MSN's official The Apprentice special (Image © BBC)
by Lorna Cooper, TV Editor

Yasmina's Hired!

Yasmina Siadatan (Image © BBC/Talkback Thames)

Sir Alan Sugar has separated the wheat from the chaff, with the invaluable input of trusted aides Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford, and found his new Apprentice: it's Yasmina Siadatan.

In a shock decision, the restaurant owner was hired despite rival Kate Walsh being in a good position to win. Yasmina triumphed after the final task which saw the women battle it out to create a new brand of chocolates.

Naturally, they had to pitch their idea to a roomful of industry experts. Kate and her team, which was made up of former contestants Debra Barr, Ben Clarke, Kimberly Davis and Rocky Andrews, designed a box of chocolates for couples. The concept was praised by Sir Alan but he said charging £13 for a box was not commercially viable, especially in these economic times.

Yasmina's team, made up of Howard Ebison, Philip Taylor, James McQuillan and Lorraine Tighe, created a brand called Cocoa Electric which was designed to 'shock' with flavours such as basil and strawberry, and chilli-flavoured popping candy. Sir Alan told her that the branding and pricing were excellent but that the taste - which even caused one model to spit out a chocolate after filming the advert - needed work.

After winning, Yasmina said: "I don't feel like I've beaten Kate because I feel we both deserved that job, and we feel we just had different qualities and Sir Alan needed my qualities over hers. He described it in a nutshell when he said, 'I can't put it into words why I chose Yasmina, it was just a gut instinct'."

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of another series. We will say goodbye to Margaret Mountford, who has announced that she's quitting. Will someone say 'you're fired' to Surrallan? He is now, after all, an Enterprise Tsar for the government. Will he be back next year? In the meantime, we're handing out the MSN Awards for The Apprentice 2009. What was the worst idea since Jar Jar Binks? Who was the Best Bitch? Who is this year's Most Entertaining Contestant? The answers are revealed in the gallery… 

The views in this column/blog are those of the author alone and not of MSN or Microsoft

© PA, additional reporting by Lorna Cooper

Yasmina Siadatan
Anita Shah
Majid Nagra
Ben Clarke
Rocky Andrews
Ben Clarke gets fit
Majid Nagra gets fired
Kate Walsh
Paula Jones and Ben Clarke
Kate Walsh
Philip Taylor singing
Howard Ebison and Lorraine Tighe with Pants Man
Mona Lewis
Treasure Flakes mascot
Kimberly Davis
Mona Lewis, Philip Taylor and Lorraine Tighe
Philip Taylor and Lorraine Tighe
Noorul Choudhury
Debra Barr
Philip Taylor and Kate Walsh
Lorraine Tighe
James McQuillan
Ben Clarke gets fired
Lorraine Tighe and Howard Ebison
Lorraine Tighe
Sir Alan Sugar
Nick Hewer
Margaret Mountford
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