Phil Turner and Rachel Woolford have reached the final of The Apprentice after a thrilling semi-final.
The Bognor Regis Pie company owner and fitness entrepreneur triumphed over Tre Lowe, Flo Edwards and Dr Paul Midha during the grueling week of intense interviews as they proved strong enough to withstand the heat.
After eleven challenging weeks, the pair will go head to head in next week’s final as they battle to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner and win his £250,000 investment.
On Thursday, some familiar faces returned as the final five candidates met with Lord Sugar’s most trusted advisers as business plans were grilled, CVs were shredded and white lies were exposed as the candidates battled their way to the final .
And it was Tre, Flo and Paul who unfortunately fell at the final hurdle, with Lord Sugar rejecting their business plans.
Phil Turner (pictured) and Rachel Woolford reached the final of The Apprentice after a thrilling semi-final.
The Bognor Regis Pie company owner and fitness entrepreneur triumphed over Tre Lowe, Flo Edwards and Dr. Paul Midha in a grueling week of intense interviews (Rachel pictured).
Claude called Tre’s business plan “woefully inadequate,” while Linda highlighted his lack of scientific evidence supporting his “testosterone injections.”
Mike then presented Tre with a sample of his own drink, based on the ingredients listed, and forced him to try it for the first time.
Mike accused Phil of misleading customers after saying his cake company was established in 1933, even though it first opened in 2012.
Linda then questioned her accounts and said she would have to raise prices to continue making a profit.
Rachel’s gym plan was criticized by Claude, who said she was “lacking proper numbers” after Claudine initially praised it, and Mike then savagely bought up her gyms’ domain names before her.
Both Claude and Linda said Paul had made the wrong choice in choosing a scrubbing company, calling it a “fairy tale.”
Eventually, it was discovered that Flo’s recruitment company shared a name with an existing company in Norwich and Claudine questioned its staff size.
In the most dramatic boardroom to date, Lord Sugar told music and wellness entrepreneur Tre: ‘Tre, I’ve always told people in this process that they will learn as they go, and that includes me. And I’ve learned that you’re a good guy.
After eleven challenging weeks, the pair will face off in next week’s final as they battle to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner and win his £250,000 investment.
On Thursday, some familiar faces returned as the final five candidates met with Lord Sugar’s most trusted advisers as they grilled each other’s business plans while battling it out.
However, his personality wasn’t enough for the business mogul, as he added: “Your business is not to my taste, friend, and so it is, with sincere regret: You’re fired!”
Recruitment consultant Flo was the next to go, as Lord Sugar explained: ‘Flo, I think you’ve underestimated how difficult it will be to start from scratch.
“It’s going to be hard and I lean over to Flo to tell her that I’m going to have to let you go.” I’m sorry. And I wish you much, much good. But Flo, you’re fired.
Finally, Paul, owner of Dental Group, also lost the opportunity to be Lord Sugar’s business partner, as he became the final candidate to face the line of fire.
‘Pablo, I wish you the best. But unfortunately, as you are not willing to share the whole business with me, I am afraid to say with great respect: “You are fired,” concluded Lord Sugar.
Claude called Tre’s business plan “woefully inadequate,” while Linda highlighted his lack of scientific evidence supporting his “testosterone injections.”
Mike accused Phil of misleading customers after saying his cake business was established in 1933, despite first opening in 2012.
Rachel’s gym plan was criticized by Claude, who said she was “lacking proper numbers” and Mike then wildly bought up the domain names for her gyms before her.
Both Claude and Linda said Paul (pictured) had chosen the wrong business by choosing a scrubbing company, calling it a “fairytale”.
Eventually, it was discovered that Flo’s recruitment company shared a name with an existing company in Norwich and Claudine questioned its staff size.
As Phil and Rachel celebrated their achievement after surviving the hardest day of the process so far, Phil saying: ‘I feel very proud of myself for reaching the final.
“It hasn’t been the easiest journey but I kept my head up, kept going every week and now I’m ready to give it one more chance to prove that Lord Sugar was right to see something in me and that I can be it.” his next business partner.
Meanwhile, Rachel added: “I can’t believe it’s gotten to this point.” This has been such a competitive series with incredible candidates that I am absolutely amazed.
“Reaching the final is a dream and I am very excited now to showcase my business that I have put my heart and soul into.”
The final episode of Apprentice will air on Thursday 18 April on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Tre Lowe soared throughout the series as his creativity was continually applauded, but he fell at the final hurdle, when Lord Sugar told him, “Your business is none of my business, mate.”