The Apprentice (UK series seven)

The Apprentice UK
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Series Seven

Series Seven of The Apprentice (UK), a British reality television series, was broadcast in the UK during 2011, from 10 May to 17 July on BBC One; due to a qualifying match for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League set to be aired live on 20 July, the final episode was aired earlier to avoid clashing with this. After six years of Alan Sugar offering a six-figure job as a prize, both he and the production staff conducted a rethink on what the programme offered to those participating after the former threatened to quit,[1] leading to the decision that the prize be changed towards a £250,000 investment for the winning candidate to use to start their own business. The change in prize led to a complete revamp of the format concerning tasks - while the Interviews stage remained a part of the show, it was extended to include a scrutiny of each candidate's business plans, amongst the other questions by interviewers, and allocated as the final task in the series.[2] Alongside the standard twelve episodes, with the first two aired within a day of each other, two specials were aired alongside this series - "The Final Five" on 7 July, and a unique special for this series, "How To Get Hired" on 15 July.

For the sixteen candidates who took, the change in format was a surprise to them, but did not deter them from taking part, with Tom Pellereau becoming the overall winner and the first to win the new prize.[3][4][5] Excluding the specials, the series averaged around 8.80 million viewers during its broadcast, and is the most watched series of The Apprentice to date.

Series Overview

Following the end of the sixth series, Alan Sugar began to question his involvement in the programme, due to the nature of what he offered to those participating and the overall format of The Apprentice. Meeting with both the broadcaster and the production company and threatening to quit unless changes were made, a re-think became essentially required to keep the show fresh. One of the reasons behind the change was that Sugar was finding it increasingly difficult to create a new job within his companies, because of the frustration and criticism being given for this by his existing employees.[1] In discussing how to alter the format, Sugar expressed a belief that there was too high an epxpectation amongst young entrepreneurs that came become the next big name in business when setting up their own company, faulting a belief that such individuals suffered from a "fast buck mentality", thus he suggested that The Apprentice geared itself towards showing a scaled but realistic approach to starting up a company.[6] This suggestion led to a complete overhaul of the format, assigning the design of tasks towards setting up, running and operating businesses as smoothly as possible, while offering new participants a life-changing opportunity - the winning candidate would now receive a £250,000 investment towards a new business they wished to start, with Sugar taking a 50% in the business in exchange for providing his guidance and support, along with supplying a team of experts to help develop the winning candidate's plan.

The change in format was finalised during the processing of applications for the seventh series, between April and July 2011, with Sugar accepting the changes to remain with the programme.[6] For those applying for a place in the programme, the change in prize came as a surprise, as many still expected it to be the six-figure job, effective leading those who became part of the final line-up having to come up with business plans before recording of the first episode was set to take place. One task retained during the revamp of the show's tasks structure was the Interviews stage, but this came with it being extended in how it operated - alongside interviewers questioning each candidate about their background, work experience and performance on tasks, candidates were informed that their business plans would also come under scrutiny in this stage - with the task itself being reallocated as the final task of the series. Following the last series, two of the interviewers - Bordan Tkachuk and Alan Watts - decided to leave the programme, leading to Sugar replacing them with Mike Soutar and Matthew Riley. With production completed and final editing almost finished, the sixteen candidates who secured a place on the series were revealed 3 May 2011, a week before the series premiered, with the first task revealing that the men named their team Logic, while the women named their team Venture.

This series is notable for featuring a task in which the winning team was not given a prize - arranged by Sugar for those who worked hard to win a task, it was withdrawn when the winning team had failed to comprehend the basis of the task's goal - along with a candidate establishing records for the most wins, both consecutive and total. Of those who took part, Tom Pellereau would become the eventual winner, going on to make subsequent appearances on You're Fired as an audience member during later series, while also launching a range of manicure products with assistance from Lord Sugar. Amongst the products he would create would include a line of curved nail files - the S-file, the S-Buffer and the Emergency File, two curved nail clippers, the S-Clipper and S-Clipper mini and a curved foot exfoliator, and the S-Ped - all of which would be stocked by major retailers in the country.[7][8] Susan Ma, who would lose out in the final, would later receive an investment offer from Sugar, that she would put towards creating her skincare company Tropic in 2012.[9]

Candidates

Candidate Background Age Result
Tom Pellereau Inventor 31 Winner
Helen Milligan Executive Assistant to CEO 30 Runner Up
Susan Ma Natural Skincare Entrepreneur 21 Fired in Finals
Jim Eastwood Sales and Market Manager 32 Fired in Finals
Natasha Scribbins Divisional Manager – Recruitment 31 Fired after eleventh task
Melody Hossaini Founder & Director – Global Youth Consultancy Business 26 Fired after tenth task
Zoe Beresford Project Manager – Drinks Manufacturer 26 Fired after ninth task
Leon Doyle Fast Food Marketing Entrepreneur 26 Fired after eighth task
Glenn Ward Senior Design Engineer 28 Fired after seventh task
Edna Agbarha Business Psychologist 36 Fired after sixth task
Vincent Disneur Sales Manager – Telecoms Software 29 Fired after fifth task
Ellie Reed Managing Director 33 Fired after fifth task
Felicity Jackson Creative Arts Entrepreneur 23 Fired after fourth task
Gavin Winstanley Managing Director – Opticians 27 Fired after third task
Alex Britez Cabral Estate Agent Manager 28 Fired after second task
Edward Hunter Accountant 25 Fired after first task

Performance Chart

Candidate Task Number
123456789101112
Tom INININININININLOSEBRBRINWINNER
Helen INININININWINININWINBRWINRUNNER-UP
Susan ININWINININBRBRWINININBRFIRED
Jim ININININININLOSEINININLOSEFIRED
Natasha INININBRBRINWINININWINFIRED
Melody WINININININININBRBRFIRED
Zoe ININBRWININLOSEININFIRED
Leon BRLOSEINININININFIRED
Glenn INBRININWININFIRED
Edna INWININININFIRED
Vincent ININBRINFIRED
Ellie INININBRFIRED
Felicity INININFIRED
Gavin BRINFIRED
Alex INFIRED
Edward 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.
     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) [10]
851"£250 Business Start Up"[11]10 May 2011 (2011-05-10)8.79
Lord Sugar's hunt for a new apprentice in 2011 comes with much higher stakes. For whoever wins among the sixteen candidates taking part, comes a life-changing opportunity - a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar to kickstart a new business with, and having him as a business partner for a 50% stake. For their first test, they are given £250 to invest in fruit and veg at New Covent Garden Market, which they must then turn into meals and sell to London's work force. With victory determined by who can make the greatest return from this small investment, each team strives to win over customers during the breakfast and lunch trading times, leading to rising tensions and fierce competitiveness to avoid becoming the first one to be fired in the boardroom.
862"Mobile Phone Application"[12]11 May 2011 (2011-05-11)8.30
With mobile phone apps on the rise and opening up a new market of consumers, Lord Sugar assigns the candidates to develop their own app for phone users to enjoy. Aiming to attract as many downloads as possible, the teams must convince major distributors to promote their design, and bloggers and software experts at a gaming fair to support it. Both ideas face problems, but for one team, they won't want to be the subject of Lord Sugar's Firing App if they lose.
873"Discount Buying for the Savoy"[13]18 May 2011 (2011-05-18)8.10
Seeking to help with the last-minute refurnishing of the Savoy, in time for its grand reopening, Lord Sugar assigns his candidates to seek out a list of ten items that are needed. Seeking to find what is required within nine hours, the teams execute their best negotiating skills, as they scour London for good quality bargains. As time ticks on, the search by both soon turns into a desperate race to find everything before time is up, with their purchases give a firm scrutiny by hotel staff to ensure it is what they wanted. For the losing team, the prospect of being fired will lead to a heated battle in the boardroom.
884"Beauty Treatments"[14]25 May 2011 (2011-05-25)8.62
Britain's beauty industry is a booming business worth £14 billion, which is the basis for the next task Lord Sugar has in mind. Both teams are assigned to set up a beauty-treatment business within one of Birmingham's shopping centre, in which making a profit on lead to victory. With each team needing to choose what treatments and sideline of cosmetic products they offer, they soon finds themselves struggling to make money, as they divide their attention between selling goods and attracting customers towards their assigned treatment room, with one team soon let down by a bad mistake that proves costly. For that team, one member soon feels what treatment Lord Sugar has in store for them in the boardroom.
895"Create, Brand and Launch a Pet Food"[15]1 June 2011 (2011-06-01)7.59
Making food for pets is not an easy business, but Lord Sugar is confident that the teams can come up with a brand new type of pet food to sell. Testing their creative skills to devise the brand and an advertising campaign to promote it, soon leads to issues, as each team ignores sound advice from their focus groups, make fateful decisions, and face confusion with making their adverts. As they face up to the cold reality given by the experts in their field whom they must pitch to, one team soon face the boardroom doghouse when their concept fails to be anything like a dog's supper.
906"Rubbish"[16]8 June 2011 (2011-06-08)8.62
Rubbish can sometimes be quite valuable if one knows what to look for, a useful piece of advice that Lord Sugar puts to the team as he tasks them to operate their own waste disposal service, selling anything of value that they find in people's trash. With people in London potentially in possession of valuable scrap, the teams are soon outbidding each other to secure such items, with the disposing of unwanted waste soon becoming a physically and mentally exhausting job. For the losing team, there's a fight in the boardroom to prove that they're still valuable for Lord Sugar to keep.
917"Freemium Magazine Launch"[17]15 June 2011 (2011-06-15)8.40
In his next task, Lord Sugar instructs both teams to make a free magazine, where in order to sell space within to advertisers, their concept must offer a surefire market for them to access. As one side focus on a magazine for the "lads", and the other opt to make one for senior people, they soon face issues with their creations and their pitching skills. When these problems soon prove costly for one team, one member finds themselves faces the paying the price for failure.
928"Paris"[18]22 June 2011 (2011-06-22)8.78
In their next task, each team find themselves trying to promote two new products to potential customers in France. While one half remains to pick out which will prove a success, the other half face the task of finding buyers for their choices in Paris, including a retailer arranged by Lord Sugar. As the teams struggle to overcome a language barrier and remain diplomatic in negotiations, tensions flare and arguments break out. For the losing team, one member will soon be forced au revoir to Sugar's investment.
939"Biscuit"[19]29 June 2011 (2011-06-29)8.98
Both teams find themselves tasked with manufacturing a brand new, distinctive type of biscuit for the upmarket British to enjoy with their tea, for their next challenge. Along with making its packaging, the two teams face the task of pitching their concepts to retailers, in the hopes of securing big orders. As competitive natures emerge with what is created, issues arise with packaging that create stumbling blocks in pitches, leaving some candidates crumbling like their biscuits. For one candidate, failure will soon leave them feeling dunked when they find themselves in the boardroom firing line.
9410"Flip It"[20]6 July 2011 (2011-07-06)9.42
Lord Sugar has gotten his hands on two pallets, each worth £250 and consisting of wholesale items. The remaining six candidates learn that their next task is to sell these items to passing trade around London, reinvesting profits into the products that are a commercial success with customers. Both teams soon struggle to place the right product to the potential market for them, with arguments arising on how to make money, and the focus on the challenge's goal slowly fading. It soon becomes clear neither team will leave unscathed in the boardroom, as a dismal result leaves the winners with no reward, and the losers fighting against each other to avoid being the next in Lord Sugar's firing line.
95SP 1"The Final Five"[21]7 July 2011 (2011-07-07)5.29
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 Lord Sugar's aides, Nick Hewer and Karren Brady.
9611"Fast Food Chain"[22]13 July 2011 (2011-07-13)9.73
The five remaining candidates face their penultimate task, before the Final - to invent a unique fast-food outlet, operate a trial-run with the public, and then pitch their concept to experts from the industry. While one team opts to sell a British favourite, the other opts for a Mexican theme of cuisine, and soon becomes clear that one decision is fatally flawed, as the trial-run goes disastrously wrong, and the expert find flaws within their concept. For this team, each member soon fights for survival in the boardroom, hoping to not miss out the chance for Lord Sugar's investment.
97SP 2"How to Get Hired"[23]15 July 2011 (2011-07-15)N/A
With the final looming, comedian and Apprentice fan Dara Ó Briain gives out a guide on how a candidate should operate in the process, and become a winner. Using incidents from this year's series, he analyses the common mistakes made by candidates, and some of the clever tactics they used to keep them in the process and out of Lord Sugar's firing line.
9812"The Final"[24]17 July 2011 (2011-07-17)10.24

The four finalists have endured tasks that required selling, negotiating, creativity, promoting and pitching, but now they face the final challenge - a gruelling interview process with four of Lord Sugar's closest business associates, to determine who will receive his investment opportunity. As their personal and professional lives are put under scrutiny, they soon face praise, concerns and criticisms over their background, work experience, and their proposed business plans. For two finalists, the feedback from the interviewers is enough to end their dreams in the boardroom, leaving Lord Sugar a difficult choice between the remaining finalists to determine who will be his first business partner of 2011.

Notes: Due to live coverage of a UEFA Champions League qualifying match on 20 July, this episode was aired three days earlier to avoid clashing with it. The series finale was originally broadcast as part of a two-hour crossover special with the programme's sister show, You're Fired; following the special, subsequent repeats broadcast only the final episode.

Criticism and controversy

Sugar's "Engineers" comment

Following the broadcast of the seventh episode of both The Apprentice and You're Fired!, Lord Sugar provoked anger amongst the engineering community over comments that he had made, in which he stated, in regards to his firing of Glenn Ward, that he had seen many engineers fail at business in the past. Many media articles disagreed to his view, pointing out James Dyson as a prime example of an engineer who became a hugely successful businessman.[25][26]

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[10]

Episode
no.		AirdateViewers
(millions)		BBC One
weekly ranking
110 May 20118.794
211 May 20118.307
318 May 20118.105
425 May 20118.624
51 June 20117.591
68 June 20118.623
715 June 20118.405
822 June 20118.782
929 June 20118.981
106 July 20119.421
1113 July 20119.732
1217 July 201110.241

Specials

SpecialAirdateViewers
(millions)		BBC One
weekly ranking
The Final Five7 July 20115.2912
How To Get Hired15 July 2011N/AN/A

References

  1. 1 2 Dan Wootton (6 October 2016). "Lord Sugar told BBC he'd quit The Apprentice unless they changed format of giving the winner a job". The Sun. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Apprentice 2011: Why the final will be very different this year". New Magazine. New. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Apprentice won by non-stop ideas factory Tom Pellereau". Guardian. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Tom Pellereau strikes a blow for great British inventors". Daily Telegraph. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Tom Pellereau wins The Apprentice". RTÉ News. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  6. 1 2 Michael Hogan (13 March 2012). "The Apprentice 2012: Lord Sugar – revitalising Apprentice prize gave me a new lease of life". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  7. ↑ Stylfile: Nail Care Innovation from Tom Pellereau and Lord Sugar
  8. ↑ "Apprentice winners through the years – and where they are now". Daily Star. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Lord Sugar invests in The Apprentice loser Susan Ma's skincare range". 19 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "£250 Business Start Up, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  12. ↑ "Mobile Phone Application, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  13. ↑ "Discount Buying for the Savoy, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  14. ↑ "Beauty Treatments, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  15. ↑ "Create, Brand and Launch a Pet Food, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  16. ↑ "Rubbish, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  17. ↑ "Freemium Magazine Launch, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  18. ↑ "Paris, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  19. ↑ "Biscuit, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  20. ↑ "Flip It, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  21. ↑ "The Final Five, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  22. ↑ "Fast Food Chain, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  23. ↑ "How to Get Hired, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  24. ↑ "The Final, Series 7, The Apprentice - BBC One".
  25. ↑ Dyson, James. "Engineers always do the business, Lord Sugar". the Guardian.
  26. ↑ "Lord Sugar criticised for 'engineers can't run businesses' comment". BusinessZone.
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