Margaret: 'Sir Alan doesn't like yes-men'

Margaret Mountford has said that she is not afraid to tell Sir Alan Sugar what she really thinks in the boardroom on The Apprentice.

The corporate lawyer told the Daily Mail that Sir Alan was a shrewd operator who does not surround himself by people who echo his own views.

Mountford said: "He knows I tell him what I think without worrying if he agrees or not. He doesn't like yes-men. And he doesn't like small talk. He won't ask about your holiday.

"He's a very shrewd, clever man, and he judges people very carefully before he gives them a job."

She added that Sir Alan had once given her an "unnecessary insult" when he said that she "couldn't sell a box of matches" on a previous show.

"He was right: he knows I don't like selling. But I thought: 'Bloody hell! Why would I want to?' I've never thought of myself as a little matchgirl. I did remonstrate with him but that was all cut," she said.