 8.37 million viewers during its broadcast.

Series Overview

As before, applicants took part in auditions and interviews held by production staff during July 2008, across London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham.[5] Eventually, sixteen participants were finalised for the fifth series, but before production could begin on the first episode, one member, Adam Freeman, was forced to drop out due to family reasons.[2] As a result of his sudden departure, production staff were left with no time to find a replacement, leading to the decision to go ahead with filming with the remaining fifteen participants,[4] which effectively required Alan Sugar to not hold any multiple firings throughout production of the series. As such, it is the only series in the show's history to feature an unbalanced mix of male and female candidates, with the first task seeing the men name their team Empire, while the women named their team Ignite. Apart from the dropout at the beginning of production, filming of the boardroom scenes for the tenth episode were forced to take place the day before filming of the Interviews stage, after Kate Walsh, one of the remaining candidates by that stage of the process, required time off to attend a family funeral.

Following the previous series, Sugar deemed it unwise to continue using exotic locations abroad for the setting of tasks, in the wake of the global economic recession that began in 2007. His decision led to any future tasks set abroad being filmed within countries of the EU, until production began on the ninth series of The Apprentice in 2012. Another change for the show was the departure of Paul Kemsley, who chose not to return as an interviewer for the fifth series, leading to him being replaced by Alan Watts. One of the significant events in the series came during its broadcast, when Margaret Mountford decided to leave the programme after having committed five years towards it, deciding to focus her attention back towards continuing her educational studies. After discussing with Sugar about her intended plans, her decision to depart was announced in her column for the Daily Telegraph on 1 June 2009,[6][7] with it officially confirmed by both Mountford and Sugar during their appearance on You're Fired following the series finale.

Of those who took part, Yasmina Siadatan would become the eventual winner, whereupon a few weeks after the series ended she would develop an office relationship with a fellow development manager, resulting in her getting pregnant. After spending time on maternity leave, she would fall pregnant again during 2012 and effectively give her notice to Sugar that she would be leaving his employment as a direct result, later acquiring a job under Dragons' Den judge James Caan.[8]

Candidates

Candidate Background Age Result
Yasmina Siadatan Restaurateur 27 Winner
Kate Walsh Licensing Development Manager 27 Runner-up
Debra Barr Senior Sales Consultant 24 Fired after Interviews stage
Lorraine Tighe National Accounts Manager 36 Fired after Interviews stage
James McQuillan Senior Commercial Manager 32 Fired after Interviews stage
Howard Ebison Retail Business Manager 24 Fired after tenth task
Ben Clarke Trainee Stockbroker 22 Fired after ninth task
Mona Lewis Senior Financial Manager 28 Fired after eighth task
Philip Taylor Estate Agent 29 Fired after seventh task
Noorul Choudhury Science Teacher 33 Fired after sixth task
Kimberly Davis Marketing Consultant 33 Fired after fifth task
Paula Jones Human Resources Consultant 29 Fired after fourth task
Majid Nagra Business Development Manager 28 Fired after third task
Rocky Andrews Sandwich Chain Owner 21 Fired after second task
Anita Shah Business Strategist 35 Fired after first task
Adam Freeman Internet Entrepreneur 30 Left prior to first task

Performance chart

Candidate Task Number
123456789101112
Yasmina INWININBRINININWININWININWINNER
Kate ININININWININBRININBRINRUNNER-UP
Debra BRINWINININBRINLOSEBRINFIRED
Lorraine ININININBRINLOSEINWINBRFIRED
James INBRLOSEININININBRLOSEINFIRED
Howard WINBRINININININININFIRED
Ben ININBRBRINLOSEININFIRED
Mona LOSEINININININWINFIRED
Philip ININININBRWINFIRED
Noorul INININWININFIRED
Kimberly ININININFIRED
Paula INININFIRED
Majid ININFIRED
Rocky INFIRED
Anita FIRED

Key:

     The candidate won this series of The Apprentice.
     The candidate was the runner-up.
     The candidate won as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
     The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team, for this task.
     The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage.
     The candidate was on the losing team for this task.
     The candidate was brought to the final boardroom for this task.
     The candidate was fired in this task.
     The candidate lost as project manager for this task and was fired.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		Title Original air dateUK viewers
(millions) [9]
571"Scrubbing Up"[10]25 March 2009 (2009-03-25)8.71
The search for Sir Alan's apprentice of 2009 begins with a revelation that one of his new batch of hopefuls has had to bottle out. For the remaining fifteen candidates, there's no time to contemplate this as they find themselves getting a little dirty, taking on the task of starting up their own cleaning company. With a £200 budget and eight hours to make as much profit as possible, both teams opting to focus on cleaning cars. It's not long before the rush to get as much done in the time limit leads to tensions rising and tempers flaring, with the losing team left to face battling in the boardroom to avoid being the first to go.
582"A Hungry Business"[11]1 April 2009 (2009-04-01)7.16
For their next task, the candidates take on the job of offering a catering service for London's busy professional. Needing to budget wisely to make a profit while working within a theme, both teams face problems and complaints over their services, where both face reductions on their evening contracts to make up to their customers. For one candidate, they'll be picking up the bill when Sir Alan reviews their performance in the boardroom.
593"Survival of the Fittest"[12]8 April 2009 (2009-04-08)8.04
For people who like to keep fit, comes a market that can offer a potential lucrative market. For the candidates' next task, they must design a new piece of portable fitness equipment that can help to tone and flex muscles, and pitch it to retailers complete with a poster campaign. Both teams opt for simple designs, and it soon becomes clear that one team's creation is a hit, while the other team's product will leave them hitting the showers before the boardroom battle.
604"A Soap Opera"[13]15 April 2009 (2009-04-15)7.86
Cosmetics are big business, and Sir Alan is hopeful the remaining twelve candidates can come up with a brand new bath and beauty product. Required to use natural ingredients and make their creation stand out, one team face difficulties with a weak leader and a weaker product, while the other side enjoy success but at the price of a manufacturing blunder. For the losing team, one candidate won't be coming out of the boardroom smelling of roses.
615"The Advertising Challenge"[14]22 April 2009 (2009-04-22)8.32
In their next task, the candidates face the challenge of coming up with a brand new breakfast cereal, complete with its own original character and TV advert. Looking to design an outstanding cereal box and advert to impress the experts, each team faces issues with their creation and pitching skills, but only Sir Alan will determine whose breakfast cereal would be something to wake up to each morning.
626"Bric-a-Brac Race"[15]29 April 2009 (2009-04-29)8.29
For the past four series, Sir Alan has tasked candidates with getting him a list of items. For this year, he has a collection of items for each team that he wants them to sell across London. Negotiating for the best price is one thing, but both teams must determine the value of what they got to find the hidden gem that will make them a fine profit. As both teams struggle with the task at hand, both wind up not making as much money as they hoped, leaving it down to who avoided too much of a loss to escape being in the boardroom and in Sir Alan's firing line.
637"Heading North"[16]6 May 2009 (2009-05-06)8.45
The teams travel up north for their next challenge, where they must choose two new innovative products that they must sell to trade. Putting their sales skills to the test, the teams seek out potential buyers while also pitching their products to two major retailers. Only the best sale figures will secure victory, and for the team that fails to achieve this, they'll be coming back down south to face the boardroom.
648"Cool Margate"[17]13 May 2009 (2009-05-13)8.50
The grandeur of the seaside resort of Margate may have dwindled, but Sir Alan believes it could be restored for the 21st century with some re-branding. Both teams face the task of using their marketing and creative skills for just that - while one team opts for it becoming a family resort, the other team decide to promote it as a gay resort. With the experts scoring their execution of this task, only the best concepts will win, while it won't be a day at the seaside for the candidate on the losing team.
659"Baby Love"[18]20 May 2009 (2009-05-20)8.90
Baby products are basis of the next task for the candidates, as they find themselves seeking out two products that could sell well at Britain's biggest baby show. With sales the key to victory, mums and dads to impress, and fierce competition from other vendors at the show, the right products will grant one team victory, while the wrong products will land the losing team in the boardroom cot.
6610"Car Crash TV"[19]27 May 2009 (2009-05-27)7.14
Sir Alan returns to an old favourite, as the teams face the challenge of selling a range of products to potential customers, via a shopping channel. Good sales will come from good demonstrations, identifying the right products for the right market, and staying cool and calm on live TV. For the losing team, not demonstrating a good sales patter to viewers will wind up leading them only to one place - the boardroom.
67SP 1"The Final Five"[20]3 June 2009 (2009-06-03)5.06
As this year's series of The Apprentice draws closer to its finale, this special episode takes a look at profiling the true story behind the five remaining candidates. Discussing their backgrounds, experiences, personality, and strengths and weaknesses, are a selection of each candidate's friends, family and colleagues, as well as Sir Alan's aides, Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford.
6811"Interviews"[21]3 June 2009 (2009-06-03)9.76
For the remaining five candidates, its time to undergo the penultimate task - a gruelling interview process with four of Sir Alan's closest business associates. With scrutiny made on each candidate's background, work experience and performance on the tasks, there are issues with attitudes, motives and appearance, and firm criticism from the interviewers, which will influence which two candidates that Sir Alan will choose to move on to the final.
69SP 2"Why I Fired Them"[22]5 June 2009 (2009-06-05)N/A
As the final looms, Sir Alan takes a look back to the tasks he set for this year's series of The Apprentice. From the cartoonish characters made for breakfast cereals, to the soap manufacturing blunder, he relieves all of the mistakes and doomed decisions that were made, and gives out his reasons for what made him fire a candidate in that respective task.
7012"The Final"[23]7 June 2009 (2009-06-07)9.31

For this year's two finalist, one task is all that stands between them and a future job with Sir Alan - to market a brand next box of chocolates, and then pitch their idea to a panel of business and chocolate experts. With help from old friends, one finalist opts for high quality flavours with a romantic theme, while the other chooses unconventional flavours that can be manufactured cheaply, but both face criticism from their choices. Regardless of what they face, only the best performer will enjoy the sweet taste of success, and become Sir Alan's new apprentice for 2009.

Notes: As ITV was set to cover the 2010 World Cup qualifying match between England & Andorra on 10 June, this episode was aired three days earlier to avoid clashing with it.

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[9]

Episode
no.		AirdateViewers
(millions)		BBC One
weekly ranking
125 March 20098.714
21 April 20097.165
38 April 20098.045
415 April 20097.864
522 April 20098.322
629 April 20098.292
76 May 20098.452
813 May 20098.502
920 May 20098.902
1027 May 20097.143
113 June 20099.761
127 June 20099.312

Specials

SpecialAirdateViewers
(millions)		BBC One
weekly ranking
The Final Five3 June 20095.0617
Why I Fired Them5 June 2009N/AN/A

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Press Office — The Apprentice". BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  2. 1 2 "The Apprentice – The job interview from hell just got tougher..." BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  3. ↑ BBC News: Sir Alan apprentice 'bottles it'
  4. 1 2 Holmwood, Leigh (17 March 2009). "'Making money is better than sex' – the Apprentice is back". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. ↑ "Applications for 2009 are now closed". FremantleMedia. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  6. ↑ "Interview: Margaret Mountford on her last series of The Apprentice". Daily Telegraph. London. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Cochrane, Kira (15 April 2009). "Margaret Mountford is the only person worth our respect on The Apprentice". London: The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Apprentice winners through the years – and where they are now". Daily Star. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Episode 1, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  11. ↑ "Episode 2, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  12. ↑ "Episode 3, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  13. ↑ "Episode 4, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  14. ↑ "Episode 5, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  15. ↑ "Episode 6, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  16. ↑ "Episode 7, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  17. ↑ "Episode 8, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  18. ↑ "Episode 9, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  19. ↑ "Episode 10, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  20. ↑ "The Final Five, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  21. ↑ "Episode 11, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  22. ↑ "Why I Fired Them, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  23. ↑ "The Final, Series 5, The Apprentice - BBC One".
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