'The Apprentice': Chris Bates's verdict

Chris Bates was pipped to the Apprentice crown last year by Stella English, but he remains the youngest ever finalist on the BBC reality show. Currently working with Dragons' Den star James Caan at Hamilton Bradshaw, Bates's career has been booming since last year's Christmas finale. But what does the Notts uni student make of this year's candidates? Chris gives his exclusive verdict to Reality Bites:

Felicity Jackson
"I think it was the right decision. She was very dismissive of her team and in particular Tom, who might have been stating the obvious a lot of the time, but that's no reason to dismiss someone. She did that and then ignored the obvious things he was pointing out. From there she lost sight of the task and didn't spot where the main revenue would be made. The writing was on the wall from the start for Felicity."

Vincent Disneur
"I think his time is running out, which is a shame, because I do find him quite entertaining. He is probably the most entertaining character of the series, but probably for the wrong reasons. He doesn't seem to contribute much on the business side other than rubbing people up the wrong way - almost literally from what I've heard as well. His smarm offensive is good to watch, but I don't think he's got much legs in the contest. He needs to project manage and have a good week to last much longer."

Tom Pellereau
"I think he's got a lot of potential. In previous years, I don't think Tom would have had much of a chance, because Lord Sugar was looking for an employee and he wanted sales-orientated people. Tom is more of an ideas' man and off the wall in many respects. But when starting a business, Tom will provide ideas on a regular basis and that's a real string to his bow. He's a definite contender."

Susan Ma
"I think Susan has some great qualities. Her skincare business is quite successful and on the show she managed a team quite well. But I think there's an element of immaturity there, especially when taking criticism. She doesn't seem to like criticism and she's a bit sulky. There's not enough time on The Apprentice to sulk about things. Susan has a lot of potential, but the show may have come a bit too early for her. She needs to learn more about dealing with different personalities and is probably too sensitive."

Leon Doyle
"Leon is a difficult one to work out. He had a pretty bad first few weeks and was a bad project manager. When you see someone getting talked out of their boardroom decisions, you have to question their personality and character. But then again, last night he did show some sales skills with that weird little finger thing. I didn't get that, but it worked, so fair play to him. I wouldn't be totally surprised to see him the final five."

Jim Eastwood
"I think Jim is the frontrunner at the moment. He has easily performed the best so far. Whether he will actually win the thing, I'm not sure. He's started bigging himself up a bit too much. Unfortunately, I think his positive performances have gone to his head and we saw that last night when he described himself as "the cavalry" and his behaviour when Leon tried to take him back in the boardroom and he derided the other candidates. He has an air of superiority about him and he's not been absolutely exceptional to justify it. My gut instinct tells me that as the process goes on, we may see another side of Jim."

The Apprentice continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.

Read more from Chris Bates on chriswbates.com or follow his Twitter @ChrisWBates

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