Telly Mix

It’s an early start for the Apprentice 2012 contestants this week as Lord Sugar orders them to Waterloo station.

“You might be wondering what you’re doing, standing there in a tunnel. Look around you, because this is an example of what you’re going to be selling next,” Lord Sugar tells the candidates. “You’re going to organise the sale of urban art, tomorrow night, in two of London’s cutting edge galleries. You’re going to pick two artists to represent.”

The teams must choose two artists each and then sell their work to the public and a high end corporate client laid on by Lord Sugar. The team that makes the most commission will win and, on the losing team, one candidate will be fired. Which team will make an Impression, and who will set themselves up for a brush with Lord Sugar in the boardroom?

On Phoenix, Tom volunteers as Project Manager due to his knowledge of the subject, saying, “I know a bit about graffiti. I understand the art and the technicalities of how graffiti is produced, so I can tell the difference between what a good quality graffiti piece is and what a bad quality graffiti piece is.”

Gabrielle is picked as Project Manager on Sterling and, before they meet the artists, she briefs her team on their game plan: “Everyone that you meet, please show enthusiasm, listen to what they say and show your dedication, because at the end of the day they will be picking us to represent them.”

In Shoreditch, Laura and Tom meet with an artist known as Pure Evil. Tom tries to impress him with his knowledge of urban art, but Nick Hewer is not convinced that the meeting was entirely successful, “I think that’s Tom’s knowledge of the edgy urban art scene has gone pretty well for Phoenix but I don’t really think they have set out to demonstrate to the artist that they are the people to sell his work.” Tom, however, is pleased with how it went; telling Laura “I think he liked us.”

Hot on their heels, Gabrielle’s team meets with Pure Evil. Karren, overseeing proceedings, is impressed with the team leader’s behaviour and conduct, stating, “Gabrielle’s arty side comes to the fore in tasks like this. She’s very engaging; she talks to the artists on their own level.”

With both teams deciding that they want to represent Pure Evil, he gets to pick which of them he would like to represent him.

Pure Evil opts for Gabrielle’s team due to their enthusiasm for the work, leaving Tom devastated that he has not been chosen. Not coping well with the news, Tom is already prepared to admit defeat, stating, “It’s a no-win situation for us as we’ve lost Pure Evil.”

In the car back to the house a despondent Tom complains, “I’m not very happy, to be honest with you, not happy at all. At the end of the day, having expertise and having knowledge and rapport with people obviously counts for nothing, which doesn’t make any sense to me. I actually think he’s mental for going with them.”

Tune into The Apprentice 2012 tonight to see if Tom can overcome the setback, or whether bagging Pure Evil will secure a win for Gabrielle.