Do you look forward to this episode the same way the audience does?

Before I became an interviewer, this was always the episode I looked forward to most as a viewer. Of all the tasks, this is probably the toughest for all the candidates and it really sorts out those that can handle the pressure.

It makes great viewing because it’s the first time in the entire process that candidates are on their own. They have nobody else to blame for mistakes. It’s just them and the interviewer.

Can you remember a moment or a person that specifically impressed you during the interview stage?

By the time candidates get to this stage they are the best of the best. You don’t get this far in the process without being a bit special. I’ve been impressed with most of them.

Probably the one candidate who stands out more than anyone was Ricky Martin back in series 8. He had an answer for everything – and a good answer too – I couldn’t lay a glove on him! He has gone on to run probably the most successful of all the businesses Lord Sugar has invested into, to date, and I’m not surprised.

Have you ever been stumped or proven wrong in your interviews and if so, do you quite like for interviewees to do so?

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.

You have gone to some entertaining lengths to prove a point in these interviews previously. What has been your personal favourite method you’ve undertaken to highlight a point to a contestant?

A few years ago, Michaela Wain was a brilliant candidate, and she brought her business plan for a construction data company to the interview. My worry was that she already had so many businesses registered that she wouldn’t have time to run this one. She denied it, so I thought I would prove my theory by putting the documents for each of them inside document boxes and stacking them up, one for each business she had registered at Companies House. By the time it got to a stack of ten boxes Michaela finally conceded the point.

Do you see yourself as a hard/ tough interviewer?

I don’t think I’m particularly hard as a person, but I do ask tough questions and I am relentless in seeking the answers. My job is to make sure that Lord Sugar invests his money in the right person and the right idea, so I want to weed out those business plans that don’t stand up to scrutiny.

What do you view as your toughest question?

It’s normally when a candidate tells me something which I know to be inaccurate, and I have the physical proof that they are wrong. They’ll tell me their product is unique and I have three of them already in my desk drawer. So often my toughest question is a simple one: “Can you explain what these are then?” as I lay them out on the desk in front of them.

Have you been on the other side of an interview grilling like this? Can you tell us about your ‘toughest’ interview experience?

I think the interviews we do on The Apprentice are more like the meetings an entrepreneur has with a potential investor, or a venture capital company. You have an idea, they have funding, and they will only invest in one in 500 businesses they look at. Those meetings are very hard and very tense and if your plan and your presentation aren’t bulletproof, they will chew you up and spit you out. I’ve been there. You usually learn the hard way.

How did you prepare for these interviews?

I get the business plans and CVs of the final candidates about a week before the interviews. 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.

I’ve been an interviewer now on The Apprentice for 11 years, so of course I’ve had to learn about a really diverse range of businesses. Hairdressing, confectionary, gym chains, head-hunting, plumbing...all sorts.

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?

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.

Have you ever crumbled or felt the heat during a high pressurised situation?

Yes absolutely. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel the drama of a situation. I cried when I saw my wife to be walk down the aisle on our wedding day, almost 30 years ago now. So yes, I can tell you all about what it feels like to crumble!

What do you expect from the candidates on this day? What are you looking for?

I want an honest and realistic business plan from someone who is confident enough to prove that they can deliver it, and who can show that they are resilient in the face of challenging questions.

What constitutes as a failure of an interview?

In 55 interviews for the Apprentice, I’ve only ever had one candidate cry. Not because I was particularly nasty, but just because she was overwhelmed by the situation, and it had suddenly become obvious to her during our interview that her business was not stacking up. I really do like candidates to get their case across but at that point she was just too distressed to do that.

What makes candidates stand out?

The ones that stand out do so because they look and sound investible. The truth is that investors back people first and ideas second. Ideas always pivot and change, but people never change that much. As a business partner Lord Sugar knows he can add value to a business, but unless someone has that drive and potential as a person, they won’t get the funding.

What's your number one piece of advice for anyone setting up a new business?

Ask advice and tell people you know about your idea. Not just people who’ll agree with you, like your family, but sceptical people who’ll pick holes in it. Speak to potential customers and find out what products or services they use that are similar to yours: honestly ask yourself if what you are offering is genuinely unique. If your plan stands up to scrutiny, then it might – might – have a chance of success.

What are some of your techniques for getting the best out of the interviewee?

I just like to ask short, direct questions and then leave silence for them to fill either with a brilliant or – sometimes – a slightly ridiculous answer.