The final two candidates in The Apprentice are Michelle Dewberry and Ruth Badger. Or – for those of you who have just dipped in and out of the show – the giant scary girl, and the one with the low-cut tops that cries a lot.
The best-performing candidate in the Apprentice tasks up until now, Paul, was sent packing by Sir Alan Sugar. The nice guy Ansell also followed him out the door as the women took over the final.
Certainly, it appears in the case of Michelle Dewberry, Sir Alan has rewarded the quiet ones. Look at quiet, anonymous Tim from the first series of The Apprentice, who claimed first prize. Michelle admits this similarity herself.
"I am very proud to be in the final -and it proves it's the quiet ones you have to watch."
A lot of people are still watching.
Michelle's rival in the final, Ruth Badger, is likely to push Michelle to the very limit in her own attempt to win the title. During this week's episode, Ruth bragged about turning down share options from her previous company because she was pretty sure she would never return, instead either taking the post of Sir Alan's apprentice or carving out a fifth-rate TV presenting career like Saira from last year.
Michelle found herself on the losing team twice during the whole series but, as the sudden departure of Paul showed, in The Apprentice your previous record stands for nothing. Paul had won seven of the tasks and had never faced being fired in any boardroom showdown. Paul blames the firing on his success – by never going to the boardroom, he never built the vital rapport with Sir Alan – but we suspect that it was because Paul was gradually turning into David Brent with every passing second.
Also departing was the nice guy Ansell, whose downfall – bizarrely enough – was the fact that everybody liked him and he was branded only a salesman.
Looking at records, Ruth was on the losing team six times, facing Sir Alan in the boardroom on four occasions. She has battled her way to the final and confessed that
"I am thrilled. My plan was to be the last woman standing, so winning is the only option for me."
in the task last night the women charmed the men in the interview stakes and secured their place in the final. But now the slate is clean and the two women go head to head in the final task, which is unlikely to be jelly wrestling, but something to test them to the fullest.
It looked unlikely earlier in the series, when the women were dropping like flies, that any one of them would reach the final, let alone two. The only question remains is, whose feminine charm will come out on top?
Read more:
Women head-to-head in Apprentice final – This Is London
[story by Christopher Castle]