Phil Turner and Rachel Woolford have made it through to the final of The Apprentice after a nail-biting semi-final.
The Bognor Regis Pie company owner and fitness entrepreneur triumphed over Tre Lowe, Flo Edwards and Dr Paul Midha for the gruelling week of intense interviews, as they proved themselves strong enough to handle the heat.
After eleven challenging weeks, the pair will go head to head in next week’s final as they battle to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner and win his £250,000 investment.
On Thursday some familiar faces returned as the final five candidates met with Lord Sugar’s most trusted advisors as business plans were interrogated, CVs picked apart and white lies exposed as the candidates battled it out to make the final.
And it was Tre, Flo and Paul who sadly fell at the last hurdle, with their business plans being turned down by Lord Sugar.
Phil Turner (pictured) and Rachel Woolford have made it through to the final of The Apprentice after a nail-biting semi-final
The Bognor Regis Pie company owner and fitness entrepreneur triumphed over Tre Lowe, Flo Edwards and Dr Paul Midha in the gruelling week of intense interviews (Rachel pictured)
Claude branded Tre’s business plan ‘woefully inadequate’ while Linda highlighted his lack of scientific evidence to back up his ‘testosterone shots.’
Mike then presented Tre with a sample of his own shot, based off the ingredients listed and forced him to taste it for the first time.
Phil was accused of deceiving customers by Mike after he said his pie company was established in 1933, despite first being opened in 2012.
Linda then questioned his accounts and said he would have to put his prices up to keep making a profit.
Rachel’s gym plan was slammed by Claude who said she was ‘missing proper numbers’ after she was initially praised by Claudine, with Mike then savagely purchasing the domain names for her gyms before she did.
Both Claude and Linda said Paul had pitched the wrong business in choosing a scrub company, branding it a ‘fairytale.’
Finally, Flo’s recruitment company was found to share a name with an existing company in Norwich and Claudine questioned her staffing numbers.
In the most dramatic boardroom to date, Lord Sugar told music and wellness entrepreneur Tre: ‘Tre, I’ve always said to people in this process that you will learn as you go along, and that includes me. And I have learnt that you are a good bloke.’
After eleven challenging weeks, the pair will go head to head in next week’s final as they battle to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner and win his £250,000 investment
On Thursday some familiar faces returned as the final five candidates met with Lord Sugar’s most trusted advisors as business plans were interrogated as they battled it out
However, his personality wasn’t enough for the business tycoon as he added: ‘Your business is not up my alley mate, and so it is with sincere regret, You’re Fired!’
Recruitment consultant Flo was next to go, as Lord Sugar explained: ‘Flo, I think you’ve underestimated the difficulty it’s going to be in starting from scratch.
‘It is going to be hard, and I’m leaning towards Flo saying I’m going to have to let you go. Sorry about that. And I do wish you very, very well. But Flo, You’re Fired.’
Finally Dental Group owner Paul also missed out on the chance to be Lord Sugar’s business partner, as he became the final candidate to face the firing line.
‘Paul, I wish you well. But unfortunately, because you are not willing to share the whole business with me, I’m afraid to say with great respect, You’re Fired’, concluded Lord Sugar.
Claude branded Tre’s business plan ‘woefully inadequate’ while Linda highlighted his lack of scientific evidence to back up his ‘testosterone shots’
Phil was accused of deceiving customers by Mike after he said his pie company was established in 1933, despite first being opened in 2012
Rachel’s gym plan was slammed by Claude who said she was ‘missing proper numbers’ with Mike then savagely purchasing the domain names for her gyms before she did
Both Claude and Linda said Paul (pictured) had pitched the wrong business in choosing a scrub company, branding it a ‘fairytale’
Finally, Flo’s recruitment company was found to share a name with an existing company in Norwich and Claudine questioned her staffing numbers
As Phil and Rachel celebrated their achievement after surviving the hardest day in the process so far, Phil said: ‘I feel really proud of myself to have made it to the final.
‘It’s not been the easiest journey but I’ve held my head high, kept going each week and now I’m ready to give it one more shot to show that Lord Sugar was right to see something in me, and that I can be his next business partner.’
Meanwhile Rachel added: ‘I can’t quite believe that I’ve made it to this point. This has been such a competitive series with incredible candidates that I’m in absolute awe of.
‘To make it to the final is a dream and I’m just so excited now to showcase my business that I’ve poured my heart and soul into.’
The Apprentice final episode will air on Thursday 18th April on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Tre Lowe soared throughout the series as his creativity was continually applauded, but fell at the final hurdle, as Lord Sugar told him: ‘Your business is not up my alley mate’