The Apprentice's Mike Soutar has said he relishes the fight when candidates talk back to him.
Next week the final five candidates in this year's series - Dani Donovan, Marnie Swindells, Megan Hornby, Rochelle Raye Anthony and Victoria Goulbourne - will take on the dreaded interviews stage of the process, as Lord Sugar's closest confidantes grill them on their business plans.
Soutar, who has been an interviewer since series seven in 2011, is known for his forensic approach to his questioning and often manages to trip the candidates up on the claims in their CVs and proposals.
"I get the business plans and CVs of the final candidates about a week before the interviews," he said. "Before I moved into business, I was a journalist, so there's a part of me that really enjoys the research process.
"I like to start by researching the business sector they are launching into. It's not easy to write a good business plan, so I think it's important for me to respect that and spend time getting a feel for the type of business they want to launch or expand with Lord Sugar's investment. I'll often call up people I know who work in those industries to ask them for insights into things like profit margins and costs.
"Then I like to get under the skin of the financials they are pitching for investment of Lord Sugar's £250k. Have they considered all of the risks? Is it too optimistic? Do their figures add up?"
He continued: "Sometimes it's obvious in the interview that the candidates themselves haven't really fully worked up their own business plan. Perhaps they don't believe they're ever going to get this far in the process, so they don't spend the time really honing the plan. Then all of a sudden they're sitting in front of me and I'm asking them questions they don't know the answers to.
"Finally, I like to research the candidates themselves. It's the fun bit. In the digital age, everyone leaves a big footprint – what they post on social, what they've registered at Companies House, mistakes they've made, and things they've 'conveniently' neglected to mention. It all builds a picture of the candidate and gives me plenty of interesting lines of enquiry."
On back-and-forth with the candidates, he added: "I love it when candidates argue back. It's normally the start of a really entertaining interview when they do that.
"I remember Elizabeth McKenna from 2017 just would not accept that she was argumentative with customers in her florist shop. And then I read her the reviews that proved she was."
The Apprentice continues Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Neil Wilkes
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