Is it just me or has this series of The Apprentice seemed to last for ever? It feels like years ago that we were first introduced to the likes of Lorraine, Ben, Phillip and Kate, so much so that Wednesday nights pre-Apprentice are already becoming a distant memory (and what I’ll be watching at that time when it’s over, I have no idea). As series go, it’s had some memorably unpleasant personalities, some vintage tasks (who could forget ‘Pantsman?’) and plenty of moments which will be talked about long after Sir Alan has done his final bit of hiring and firing.

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Wednesday night’s edition saw the candidates whittled down from five to the two finalists, following a gruelling session of interviews with the standard bunch of hard-nosed businessmen (plus Karren Brady, football entrepreneuse extraordinaire). And yes, I am about to go into detail about who made the final cut and who was sent packing, so if you haven’t seen it yet and you don’t want to know, in the tradition of News At Ten football results look away NOW…….

What this annual interview session usually provides is a chance to see the remaining candidates squirm and crack under pressure – and this year was no exception. James, the sole remaining male candidate, was summarily torn to shreds by the interviewers even though his only fault appeared to be the fact he is a nice guy. Debra proved a tough nut to crack while Kate was polished and perfect – a bit too perfect according to some who compared her to a ‘robot’. And Lorraine? Well she just didn’t let anyone else get a word in edgeways.

Yasmina, meanwhile, came an almighty cropper when one of the interviewers brought into question the accounts for her restaurant. “How did you get those?” she asked with an almost clueless look on her face, failing to realise that in fact they were in the public domain and anyone can see them. Having been raked over the coals about the figures, she walked stiffly back to the waiting area where the others asked how it had gone.”Really well,” she told them without even blinking. “I enjoyed it actually.” Er……although actually I went off Yasmina early on in the series when she tried to get away with using Asda Smartprice tuna in the corporate catering task. As if she didn’t think anyone would notice the difference.

Eventually the interviewers gathered in the boardroom for a bitching session which pretty much stated the obvious when it came to the firings – that James was basically useless and was dispatched by Sir Alan so quickly that his feet barely had time to touch the boardroom ground; Lorraine, having been judged the wrong kind of person for his company, wasn’t far behind. Which left Yasmina, Kate and Debra – or rather Yasmina and Debra, after Sir Alan put Kate through to the final with a kind of crushing inevitability (surely it would be a major upset if she didn’t win……). Admitting that the second choice for the final was a really tough decision, he eventually let Debra go, having presumably decided her ruthlessness and penchant for expensive rocking horses was too much to bear.

So there you have it. It’s an all-female final – the first sice the Badger took on Michelle Dewberry – it’s Yasmina versus Kate, and it’s on Sunday. I know who my money’s on.