Adam Corbally’s Apprentice verdict: James is the one that got away
James Hill’s car boot sale strategy was inadequate – anyone can sell ten pound notes for a fiver, says the former candidate
The Apprentice took us on the excursion from hell last night, as the two teams attempted to sell coach trips out of London to an unsuspecting public. After a failed attempt to wow punters with her knowledge of Anne Boleyn – and with the sound of nursery favourite "Wheels on the bus" ringing in her ears – it was Jemma Bird that faced Lord Sugar’s firing finger of doom.
“Gemma, you’ve always been 'the girl that nearly wins', and I’m sorry to say that you’re not going to win on this occasion: you’re fired,” Lord Sugar said.
But James "we’ve-worked-our-ball-offs" Hill almost went and, as far as former candidate Adam Corbally is concerned, he’s the “one that got away”.
“James thinks he’s a master salesman. He’s never done a real sale. He doesn’t have a clue about cost-price, sale-price and profit,” says Corbally.
“He’s got a car boot sale-style strategy… anyone can sell ten pound notes for a fiver!”
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People seem to be scared to take James into the boardroom, Corbally muses. “There’s no need. Give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself. He’ll throw his toys of out the pram.”
He certainly thinks there was more to see from Jemma. “She didn’t try and pin the blame on everyone else. The other candidates are all pinning the blame on each other before the tasks have even ended. They're all saying from the very beginning, 'We’re going to fail because of this, this and this'. It’s not how you do business.”
One man taking a lot of the blame was project manager Daniel Lassman, whose team actually won. Corbally can see why. “He looks like he’s hit rock bottom after a week in Vegas. He looks terrible. As I’ve said from the beginning, he’s just a bit clueless.”
The Apprentice continues Wednesdays at 9:00pm on BBC1
