The Apprentice: Gavin is the third person to be fired

It was third time unlucky for Gavin Winstanley last night, after Alan Sugar decided he wouldn’t be returning to the boardroom again.

The salesman, who nominated himself as PM for Logic, now made up of male and female contestants, was fired for not taking charge of the task, which saw the team only loose by £8, but secure just six out of the ten items from a shopping list for the Savoy Hotel. They spent a total of £1,389.20, from a possible £2,000, minus a fine of £312.68 for their missing items.

‘According to Karen you set guidelines but no-one took any notice, why’, said Alan to Gavin? ‘I don’t know’, he replied. ‘Your resume says you’re a good manager of people, you’re words not mine’, claimed Sugar.  The business mind also brought up the fact that the team, under Gavin’s guidance, had wasted three hours after the brief at the hotel faffing about, rather than going out to source items, some which they failed to identify, believing, at one point, that a cloche was a mini greenhouse.

‘Because the task was out of hand, Gavin you’re fired’, said Lord Sugar.

Zoe and Vincent, who Gavin took to the boardroom with him, had a lucky escape. Despite Vincent being blamed for the failure of the task, having sourced items but not picked them up, and for his despicable management style, which saw him undermine his team mates, something which Alan said he didn’t like, he was sent back to the house. Whereas Zoe, who failed to make any negotiations and said the problem was logistics, not having time to travel from one location to another, was told by Sugar to do more. ‘I’ll be watching’, he said.

Team Venture, who were treated to a circus style performance at a London bar for winning the task, got nine out of ten goods from the list, and spent a total of £1,381.69. However, they paid over the odds for most items, buying tea for £400, originally priced at £999. The problem? Going to expensive stores in pricey areas. We wanted the best quality for the hotel, reasoned Susan, the PM.

‘Where are your brains’, said Lord Sugar. ‘How can tea be worth £999, it must have given you a clue when they accepted £400?’

Next week, the teams must become beauticians in a race to sell treatments to the unsuspecting public.

What I watched last night

Having worked as a waitress while at Uni I can sympathise with the trainees taking part in BBC2's Michel Roux's Service, which sees a group of jobless teenagers taught how to serve guests in Michellin starred restaurants.

However, unlike my pub restaurant job, its all work and no play for the recruits, who in last night's episode proved they were completely out of their depth having failed the basics. Their misdemeanours included serving cold food to customers, making diners wait 30 mins for tables to be cleared, and swearing and arguing at each other in the middle of service. Perhaps it was too early to let them loose on real customers at a branch of Italian restaurant Zizzi's, after all they only had a couple of days training and we are talking about a group of clueless teenagers.

They certainly have a lot to learn if two of them at the end of eight part series are to be awarded a scholarship to study at the Academy of Food and Wine.

Wednesday's 8pm BBC2.

Breaking soap news

It has been reported that Samantha Womack, the actress who plays Ronnie in Eastenders, is to leave the soap in May. Apparently Samantha handed her notice to bosses at the BBC after reading the controversial storyline in which she swaps her baby after he dies from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, scenes that aired in the New Year.

Earlier Run VT revealed that soap bosses planned on continuing the storyline for many years, however this now may not be the case, with rumours spreading that Ronnie is soon to confess all to Kat.

Watch this space…

What I watched last night....

BBC 3 -Sun, Sex and Suspicious parents

In the first episode of this tame BBC documentary, which encourages parents to spy on their teenagers enjoying their first holiday with friends, eighteen-year-old Joe and Millie let loose (?) on the party island of Malia, supposedly oblivious to the fact that their parents had flown to the island and were spying on them.

The teens, along with their group of friends, enjoyed late night antics, drinking and relaxing by the pool. However despite this being the first holiday without their parents, they failed to make the most of the five days, with Joe the most adventurous daring to wear pink nail varnish and dress in a skirt, attracting unwanted male attention. Millie’s holiday was even more dull, with her and her friends visiting only one club and ordering soft drinks on a night out, boring. Given the choice I would have chosen to be their parents, enjoying a free holiday and spying on their teens, much more exciting.

Surprisingly at the end of the programme when the parents sprung it on their teens they had been watching them, both Joe and Millie didn’t seem too bothered or embarrassed in front of their mates that their parents felt the need to check up on them.

What I watched on TV last night....

Top Gear- 8pm BBC 2 (part 1 of Christmas special)

Last night's programme was back on track, with the guys back to their usual antics in a bid to see who could get to NYC the quickest driving the world's top sports cars. It was just like the old days, with the three of them teasing each other and pulling out all the stunts to be crowned the winner and discover the world's greatest sports car.

I predict next week's episode will not be one to miss.

The Savoy-9pm ITV (2/2)

You have to feel sorry for the staff at The Savoy hotel, who have to meet some ridiculous demands made by high society guests.

In last night's episode, the last of the mini series, of the behind the scenes docu-soap, staff prepared for the arrival of the new owner and his entourage from Saudi Arabia, spending hours deliberating over where to place a bowl of fruit in his hotel suite.

It got even more ridiculous on his arrival when staff had to meet his requests of black slippers- not white, a steady temperature of 17.5 degrees, and for all light to be shut out at night- including covering up the light on the suite's telephone.

A job at the Savoy, I would rather serve a prison sentence.