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As it happenedended

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The Apprentice episode 2: David Alden is fired as the boys' comic proves marginally more atrocious

The candidates were tasked with designing a new comic by Lord Sugar

Christopher Hooton

Wednesday 10 October 2018 23:04 BST

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The apprentice 2018: Sarah is the first to be fired

The Apprentice week 2 (10 October) saw the contestants tasked with creating their own comic books, Lord Sugar pointing out that they're a billion dollar industry.

Unfortunately, the challenge turned out to be an embarrassment for pretty much all involved. Both the boys and the girls' teams completely missing the target market of eight to 12-year-olds, creating comics that would struggle to keep a four-year-old's attention.

Here were the biggest talking points:

The boys dream up the least interesting superhero imaginable

After debating a number of banal, alliterative names for superheroes, the boys settled on "Benji from the Beyond". It wasn't exactly the most original or nuanced story, Benji managing to save the world with one zap of his blaster.

Benji had a diversity problem

And it wasn't spotted by one of the businessmen but a school child in their focus group.

The girls decide their protagonist will teach kids French, only none of them speak it

They dreamed up "MC Gogo", a red blob with legs and rainbow hair who visits the Eiffel Tower. From the moment a contestant wrote "bonjoir" (sic) on the storyboard, however, it was clear their French wasn't up to eight-year-old scratch. The retailers they pitched to were quick to pull them up on this.

Khadija has never heard of Kim Jong un

Somehow, the girls – led by Khadija – managed to secure more orders than the boys and were sent off to a climbing wall, while the boys huddled around Styrofoam cups of lukewarm tea down the caf'.

Khadija was hailed by Lord Sugar as ruling with the iron fist of a Vladimir Putin or a Kim Jong un. She later confessed however that she didn't know who the latter was.

Fantasy writer David didn't have the storytelling chops

Project manager Frank chose to bring Kurran and David back into the boardroom, all of whom received a thorough grilling by Lord Sugar.

Frank was criticised for Benji's bland concept, but it was David who got the boot, having bragged about his fantasy fiction writing on his CV only to turn in that sub-par comic. Don't expect to see his novels on the shelves anytime soon. Nevertheless, "I had so much more to give," he insisted on the cab ride home.

If you want to read how it went down moment-by-moment, please find what was our live coverage below:

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As ever, Sugar was joined by aides Karren Brady and Claude Littner this week. You can find out more about the 2018 candidates by flicking through the gallery below:

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Show all 16

1/16The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Tom Bunday

Age: 28 Occupation: Owner, Tree Surgery Firm Lives: Southampton Having struggled at school, Tom now runs a successful arboricultural (tree care) business. He says he’s drawn to situations that intimidate him and believes he can rise to any challenge. Tom believes his loyalty is one of his best qualities along with the fact he loves not knowing what is around the corner but admits he finds it difficult to ‘switch off’. He says: “There are very few people that can genuinely say they’re going to make it - but I know that I’m going to.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Sarah Ann Magson

Age: 37 Occupation: Solicitor Lives: Teesside Alongside her role as Director at a law firm, Sarah Ann has also run her own nursery furniture business since 2016. Although she says timekeeping and organisation aren’t her greatest strengths, Sarah Ann believes her loyalty, commitment and ability to remain calm under pressure are her best qualities and thinks that her skills and charm will outwit any of her competitors. She says: “I am used to laying down the law in the courtroom, but now I’m going to lay down the law in the boardroom.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Alex Finn

Age: 21 Occupation : IT Analyst Lives: The Wirral Alex believes his ‘gift of the gab’ is his best skill but admits that he can sometimes be too headstrong. Alongside his granddad, who invented the ‘Finn Chocolate Coater’ (a machine mould to coat chocolate bars and biscuits), Alex credits Elon Musk amongst his role models because ‘in business, he reaches for the stars, rather than everyone else who just aims to conquer the earth’. He says: “I know everything. Call me ‘Google’...it's my middle name.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Sian Gabbidon

Age: 25 Occupation: Owner, Swimwear Brand Lives: Leeds Sian owns and runs a swimwear fashion brand, with clients including celebrities and celebrity stylists. She identifies with Coco Chanel as a role model in business, as she ‘came from nothing and worked her way to the top’. She believes she has been brought up to win and every task will see her being calculated, collaborative and ruthless where necessary. She says: “I bring both the passion and the fire - in the boardroom, I will be merciless.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

David Alden

Age: 32 Occupation : Tax Advisor Lives : East Yorkshire David claims that he can speak to anyone about anything, though he gets frustrated when others don’t share his unwavering positivity. He also admits that being too trusting has been his downfall in the past. He says: “My friends and family call me the Duracell bunny as I take on so much and never stop. I just keep going.” Fired: week 2 David was booted off following the comics task, having bragged about his fantasy fiction writing on his CV only to turn in a week storyline for the boys' comic.

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Kayode Damali

Age: 26 Occupation: Professional Speaker Lives: Cheshire Professional speaker Kayode delivers talks to inspire young people all over the country. Brimming with ideas, Kayode throws himself into new ventures. With his name meaning ‘he brings us joy’, he believes his positive personality and natural likeability will lead to success in the boardroom. He says: “I’m not here to razzle dazzle and hit you with buzzwords like ‘I’m so motivated, passionate’…anyone can say those things and I’m not anyone, I’m Kayode Damali. If you’re not your own biggest fan, who do you expect to be it for you?”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Sabrina Stocker

Age: 22 Occupation: Owner, Tennis Events Company Lives: Middlesex Sabrina has had her eye on making money from the age of 14, when she set up a business selling retro sweets as part of a Young Enterprise Scheme. She cites Emma Watson as one of her role models because she’s ‘always clear-headed and makes good decisions, whilst still having elements of fun’. Sabrina says she can walk into a room and capture an audience but admits to sometimes making ‘silly comments’ before thinking. She plans to throw herself feet first into the process and use her positive energy to get involved in everything. She says: “I am a mix of Willy Wonka drinking an espresso martini… classy and sophisticated on the outside; inside, a little bit crazy and wacky but full of brilliant ideas.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Khadija Kalifa

Age: 28 Occupation: Owner, Eco Cleaning Company Lives: Lincolnshire Having run her own eco-friendly cleaning business for the past 3 years, Khadija considers her people skills to be her best business asset. She says her friends would describe her as being quick-witted, motivational and genuinely wanting to help others but she can have a bit of a ‘hot head’. Khadija looks up to Richard Branson in business for ‘his success and willingness to assist others’ and plans to be likeable but focused, though says she can be cut-throat when required. She says: “Whatever I say I’m going to make happen happens. I’m a serious Mumpreneur who doesn’t have time for timewasters and idiocy.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Camilla Ainsworth

Age: 22 Occupation: Owner, Nut Milk Brand Lives: Lancashire Camilla admits to being an adrenaline junkie and loves to try anything new and exciting; from skydiving to swimming with sharks. She believes her people skills are her biggest strength, although feels her openness and willingness to overshare can sometimes work against her. She says she will be ‘keeping her cards close to her chest’ in the process. She says: “I’m a bundle of energy and creativity and certainly a one off… ain’t no Vanilla Camilla”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Rick Monk

Age: 33 Occupation: Quality Controller Lives: Lancashire Rick says that one of his best qualities is his confidence and assertiveness and that being able to separate business from pleasure means he is good at getting the best from others. Rick believes befriending all the contestants will set him in good stead to get their backing in a task but warns he is a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ and will use this to his advantage. He says: “I won't pussyfoot and waste time, as time is of the essence in everything. People will have to like it or lump it.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Kurran Pooni

Age: 22 Occupation: Law Graduate Lives: London Kurran believes he has a keen creative eye and is confident that he’ll cope well with ‘managing egos’. He is inspired in business by his father who started his own airline. Kurran gets irked by people who are out for themselves rather than working collectively for the team and gets especially rattled by people who lie. He says that simply being himself will help him to breeze through the process. He says: “I’ll be honest, I don’t eat, sleep, breathe business but I do eat, sleep and breathe success.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Daniel Elahi

Age: 28 Occupation : Owner, Lifestyle Brand Lives : London Daniel set up his business in 2017 and likens himself to Jordan Belfort, the main character in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, because of his entrepreneurial skills and lavish, party lifestyle. He says: “I have the beauty and the brains, typically people only have one. I was blessed with both in abundance.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Sarah Byrne

Age: 29 Occupation: Owner, Children’s Acting Academy Lives: Manchester Sarah owns and runs an acting academy for children. Sarah says she wants to be a role model to her young daughter and hopes her hard work and life experience will aid her in the process. She admits she’s not good with business terminology and is angered by people in business who turn their noses up at the working-class demographic. Sarah hopes her charm and persuasive skills will see her through to the end and believes her creativity will be her biggest strength. She says: “I am me, I don’t have a posh accent or pretend to be anyone else. My personality sells me, my passion to succeed and work ethic.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Frank Brooks

Age: 27 Occupation: Senior Marketing Manager Lives: London Frank is a self-proclaimed ‘trendsetter’ who says he likes to push boundaries with his humour. He claims to use charisma and charm for both negotiating and building morale within a group. Frank admits he can sometimes play people off against each other to get what he wants. He says he can be brutal when he needs to be and does not stand for people who are lazy or shirk responsibility. He says: “There’s no need to watch your back when I’m already two steps in front.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Jackie Fast

Age: 34 Occupation: Sponsorship Consultant Lives: London Having sold her company in 2016 and published a business book in 2017, Jackie says she is a trailblazer within the sponsorship industry and wider business community and credits her success to her positive attitude. She admits she can be very opinionated and isn’t good at taking criticism, but hopes her commercial mind will see her through the process. She says: “I'm not intimidated by anybody, or anything.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

The Apprentice 2018: Meet the candidates

Jasmine Kundra

Age: 34 Occupation: Learning and Development Manager Lives: West Midlands Jasmine has built her career on training others to better themselves and develop their skills and says that she loves enabling and empowering people. She credits American philanthropist and life coach Tony Robbins as her role model and admires how he has built a global empire and success whilst also improving people’s lives. Jasmine admits to being very stubborn and says she likes to get her own way, however aims to use her charm and charisma to see her through the process. She says: “All is fair in love and war…and business is war.”

BBC/Boundless Taylor Herring

Last week we spoke to fired contestant Sarah about her time on the show: “[Lord Sugar] definitely made the wrong choice. I put 100 per cent effort into the task. I got two items.

“They said that I was disruptive, but at the end of the day without the items we would have failed even more than we did. He definitely made the wrong decision and I shouldn’t have gone.”

She also backed Sabrina and Kayode to win the fourteenth series.

The Apprentice airs every Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.

Hello and welcome to The Independent's Apprentice live-blog, following along with all the latest action as Lord Sugar attempts to find his new business partner.

j.shepherd10 October 2018 14:15

First up, make sure you're all caught up with the series by checking out last week's live-blog below.

Episode one of The Apprentice - as it happened

j.shepherd10 October 2018 14:15

You can also read our interview with Claude from just before the new series aired.

The Apprentice’s Claude Littner interview: ‘I’d be fired immediately’

j.shepherd10 October 2018 15:33

We're an hour out. The challenge in Malta was big last week, but when will The Apprentice go full Top Gear? I want to see businessmen fired out of cannons, goddamnit.

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 20:01

I would also like to see more current business tasks. How many memes is too many memes for your company's social pages? What charity initiative that has no relation to your product will you spearhead?

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 20:15

I've been meaning to masochistically watch back one of the Trump seasons of The Apprentice US. For now, this will have to do: the President of the United States, ladies and gentlemen...

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 20:29

Maybe The Apprentice season 38 will be to take over from Lord Sugar, and in the final week contestants have to battle him to the death in melee weapons-only combat.

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 20:42

Right, we're 10 minutes away. That is if I make it through the high drama of DIY SOS.

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 20:52

So this week is comic week! I'm sure Stan Lee is glued to the screen somewhere.

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 21:06

Teams have two days to create a comic for eight to 12-year-olds. Shouldn't be too hard for them to get into the mindset of that target market..

Christopher Hooton10 October 2018 21:08

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