The Apprentice - series 5, ep 12: Yasmina proves sweet for Sugar

Yasmina won the fifth series of The Apprentice, narrowly beating Kate in what Sir Alan Sugar described as his toughest decision on the programme yet.

Both candidates were praised for their abilities, which were again in evidence in the final task.

Sir Alan had asked Kate and Yasmina to create and launch a brand new box of chocolates. The finalists were also responsible for marketing, a television ad and a pitch to industry experts.

Several of the previous candidates returned to help out. Interestingly, Kate avoided choosing Philip with whom she is still in a relationship.

Instead, she chose Ben, Debra, Kimberley and Rocky while Yasmina's team was Howard, Lorraine, James and Philip.

At the ideas stage, Kate stole a march with a “sensual sharing” concept of his and hers chocolates suggested by Ben.

Old habits die hard for Ben, though, as he tried to force a ‘sex sells’ twist on the campaign which Kate rejected swiftly.

Instead, Kate’s box design fitted well with the concept with a tray for her, a tray for him and one to share.

In contrast to Kate’s quick start, Yasmina’s group was struggling to come up with a unique idea.

James’s suggestion of chocolates being bought by a woman for a man seemed to be their only option.

But when they pitched their thoughts to a group of men and then to industry insiders, they realised it was going to be quite a hard sell.

It was looking as if Yasmina might be headed to a half-baked disaster like ‘Pantsman’ (which Philip remarkably still tried to defend).

And so she focused on a brand name instead. She soon came up with ‘Cocoa Electric’ and decided her theme would be the creation of innovative flavours.

Their box would be a simple design which opened from both sides leaving a striking shocking-pink-coloured electric bolt in the middle.

With Yasmina finally on her way to a rounded idea, it was now Kate who was struggling, particularly in terms of a brand name.

Her choice, called ‘Intimate’, raised Nick Hewer’s eyebrows and Debra suggested that when put on a box, it made the product look like panty-liners.

Kate was wary of making last minute changes but Ben, who was on form during this task, scored with his suggestion, ‘Choc d’Amour’.

With both contestants happy about their idea and their box design, the next stage of the task was to move onto choosing their chocolates, directing their television ad and preparing for the pitch.

Kate had put Kimberley in charge of directing her TV advert but stepped in herself when she realised she was playing it far too safe.

Kate gave the ad a slightly kinkier twist – so maybe Ben was right after all about sex selling, though she rightly rebuffed his ‘69’ box design.

Meanwhile, Ben, Debra and Rocky set about choosing the chocolate flavours and hiring props for the launch presentation.

This left Kate with another major decision. The quality of the chocolates suggested by her team mates required her to put up her retail price to £13.

By contrast, Yasmina decided to use much cheaper flavourings, allowing her to set her price at a much more reasonable £6.

But her television ad had less of a narrative and one of the actors complained about the taste of his basil sweet.

On the other part of Yasmina’s team, Philip was allowed to express his creative side.

He worked with James and Lorraine to choreograph the dancers and draw up a poster for the launch presentation.

At first, Yasmina said she was looking forward to the pitch, describing it as being “more exciting than getting married”.

But, as time wore on, the nerves increased. She remained unsure of her presentational style during the rehearsal, suffering a last-minute panic.

Even Kate, usually so collected, feared stage fright against which she said no one is immune.

As ever, though, Kate performed confidently and her campaign was well accepted in the room.

The main concern from the industry reps was unsurprisingly about the price and her hope to launch her chocolates as a mass-market product.

Yasmina also had little to worry about in the end and gave a clear pitch. There was, however, scepticism in the room over her flavours and whether her chocolates would have staying power.

Back in the boardroom, Sir Alan repeated the one main concern against each product but said that otherwise the finalists had done brilliantly.

After thanking the other contestants for their help, Sir Alan also asked Kate and Yasmina to leave the boardroom while he discussed his decision with his advisors.

On their return, both hopefuls were given a final chance to convince Sir Alan to hire them.

Kate highlighted her consistency throughout the series, saying she had done well in the soap and cereal tasks in particular.

She said her main motivation for the job was she felt Sir Alan’s company was the best place to develop her career and her aspiration to be a director.

Yasmina also pointed to her task record and the fine achievement of three wins out of three as project manager.

She added that she now had a wider repertoire of skills – in terms of presentational style – than previously.

And she batted away Sir Alan’s continued concerns over her own business. He raised the spectre of her 20 employees becoming unemployed but she replied they would be in safe hands with her brother.

It was enough to convince Sir Alan as Yasmina upset the odds.

He said: “It is a tough decision. You are the best that I have ever had in the final in this boardroom – that, I promise you. My instincts are telling me – Yasmina, you’re hired.”

In a victorious black cab ride, Yasmina said: “I do wish Kate all the best – she’s such a nice girl – but I don’t feel guilty for winning.

“I worked so hard and I kept my head down and just kept going. I do think that I deserve to win.”

And so ends another series of The Apprentice. It has proved a brilliant watch since February and its popularity has held strong at just under 9m viewers throughout the series.

One of its strengths is the refusal to change the winning format which has been in place since its earliest airings.

Needless to say, I sincerely hope that the loss of Margaret Mountford for series six will not lead to a wider overhaul of changes for next year.