Sir Alan 'wanted to hire Kate too'

Kate Walsh has claimed that Sir Alan Sugar wanted to hire her as well as Apprentice winner Yasmina Siadatan.

The runner-up told the Sunday Mercury that she had no regrets about her performance on the show.

Walsh said: "Sir Alan phoned to say on Friday what the outcome was. He said he tried to get the BBC to let him hire us both but he wasn't allowed because of the format of the show.

"It's a massive compliment and he said we were the best people he's ever had in the final."

She added: "He's very shrewd. I was gutted to lose but I think in any job recruitment process the employer has a list of qualities in mind and perhaps Yasmina matched Sir Alan's spec."

Meanwhile, The Mirror claims that Walsh outperformed Siadatan when both worked for Sir Alan's Amscreen company before he decided the winner of this year's Apprentice.

The newspaper reports that Walsh was "furious" to lose on the show after she sold five times as many digital screens during their four-month stint at the firm.