The Apprentice: reflections at week 10

It was my original intention to post a weekly analysis of The Apprentice; as always, however, events and sheer laziness conspired otherwise. So, here we are at week 10: what do I think so far?

Initially it appeared the same as at the start of the second series: all the contestants (surely applicants?) were so similar, no one appeared particularly brilliant, etc. It didn't take long though for characters to emerge. First among these was Tre, whose robust manner and terse speech quickly marked him out. As Adrian Chiles remarked (on You're Fired!, which follows the programme on BBC2), he could have a "PhD in concision" (why waste 5 words when one expletive will do?) but wouldn't say anything behind your back that he wouldn't say to your face - as his open misogyny attests. This is in stark contrast to the "evil" Katie, who, although impressive to begin with, quickly degenerated into some crazed pantomime villain, taking great pleasure in plotting her enemies' violent demise.

One individual I felt sorry for was Geri, who went far too early to really show the true extent of her abilities. She was intelligent and motivated, although I fear Sir Alan misconstrued her cool manner for complacency - not an unforgivable crime when you are surrounded by such inept characters as Ghazal (whose self-assessment was invariably "Everything's fine") and Sophie (who seemed to feel guilty when making anything other than a small margin). Her downfall was being nominally in charge of "location", which, given the flawed project management, was an impossible task. Her ample figure might also have been a (shameful) factor, dare I say it.

I also felt sympathetic towards Adam, who at times spoke a lot of sense and could be ruthless when necessary. Sadly, Southern tribalism seemed to militate against the poor bloke, who faced a vicious mimic in the form of Simon. Pitched against the articulate Katie, his comparatively monotonous Northern tones meant he was simply unable to argue as powerfully when deprived of any water-tight points to discredit her. Katie, however, should be ashamed of her patronising attitude.

Who do I think will win? My money would be on Kristina; she's shrewd, ruthless and confident with a good dose of common sense thrown in. To my delight, it would seem Katie comes unstuck at the interview stage when her flirtatious style is stripped away to reveal a paucity of substance. Nevertheless, I won't be placing any bets just yet...