There was definitely more of a kid-gloves feel to Week Three, with a cake-selling task that was very similar to Week One's cheese-selling, a gentler performance from Lord Sugar in the boardroom (cracking gags, smiling, trying to reassure the candidates), and the fact Adam was allowed to go home because of a few day's sickness. It was still good fun, though, mainly because of the sweetly clueless Rhys...
Rhys, the shortest and most child-like of the candidates, became project leader of Instinct, which included assertive Kirsty, academic Hannah and whiskered Tim. Zoe (whose red lipstick is probably a byproduct of people she's slain) was chosen to lead Revolution, working alongside sickly Adam, egghead Arjun and sensible Emma.
Instinct decided to theme their cupcakes on "fashion"; while Resolution chose a more imaginative "I Love..." theme, where customers could complete the sentiment with personalized icing messages. Both teams were given prime spots as plush department store Selfridges in the heart of London's shopping district, each splitting themselves into two groups (sellers and manufacturers) and trying to offload as many cakes as they could to passing shoppers.
Problems ensued, naturally.
Zoe's team were undoubtedly better; their themed cakes were more imaginative, Zoe herself proved game by dressing up as a giant cupcake to attract customers, and in general Revolution didn't face many problems throughout the day. Despite the fact Adam's icing skills were nonexistent, and you could tell he just wanted to crawl into bed and die.
Rhys' team had a real nightmare; nobody gave Rhys much support, which knocked his already low confidence, and there were definite signs that everyone was taking a backseat and were planning to blame a loss on their leader. Tim was particularly irritating, in that he shirked becoming the leader again (citing a lack of culinary know-how), but was happy to lead the one aspect of the project that involved food. Kirsty's grumbling became a bore, but she was great at the market research and you could tell she's one of the more mature candidates who stands a chance of winning.
In the boardroom, it was all academic really. Rhys' team failed dismally (only selling nine cupcakes in the first few hours, failing to price their customized cupcakes higher), and ultimately lost £120. Zoe's group squeaked through with a profit of £15.15.
Rhys brought Tim and Hannah back into the boardroom with him to explain their loss, and actually did a very persuasive job of convincing Lord Sugar that a lot of the problem was a lack of support. But it was also clear that Rhys lacked some maturity, definitely didn't come up with a sales strategy for the day, and failed to get his team behind him. So, despite his Lordship's assurance that there was a "special something" to him, Rhys was fired.
But there was some welcome criticism of Tim, who appears to have sneaked his way to Week Three by talking a good game but failing to perform equally as well. He'll now be the project leader for whatever the next task is, having played the "let me prove to you what I can do next time" card. Hannah was also given some food for thought, considering she's the most academically gifted candidate but didn't steer the project to success when it became clear business was bad.
Owing to Adam being sent home to convalesce from the 'flu (or whatever ailment he came down with), there are now just six candidates left. Who looks like the winner at this halfway stage? It surely has to be Zoe. She's not particularly likeable, but she has a can-do attitude and is the only person you could imagine being on the adult Apprentice. Arjun possibly stands a chance if he proves himself good at leading a team, and I think Kirsty's now a strong and assertive possible winner. Tim, Emma and Hannah all fall into the "must do better" category right now.
26 MAY 2010: BBC1/HD, 9PM
