The Apprentice: the Final, TV review: Not time to present the format with its P45 just yet

As someone who hasn’t followed the show for years, I was surprised how enjoyable it was to return

(PA)

By now you’ll know who triumphed in The Apprentice: the Final. But, as always, the real question of the series has been: can the gap between the contestants’ hubris and the toe-curling ineptitude with which they perform their allotted tasks grow any wider? And the answer has been an emphatic “yes”.

Nevertheless, I must admit that, as I followed the last man and woman standing as they prepared for their last pitch to 200 potential investors, I found myself warming to them.

Joe’s attempt to launch a smart technology -based plumbing business (and make a promo video that didn’t look “a bit too Seventies porn”) and Vana’s development of a game-based dating app, with input from a “professor of desire” at Oxford, certainly had car-crash moments to spare.

Still, both had a genuine passion and enthusiasm for their ideas. And I found myself wondering how I’d fare, given just 48 hours to convince the world that I deserved £250,000 worth of backing.

My personal winner was Joe, but both were TV gold. As someone who hasn’t followed the show for years, I was surprised how enjoyable it was to return. Maybe it’s not time to present the format with its P45 just yet.