So, we’re halfway through this series of the Apprentice, and that means the competition is hotting up, tasks are getting harder, scheming candidates are getting bitchier by the minute and Sir Alan is becoming ever more astute in his opinions of the remaining hopefuls. Which brings us nicely on to this week and the farewell to the Pants Man, as he will be now know forever (whether he likes it or not)…

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Last week’s task was one of the dullest on record, and to be fair this week’s wasn’t much better,although initially created some consternation among the candidates when informed they were packing for a trip away. Talk of possible locations, from Dubai to Switzerland, rang through the house although Phillip was more clear of his ideal task destination, preferring one which offered bikini-clad women. No doubt as to the general direction of his mind then.

As it happened, the candidates were sent up North to try and flog what looked like a load of random old tat to various firms and businesses. Most baffling of all the items were the various things laid on for the amusement of domestic pets – a feline fire engine, a fighter jet-type thing meant for cats (sorry but all of the cats I know would shred that flimsy looking cardboard into a million pieces in two seconds flat), and it was no surprise to see them struggling – this was, in every sense of the word, a thankless task. However Phillip, Ben and Kate found it so tough that they ended up selling nothing at all, under the auspices of team leader Lorraine, and it was with crushing inevitability that they found themselves defeated by team Empire, led by project manager Mona (and we can’t begin to described how thrilled James looked to actually be on the winning side for once).

Cue a great big massive boardroom wrangle in which Lorraine hinted at Kate and Phillip being an item – which is old news to us since it was in the papers weeks ago but clearly was news to Sir Alan. Faced with the impossible task of breaking up the lovebirds or getting rid of Lorraine, one of the few team members who did actually manage to sell something, he opted for the former, deciding that he didn’t like certain qualities of Phillip enough to want to save him.

He took it with good grace, even stopping to reflect that the one thing he is likely to be remember for is Pants Man.Er, yes. That is the kind of thing which can haunt a person for years afterwards, as Phillip may be about to discover. It was a primary topic of conversation on The Apprentice: You’re Fired straight afterwards – and rightly so, for who can honestly say they would forget such a thing? I suspect he may also be remembered for his broad regional accent, which made him sound suspiciously like the Geordie bloke off Alan Partridge and which also rendered him incomprehensible at moments of high emotion. And of course he’ll be remembered for his romance with Kate.

Next week the candidates get to go to Margate and try and improve its image. But for now, Pants Man – it’s been a blast.