The new series of The Apprentice returns next week and the anticipation is already building.
Warning - some episode details given away
Sir Alan Sugar, minus his eye bags, launched the series today at the London Stock Exchange, although he appeared slightly more muted than in previous encounters with the press, barely attacking anyone (although he did get a dig in at the former CBI chief Sir Digby Jones who previously criticised The Apprentice. "I'm the one who is worth £800m," Sir Alan snapped).
Piers Morgan, who Sir Alan fired on the Comic Relief special, was given an easy ride even though the Amstrad boss alluded to off-screen tensions while he was even nice about some of the previous candidates, admitting he often felt sympathy for them. He singled Ben out from the last series, saying he went "too early" .
Come on Sir Alan!
Hacks were also shown the first episode of the new series, and your correspondent can report it's a corker. I can safely say series three will be appointment to view stuff.
There are 16 candidates this time - from a broader range of backgrounds than in previous series - all holed up in a huge town house in Notting Hill.
As well as his Bentley, Sir Alan also introduces us to his helicopter and in one funny scene lands in front of the candidates and nearly blows them away.
The apprentices are divided into groups of men and women to start with and there is much fun over their team names - the women come up with Stealth while the boys agree on Certus (Latin for 'certain' apparently), which is suggested by team member Tre.
However, Sir Alan quickly knocks this down when he reveals that the name is also that of a company Tre works at two-days a week. The boys look embarrassed and quickly come up with Eclipse instead.
The first task is selling coffee in Islington in central London, and the boys are spotted outside the Guardian's offices trying to flog their wares.
I am not allowed to tell you who gets fired - and of course I wouldn't want to give it away - but lets just say it is a good one.
There are also lots of funny lines, with Sir Alan at one point telling the apprentices: "This is no gameshow - there won't be some busty blonde waiting outside to hug you so that you can sob into her bosoms."
One of the apprentices comes out with the incomprehensible line: "I know life isn't always biscuits and sandwiches," while one dedicated soul declares: "We will work until we bleed! We treat every second like it's our last second."
The coffee challenge was also too much for one of the group, who admits: "Milk froths and expands and as a scientist I should have known that."
At today's launch, Sir Alan refused to commit to further series, joking he was on his way to lunch with Michael Grade, but with the high ratings for the Comic Relief specials, you can bet it's a certainty he won't be hearing the words "You're fired!" any time soon.
