WITH 20 candidates, it had to happen one week, didn’t it?

Lord Sugar is certainly not messing around this year, with the first triple firing in the show’s 10-year history.

I was tweeting throughout the show and though some suggested to me that this was done as a stunt, the general opinion I received was that this was the right decision.

I also know first-hand how seriously Lord Sugar takes this process, so for me the right decision was made.

The video tasks are always good fun, and last night was no different. As with most of the tasks, the aim was extremely simple – to create a YouTube channel, with the winning team being the one that gets the most views. But as usual, the teams made a real dog’s dinner of the whole thing.

I woke up this morning with the sound of 'Fat Daddy, Thin Daddy, Fat Daddy, Thin Daddy' running through my head – catchy, but for all the wrong reasons. 

The attempt at humour clearly failed, and this was demonstrated by the reaction they got when pitching to BuzzFeed.

Having worked in this market, I know how important it is to be clear on your approach – all humour or a much more serious message on getting fit.

I felt so sorry for Felipe – I understand that being self-deprecating is at times a useful trait, but towards the end it felt like bullying.

Lord Sugar summed it up perfectly with his quote of 'Felipe is as fat as James is funny' – not at all being his point!

Before we move on to the three booted candidates, I have to comment on James, who you cannot deny makes his presence felt (although not always for the right reasons).

His attempt at the goofy sidekick in Dare to Dine completely missed the target audience, and was more cringeworthy than funny.

I like James, but I feel he has to get serious and show his business acumen rather than being the joker in the pack if he wants to progress.

Stephen is a great character and the process will miss him, for the comedy value if nothing else.

I couldn’t work with him for more than two seconds, but I can listen to his ‘potatoes gleaming in the sun’ line forever. 

That said, he just didn’t gel with his fellow candidates and ended up being ignored. I can also say that he wouldn’t have lasted five minutes with Lord Sugar. 

In this task, his undoing was his woeful attempt at pitching. It was painful to watch, so much so that I almost had to turn it off – he just made no sense. 

When pitching, you have to be prepared, otherwise it’s very easy to lose your way and ramble, and that’s exactly what he did.

At least he can look at one positive from his sacking, in his own words, as he’s already done that hardest first step in his 100-mile journey home!

As for the two girls, they were both gone as soon as their team lost.

Ella Jane had no control over the task, and almost pretended she had greater expertise than she did.

I felt for her in the boardroom, begging to stay in the process after being fired, but she is young and will progress.

However, she doesn’t have a great record – she’s never even had a job and has already heard ‘you’re fired’ three times!

On the other hand, I feel no sympathy for Sarah. She instantly alienated the entire girls’ team as project manager in task one, and from that point on has done nothing but cause arguments.

Possibly good for the television audience, but never for business. Could you go into business with her?

My one to watch this week is easy – Solomon. He was a strong and decisive leader, and unlike many previous PMs, can take full credit for the victory of the task.

His decision to go with Ollie was a smart move, as ultimately 'following the numbers' leads to success. As well as Solomon, Mark is quietly going about his business very effectively, and at the minute is my tip for the dark horse.

Neil Clough was a semi-finalist in the 2013 series of The Apprentice. He grew up in Warrington and attended Woolston High School.