The Apprentice - Is this really the best we've got?
Apparently 20,000 people applied for The Apprentice this year. That's an awful lot of applications for one job. The most applications for a job that went through our system in 2007 was 1200 and we processed almost 15m ads.
So my question is this... are these 16 people really the best the BBC could find? Are they the best we have to offer? Our future shining stars just waiting to be discovered? I think not. The standard of this series is, frankly, laughable.
There is only one person I would even consider hiring for Broadbean and that is Alex. I'd have him on my sales team but not as a manager. The rest of them would not get through the door. Claire is like a poor man's Ruth Badger (and that really is saying something), Raef is a joker (entrepreneur my arse, who honestly knows a self-respecting "entrepreneur" that applies for a job on TV?) and as for Kevin... I'm certain he is a plant just to add entertainment. Kevin The Apprentice... more like Kevin from Roland Rat.
In a time when business is the in thing and young people are being switched on to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur when they grow up this show is not setting a good example of what it takes to succeed and it bloody well should be.
The tasks on the show are good and give the candidates all the right opportunities to show their skills. On almost every occasion they fail miserably and there can be only one reason for that, they don't have it in them.
Perhaps the real problem lies with the BBC's interviewing capabilities. (Or should I substitute interview for audition?). Is this show about business or is it just "good TV"? It seems to be a little confused about which camp it's in. If it's the latter then it has achieved its aim. If it's the former, as the previous series' were, then it has mimicked it's candidates by failing to impress.






