The Apprentice: "Too zany for me"

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Well, I suppose it was inevitable, but it's still disappointing: this week's Apprentice was the last for the wonderful Lucinda. Having battled valiantly throughout the series against difficult tasks, new challenges and spiteful words, Cindy proved herself to be an extremely strong candidate. Unfortunately, she's applied for the wrong job.

Ordinarily, I would despise someone like her: she earns £100,000 a year yet claims not be driven by money; despite this wealth, she hadn't had a television set for the last five years; some of her qualifications are in herbal medicine. Ordinarily, I'd call her a rich, eccentric loon. But it proved impossible not to take a shine to her over the last eleven weeks.

Daring to stand out and be different – whether in attitude or expressed through an extraordinary array of Technicolour dresses – is a brave and admirable decision, but Sir Alan doesn't tolerate style over substance. Her performances in the challenges were also exemplary, winning eight out of ten tasks, two as project manager. Ultimately though, Lucinda would not have enjoyed working for Sir Alan, and I very much doubt he would have enjoyed employing her.

As predicted, "interview week" revealed some fascinating (and embarrassing) traits about the remaining candidates. Lee "That's what I'm talking about" McQueen is embarrassed about his formal education, and tried to 'improve' his record with some little white lies. If only he'd concentrated on improving his spelling. Alex Wotherspoon, 24, is so defensive about everything that it wouldn't surprise me if he was actually on an espionage mission. Claire Young has a worrying attraction to (wealthy) old men. Helene 'Breezeblock' Speight didn't really have any skeletons in the closet... and would be the dark horse of this competition if it were based on this week alone.

Highlights of the week:
▫ "It's like my ass is actually on the floor at the moment. I'm absolutely shitting myself" Literally.
▫ "You can all stay" – undoubtedly the right decision
▫ Luce on the beret-wearers' club: "I don't know who they are"

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