Radio Times

As a new bunch of Apprentice wannabes head to the boardroom for a grilling, we turn the tables on Sir Alan Sugar by asking a dozen friends of Radio Times to interrogate the grand inquisitor.

Dave Gorman (comedian): Sir Alan, do you really insist on being called 'Sir Alan'?

"No, not at all. I've stopped my wife calling me Sir Alan now. But people I've never met before should call me Sir Alan. It's got nothing to do with having a knighthood or anything like that. People shouldn't call me Alan if they don't know...

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With just over a week to go until the new series of reality business show The Apprentice kicks off (Wednesday 25 March, BBC1), we reveal the latest batch of candidates set to face Sir Alan Sugar across the boardroom table.

To learn more about the aspiring apprentices, and to see what they look like, click on the names below. Then tell us your thoughts and predictions.

Rocky Andrews, 21, sandwich chain owner

Debra Barr, 24, a senior sales consultant

Noorul Choudhury, 33, a science teacher

Ben Clarke, 22,...

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It's been a gruelling process, The Apprentice, hasn't it? I don't mean for the candidates, I mean for us, the faithful viewers! Twelve weeks of the main programme, with all its emotional highs and lows, followed by You're Fired!, plus - for the really dedicated - all those extras shows.

After seeing Sir Alan take the four remaining candidates out for a slap-up meal in a posh restaurant, it occurred to me: we deserve a treat too! Like Claire, I want three courses and champagne and cuddly Uncle Sir Alan exchanging friendly banter. Come on, Sir...

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Trips to Marrakesh, hot-air balloon rides and teas at the Ritz have detracted somewhat from Sir Alan's claim that The Apprentice is "the job interview from hell". But this week it was exactly that. The candidates faced gruelling one-to-ones with four of Sir Alan's business colleagues - each with their own special powers. They were introduced, respectively, as "no-nonsense", "ruthless", "a stickler for detail" and "a woman".

The Final Five (for Battlestar Galactica fans, that's candidates, not Cylons) were apparently in for a severe "probing", so no wonder Lee was worried about the fate of his rear...

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"I'm absolutely worn out," sighed Michael (well, nine weeks of lying, cheating and backstabbing will do that to you). And after the teams had been given their task of renting out luxury sports cars he took his Ferrari down a side street, presumably for a little snooze (he certainly wasn't going to do any business there).

Michael had already admitted he knew nothing about cars but in case we weren't convinced, his next choice of venue was a fruit and veg market on Portobello Road ("Get yer Ferraris 'ere! Just £65 an hour, yer tasty Italian Ferraris!")

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OK, hands up, who fell for it? This week, the teams were given the task of creating and advertising a brand of tissues and, admit it, when you watched the resulting TV ads, you thought Alpha had blown it.

The two schoolchildren sharing a tissue and a shy smile in Renaissance's ad were so cute, weren't they? And Alpha's effort was so naff, and garish, and laboured. It couldn’t possibly impress the watching ad executives.

That's what I thought – and then I remembered bellowing BARRY SCOTT!, the in-your-face advocate of miraculous, all-purpose cleaning product Cillit Bang! ...

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How is Michael still in this competition?! The task this week was to sell bridal gowns and paraphernalia at a wedding exhibition, and as a sales team, Michael and Sara were a marriage made in hell. Sara was painfully pushy but Michael's obsession with "closing deals" at all costs (and remember we're talking cup cakes here, not real estate) made me wonder if he hadn't seen Glengarry Glen Ross one too many times.

As Alex pointed out, Michael takes the aggressive approach he's learnt from working in telesales (and we've all had experience of how teeth-grindingly annoying...

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Ding-dong, the witch is dead! The wicked witch is dead! Yes, nasty, flame-haired Jenny finally had a bucket of cold water flung over her by Sir Alan (although instead of melting away like the real Wicked Witch of the West, she just took a taxi).

Throughout the series, Jenny has snipped and sniped at her own teammates (never mind her opponents) and, like many of the candidates, she was always Machiavellian in the boardroom.

But this week's task marked a new low. Jenny was at her most underhand, attempting to sabotage her opponents by bribing a shop...

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So, who wants to hear about my trip to the shops in search of Apprentice ice cream? Well, as an ice cream-tasting expedition it was fundamentally flawed (there was no ice cream, hence no tasting), but as a first stab at investigative journalism, I’m really quite pleased with it.

The manager of the shop confirmed that Claire’s team had indeed paid her a visit - back in June 2007! (I realise they don’t film the show on the week it’s broadcast, but who knew it lagged that far behind? It's strange to think that Sir Alan's Apprentice may...

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Wacky ice-cream flavours, Lucinda as project manager and the prospect of Claire being fired – all the ingredients for a deliciously indulgent bowlful of reality TV.

So, what flavour ice cream would you sell to the people of London? My favourite was Lee's homely "cup of tea" flavour, but Lucinda’s team settled on toffee-apple and avocado varieties (Lucinda championing the latter by donning an avocado-coloured suit). She also made Lindi her second in command, which reminded me of that toilet paper advert where the three-year-old's in charge of the company.

Early on in the series, I enjoyed...

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In a startlingly David Brent moment, Renaissance project manager Simon chose to demonstrate the concept of "glamour" by lying on the floor displaying his crotch to his bewildered team-mates. That was the image seared into their brains, then, as they headed off to start their photography task at Bluewater shopping centre.

Alpha, meanwhile, decided to hire a celebrity lookalike for their venture, and set up some auditions. An impressive (if several sizes too large) Del Boy was followed by an unremarkable-looking grey-haired man in a neat black suit. He claimed to be playing "the character of George". What,...

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Lucinda upped the sartorial ante this week, having apparently dressed herself from one of those bin bags you see torn open outside charity shops. She'd managed to grab a purple tartan beret, a hospital-green shawl and a zebra-striped skirt before the old lady arrived to open up.

The task was to bring themed cuisine to a traditional pub. When Michael suggested Italian, team leader Ian was excited. "It's a light bulb moment. Shoot it down or keep it up there." I must have missed that edition of Family Fortunes:

"Name something you do with a light bulb." "Shoot it...

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This week's task was to set up a laundry business from scratch - but someone had left a red sock in team Alpha's white wash... Raef manfully stepped up as project manager for team Renaissance, demonstrating from the beginning the focused and decisive style he'd bring to the role:

"I've got no problem, er, um, y'know with, with taking this, er, y'know straight by the, er..." He trailed off. There was silence as the rest of the boys gazed expectantly at their new leader. Time passed. Finally, "Horns!" they all shouted in exasperation. "Horns," Raef agreed, "Yeah,...

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