Stream It: The Apprentice Final

The finalists Phil and Rachel go head-to-head one last time to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner and win his £250,000 investment. With the help of some familiar faces, they must launch their business, create a new brand for their company, produce a digital billboard and shoot and edit a TV advert before pitching to Lord Sugar and industry experts at a black-tie event.

Here’s what Phil and Rachel had to say ahead of the final task…

Phil

For the last two years it’s been an all-female final. Why do you think this year is different?

To get to the final of The Apprentice, Lord Sugar must see something in you. He ultimately chooses who he feels are the most competent and credible candidates to battle it out for his investment. All I know is everyone in the final five this year is really great, really competent and really credible.

Tell us a fun behind the scenes story from filming The Apprentice.

One of the most fun experiences I had on The Apprentice when we weren’t filming was when Virdi used to teach me Bhangra. Virdi would give me Bhangra lessons in the cinema room in the house. We didn’t listen to a lot of music in the house, so it was really great to feel the music and learn a new skill. And I got on really well with Virdi, so it was great to spend some quality time together… and I was actually really good as well.

Apart from Lord Sugar, Karren and Tim, who is your business inspiration?

My parents: they started their bakery against all odds and they are my inspiration in terms of their resilience. The hard work and determination they showed over their career, starting a small bakery, just mum and my dad. I look up to them as inspirational figures and as aspirational in terms of the hard work, commitment and dedication. They showed up against all odds so that’s something which I feel I’ve taken through this journey with me and that’s something that’s stuck with me.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own business?

I think the best advice I can give someone starting their own business is you need to be prepared to fail. I think a lot of people go into businesses and they think it’s going to be glamorous, and the reality is that any entrepreneur who has made or built a successful business, in my opinion, needs the ability to get knocked back and continue to be resilient. They need to be consistent and also have self-belief. I think that resilience is the number one attribute in any entrepreneur and that’s the advice I’d give. Just keep going and stick with it.

What was your favourite week and why?

My favourite task was week two, even though I was the project manager and we lost, the cheesecake task was so fun. There were so many attributes, there was public selling, there was negotiating and there was food production. I like being in charge and being the boss so that was quite nice for me. It was just so fun and to be honest I was happy I stayed in but I didn’t really care that we lost because we just had so much fun on the task.

If you could re-do a task, which would it be and why?

If I could re-do a task, it would definitely be week one in Scotland, because in the brainstorm I told Virdi to get back at two o’clock. But if I was to do that task again, I would have rung him at half one told him to be here in half an hour, because we’d fail the task otherwise. But no, I don’t have any regrets in any of the tasks. It’s a really tricky process and we had a lot of fun, but I would definitely like to re-do task one and try and get a win for the boys.

What did you learn about yourself during filming?

The main thing I learned about myself is how tough I am mentally. I saw other candidates’ reactions and responses to losing tasks, being in the café, being in the final boardroom and I saw it really knocked their confidence. Having lost nine tasks on the trot, I really came out of the process knowing that I am mentally tough, and I think Lord Sugar could see that regardless of how many times I lost. I was bouncing back with the same enthusiasm, and I was never hiding. I learnt exactly how much adversity I could actually face and that’s something I am extremely proud of.

Rachel

or the last two years it’s been an all-female final. Why do you think this year is different?

It’s been a really strong cohort of candidates this year. The boys have been really complimentary of the girls when we’ve been working together in teams. I personally really enjoyed working with the boys, as soon as we mixed the teams, I felt the dynamic change in a good way. As much I love the girls, I think we’ve been very strong as a group working together.

Tell us a fun behind the scenes story from filming The Apprentice.

On one of our days off from filming we hosted a sports day at the house, it was such a fun day, we were really lucky to be able to use the beautiful garden. We got together in teams and it was really fun to do something without the pressure of it being a task. In fact, in the house, we played a lot of games – card games and The Traitors. We all were watching The Traitors together as a group in the house, so we made our own version up to play around the kitchen table. Phil and Maura were brilliant at it! I was awful. I can’t lie. Every time I was a Traitor, I just burst out laughing.

Apart from Lord Sugar, Karren and Tim, who is your business inspiration?

I love Sara Davies from Dragons’ Den. Firstly, because she’s Northern and secondly, she is the definition of demonstrating you can be kind and be in business. I love watching her because she’s not quick to criticise, she’s open to different ideas and she really encourages young people to be entrepreneurial and at the same time has fun with it. She doesn’t take life too seriously but is also successful in her own right. I also love Gabby Logan from Leeds; she’s done incredibly well as a woman in sport and is a massive inspiration to me.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own business?

Be prepared for a really difficult first few years, don’t expect it to come easy or to make money straight away. Be ready to sacrifice a lot of things to be successful.

What was your favourite week and why?

My favourite week was Formula E. You could probably tell in my face how much I was enjoying it. For me, speaking to people and trying to sell things will always be my thing. I’m not as interested in the branding side or being in the kitchen. That will never be my strong point and I know that, I much prefer talking to people and telling a story and trying to sell something.

If you could re-do a task, which would it be and why?

Even though my team lost the task, I absolutely loved Budapest. It’s such a shame that we didn’t sell the tickets at a high enough price because had we had done that, I think we would have won. The customers on the tour all had such a good time and we had great tips at the end and sadly we didn’t sell enough tickets.

Stream The Apprentice final from 9pm, Thursday 18 April on BBC One and iPlayer.