The Apprentice (UK series two)

The Apprentice UK
 
 

Series Two

Series Two of The Apprentice (UK) is a British reality television series, that was broadcast in the UK during 2006, on BBC Two from 22 February to 10 May 2006, maintaining its timeslot within Wednesday evenings. Owing to it being a second series of the UK version, Lord Alan Sugar (then Sir Alan at the time of broadcast) reprised his role as the boss, with Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford returning as his advisers and team observers. The series was won by Michelle Dewberry.

In addition to a second series being commissioned by the BBC, the network also introcuded a companion discussion program called The Apprentice: You're Fired! which was aired on BBC Three alongside the series, interviewing all the candidates who were fired each week, including both the winner and the runner-up at the end.

The series also appeared on Australian TV network, Channel Seven, under the title of Sir Alan Sugar: The Apprentice, so as to distinguish it from the US version, and premiered on 27 August 2008, during a 9:30pm timeslot. Despite heavy promotion of the series during Seven's Olympic coverage, the series only rated 583,000 viewers nationally, which was third for its timeslot,[1] so Seven shifted the programme to a later slot of 10:30pm the following week, but were unable to stop the ratings decreasing. The series also aired on Australian pay TV channel, UKTV.

Candidates

Candidate Background Original team Age Result
Michelle Dewberry Telecoms Consultant Velocity 26 Hired by Sugar
Ruth Badger Sales Manager Velocity 27 Runner-up
Ansell Henry Sales Manager Invicta 34 Fired in week 11
Paul Tulip Headhunter Invicta 26 Fired in week 11
Syed Ahmed Entrepreneur Invicta 31 Fired in week 10
Tuan Le Financial Adviser Invicta 27 Fired in week 9
Sharon McAllister Business Lecturer Velocity 30 Fired in week 8
Samuel Judah Product Developer Invicta 35 Fired in week 7
Jo Cameron Human Resources Manager Velocity 35 Fired in week 6
Mani Sandher Management Consultant Invicta 39 Fired in week 5
Alexa Tilley Management Consultant Velocity 28 Fired in week 4
Karen Bremner Lawyer Velocity 34 Fired in week 3
Nargis Ara PhD Student Velocity 38 Fired in week 2
Ben Stanberry IT Consultant Invicta 33 Fired in week 1

As in the first series, there were fourteen candidates and they were initially separated into two teams by gender. The women chose the name Velocity for their team, while the men named their team Invicta. This was the first UK series in which every candidate had a chance to be a project manager at some point. This occurred again in the first series of Junior Apprentice.

Weekly Result

Candidate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Michelle IN IN IN IN IN IN LOSE IN WIN IN IN HIRED
Ruth IN IN IN IN LOSE IN BR WIN BR BR IN RUNNER-UP
Ansell IN IN IN IN IN LOSE IN IN IN IN FIRED
Paul IN IN IN IN WIN IN IN IN IN WIN FIRED
Syed BR IN WIN BR IN IN IN LOSE BR FIRED
Tuan IN IN IN BR IN IN WIN BR FIRED
Sharon IN IN IN IN IN WIN IN FIRED
Samuel BR WIN IN IN IN BR FIRED
Jo IN BR LOSE IN BR FIRED
Mani IN IN IN WIN FIRED
Alexa IN IN BR FIRED
Karen WIN BR FIRED
Nargis IN FIRED
Ben FIRED
     The candidate was hired and won The Apprentice.
     The candidate was the runner up.
     The candidate won as project manager on his/her team.
     The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team.
     The candidate was on the winning team; for Week 11, they managed to pass the Interview stage.
     The candidate was on the losing team.
     The candidate was brought to the final boardroom.
     The candidate was fired.
     The candidate lost as project manager and was fired.

Teams

Candidate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Michelle Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Invicta Invicta Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Interviews Winner
Ruth Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Invicta Invicta Interviews Runner-Up
Ansell Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Interviews
Paul Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Velocity Velocity Interviews
Syed Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta
Tuan Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta
Sharon Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta
Samuel Invicta Invicta Invicta Invicta Velocity Velocity Velocity
Jo Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity Velocity
Mani Invicta Invicta Invicta Velocity Velocity
Alexa Velocity Velocity Velocity Invicta
Karen Velocity Velocity Velocity
Nargis Velocity Velocity
Ben Invicta

Episodes

Week 1: Fruit and Veg

Week 2: Calendar Club

Week 3: Buying the Tire

Week 4: A Hundred Chickens

Week 5: The Amsair Card

Week 6: Second-Hand Automobiles

Week 7: Selling in Topshop

Week 8: Selling to the Trade

Week 9: Property Sales

Week 10: Moet & Chandon

Week 11: Interviews

Week 12: The Final

Criticism and controversy

Mani Sandher

A year after he left the show, contestant Mani Sandher sent in a complaint to the BBC claiming that he was unfairly portrayed. The complaint was subsequently rejected by the BBC with the BBC Trust subsequently adding that the editing did not mislead the audience and "fairly reflected" his role in the task. They added that Sandher was aware the programme was subject to editing. The makers of the programme refuted suggestions that Mani's portrayal had been defamatory, saying the show's cut and commentary were "checked and re-checked" to ensure fairness to the candidates. Sandher, who was appealing against an earlier dismissal of his complaint, claimed his direct response to a question had been cut during a sales presentation to pitch a charity calendar in the series. He added it gave the impression that he had failed to consider pricing policy which he maintained the programme's edits revealed that he had addressed. The Editorial Complaints Unit said "fairness does not require broadcasting a whole of a particular exchange".[3]

Tuan Le

In Week 7, candidate Tuan Le suffered from food poisoning throughout the entire task, as did a member of the production crew, severely limiting the contribution he could make. He was given the option of sitting out and not facing the boardroom, but opted to participate.

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[4]

Episode
no.
Airdate Viewers
(millions)
BBC Two
weekly ranking
1 22 February 2006 3.65 2
2 1 March 2006 3.51 2
3 8 March 2006 4.20 1
4 15 March 2006 4.11 1
5 22 March 2006 4.03 2
6 29 March 2006 4.45 1
7 5 April 2006 4.26 1
8 12 April 2006 4.58 1
9 19 April 2006 4.76 1
10 26 April 2006 4.68 1
11 3 May 2006 4.98 1
12 10 May 2006 5.95 1

Specials

Episode
no.
Airdate Viewers
(millions)
BBC Two
weekly ranking
Tim in the Firing Line
19 February 2006 2.26 25

References

  1. "TV Tonight: Week 35 Ratings". David Knox. 11 September 2008.
  2. Teeman, Tim (10 May 2006). "There's only one Apprentice". London: The Times Online. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6226346.stm
  4. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Apprentice (UK)
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Sir Alan Sugar
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