Tom Beasley reviews The Apprentice’s latest task, which saw the teams enter the high-flying, big money world of selling top flight apartments in London. Would the candidates wilt in the face of all of those extra zeroes?
When the money gets big, candidates on The Apprentice always flap about like confused pigeons. This time around, the money got very big indeed as the candidates were given the opportunity to sell newly built luxury apartments in prime London real estate. Half of each team would sell mid-range properties, whilst the others would get the opportunity to flog more expensive stuff, with some of the stuff worth more than one million pounds. Selina was shifted over to Team Versatile, who elected Joseph as their leader. Richard stepped forward to act as project manager for Connexus.
Naturally, the two project managers opted to sell the more expensive apartments. Richard picked Vana, whose parents are architects, to assist him, whilst Joseph plumped for Selina, splitting her from Charleine in a very wise decision. Both teams were shown high-end developments in Stratford and Canary Wharf, with the sub-teams shown more mid-range properties in Lewisham and Clapham. Vana and Richard showed great enthusiasm compared to Joseph’s price-focused approach and were therefore able to secure the Canary Wharf location, with Joseph forced into the Stratford development against his own judgement.
Scott and Brett, attempting to sell the Clapham properties, engaged in a shambolic pitch in which Scott repeatedly misidentified aspects of the property and Brett decided to sell random plots without knowing whether they were the correct ones. Over at Versatile, Gary and Charleine fared considerably better, with the latter in particular doing a stellar job of flogging the Lewisham flats. This led to Selina repeatedly trying very hard to undermine Charleine’s success, whilst making lame excuses for her own failure to sell. Joseph did manage to sell one of the high-end flats, but their day was disappointing across the board.
Richard and Vana, meanwhile, were on something of a hot streak. Vana, in particular, was able to use her superior product knowledge to convince high roller clients to part with pricey deposits. There was a slightly odd choice in their decision not to use the partially-constructed show flat as a lure for clients, but they were able to trade on the brand name of Canary Wharf to gain success. Scott and Brett, on the other side of town, opted to spend much of the last few hours of trading sat on their hands, whilst Charleine and Gary made the frankly insane decision to take to the streets in the hope that a random passer-by would decide to buy an apartment on a whim.
In the boardroom, Richard and Vana’s exceptional work led Connexus to a clear victory, but Brett and Scott were singled out for their disappointing product knowledge and lacklustre sales. As the rest of the team departed for their treat, Scott remained seated and announced that he wished to leave The Apprentice of his own accord – a first for the show. The faces of Scott’s colleague told the story, with shock etched across their faces. Considering the near breakdown Scott appeared to suffer on the discount store task, this was perhaps something that should’ve happened a long time ago.
After that shockwave, the show cut to the losers’ café, where Charleine and Selina engaged in a blazing row whilst Joseph and Gary watched quietly. The fireworks continued into the boardroom, with Joseph eventually opting to bring Selina and Gary in for the final showdown. Joseph was criticised for being a little too young and probably out of his depth, but it was the gobby Selina who ultimately met with the firing finger. As this year’s “controversial” character, Selina’s off-camera antics were far more entertaining than her actual appearances on the show.
This week’s episode was an intriguing one, if only for the boardroom fireworks and the big money nature of the task. Next week, it’s back to a vintage Apprentice task, with the teams putting together health foods and pitching them to retailers.
Tom Beasley – Follow me on Twitter for movies, wrestling and jokes about David Cameron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=J52a8SRS5cE
Originally published December 3, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
