“The Apprentice” this week reached one of its regular highlights — the interview stage, when some of Alan Sugar’s business colleagues go through the candidates’ CVs and grill them on their strengths and weaknesses.

This week did not fail to disappoint. But did Sugar?

Was he cunning in his decision to take the unusual step of keeping four in the final, instead of the usual two, or did he just bottle it?

He got rid of “zany” Lucinda, who obviously would not fit in to his kind of organisation. But how can he say the remaining four deserved to go through because they were all good candidates?

These “good candidates” included a man who it was discovered had rather a large discrepancy on his CV and a guy who snitched on Lucinda in the boardroom about her job doubts.

We probably all add a little extra colour to our CVs, but saying you studied for two years when in fact you dropped out after four months is a glaring mistake. 

I can understand Lee may have an academic inferiority complex, but his integrity had been his strength up to then.

Alex’s behaviour just went to form. When he put up his hand and said “Please sir. Lucinda doesn’t want the job” he acted like all his 24 years.

So who does that leave?

Claire who seems unfazed by anything, but is in danger of being insensitive to everything, and the rather unappealing and ineffective Helene.

Now I see why Sugar found it so difficult to choose among them.