The star of this second series was 27-year-old sales manager Ruth Badger, who bulldozed her way through the competition - her blunt, West Midlands accent and her direct approach to sales meant that, by the end of the process, "The Badger" had become a household name. All of this was just a bit too much for Sugar, who despite his own straight-talking approach, decided that Ruth was a bit on the direct side and that canny self-made Hull lass Michelle Dewberry deserved the £100,000 position. This did not put the Badger off. She soon crashed her way into her own daytime TV show, Badger or Bust
3. Have some childcare in place before you apply
"Global brand consultant" Katie Hopkins was one of The Apprentice's more memorable characters – her duplicity and cunning made her reality TV's greatest baddie since Big Brother's Nasty Nick. However, Sugar was a fan and he had named Hopkins as a finalist. But she decided to pull out of the process telling a decidedly unimpressed Sugar that she had forgotten to ask her parents whether they would be happy to look after her young children while she was at work. So if you have children, best to make that phone call before the series starts.
4. Know the difference between kosher and halal
Self-proclaimed "nice Jewish boy" Michael Sophocles went through series four by playing on his heimishe roots in the hope that Sugar would see something of his younger self in the 25-year-old telesales executive, His plan came spectacularly off the rails, however, when the contestants were sent to Marrakech to purchase a number of items - among them, a kosher chicken. Sophocles seemed to have no idea what constituted a kosher bird and ultimately asked a halal butcher to bless his chicken in order to make it kosher. Miraculously he survived the boardroom only to come a cropper four episodes later.
5. Turn up for the start
of the show
Mobile phone entrepreneur Adam Freeman seemed to have it all going for at the beginning of series five. Not only was he young and successful, he was Jewish and lived only a mile from Sugar's mansion, which meant that Sugar might have seen something of himself in Freeman (see rule 1 above). However when it came to the crunch, Freeman decided that he could not face being apart from his wife and young children for three months so he withdrew just before filming started. Sugar was showed his usual level of compassion. Freeman had "bottled it" he remarked. Let's hope they don't meet at shul.
6. Don't advocate
child labour
Communications expert Alex Epstein was shown the door by Sugar for a complete inability to communicate. His cleaning product and the TV advert designed to sell it were condemned by industry experts because he associated his Germ-o Nator brand with a young child. Karen Brady called it "a terrible idea" and Epstein, rather than cleaning up, was ejected from the boardroom
7. You don't have to win tasks if your business plan is good
Series seven winner Tom Pellereau proved that this was a process which could be won without appearing to be particularly successful. Inventor Pellereau lost eight tasks out of 11 including the first five. He also never won as project manager. Conversely, runner-up Helen Milligan won 10 out of 11. However, the format was changed for this series. Instead of offering the winner a £100,000 job, Sugar was for the first time investing £250,000 in the winner's business plan. With his eye for a profit, Sugar identified Pellereau, not as the shlemiel everyone assumed him to be but as a creative and innovative businessman.
8. Name yourself after
a Latino pop idol
Richard Martin deliberately named himself Ricky after the eponymous singer and was ridiculed not just for that but also for his self-importance. At various times during the show he labelled himself "the reflection of perfection" and the incarnation of Thor, the Norse thunder god. If that wasn't bad enough, in his interview, Martin's personal statement was described as "crass, obnoxious and infantile". However, Sugar was not put off. He liked Martin's business plan for a recruitment company specialising in science and technology appointments and his hunch seems to have paid off. Two years on, Martin's company is flourishing and Lord Sugar is no doubt living the vida loca on the back of it.
9. Pay attention to
your power point
Lord Sugar came close to hiring Luisa Zissman but she was let down by her final presentation, a poorly written business plan and Sugar's doubts over her commitment to their joint venture, However, there was a happy ending for Zissman, the cup-cake queen. Last year, she was appointed to the executive board of Jewish charity Laniado.
10. Remember who
you're talking to
"Multiple business owner" James Hill turned out to be one of the most unintentionally funny contestants in the show's history. The self-confessed Del Boy businessman went from one crass statement to another. Fortunately for him, Lord Sugar saw something of himself in Hill (see rule 1 above) but ultimately he endured one disaster too many. While attempting to secure a lucrative contract to sell hot tubs, Hill repeatedly addressed the business owner as "Derek" rather than his actual name of Anthony.
Having lost the deal, Hill lied to his team-mates that he had changed his mind and decided to sell lawn mowers instead. Sugar decided enough was enough and "with regret" fired Derek... er I mean Del Boy.
