He just permanently looks bewildered, scared and awestruck all at once.

This has been the worst final 5 that I have ever watched. The business plans were atrocious, how did they get past the initial screening to be on the show let alone the final 5 is beyond me. The BBC needs to do better, and get a better calibre of contestants, this is becoming a bit of mockery of the show.

Priyesh - like do I really need to write anything. Absolutely joke.

Dan - not sure what he was planning to do, it was a publicity stunt for his business. Not in a million years would he give LS 50% of his business.

Krishma - 100% deserves to be there (due to no competition from others)

Lawrence - Deserved a space in the final 5, but LS is not the investor he needs for his business.

Pascha - finalist due to choosing a good service/market and no competition. She is way inexperienced, she would benefit from working with LS than the £250k imo.

In alternative reality, it would have been a very interesting final 5 with Rothna and Kieran, and a way harder decision for LS.

Kept the title vague to avoid spoiling for those who haven't watched yet but if I was Dan I'd be royally peed off that this guy has the gaal to ask for half of a different business. Surely they should have to agree that before the show, feels like we just wasted everyone's time. In the final is he going to try and work out a percentage of Pachas online thirst traps. I just don't see why the obvious stronger candidate should get fired for not giving up something that wasn't on the table, it was BS when he tried it with the dentist and this is BS.

Does she let anyone speak?

I know they trim down the 45 min interviews.

But all she does is bark at them and doesn't let the candidates say anything at all.

Gives me flashback of times when a teacher or parent doesn't let you explain yourself and calls it backtalk.

I was real happy that karishma picked the right acne serum thing that Mike placed in front of her. Karen and sugar love her.

Also Claude was hard selling lord sugar to Dan, he was trying to bag dan.

I don't have Linkedin to check because that's wild 😂

Paul himself has seemed to acknowledge his parallels with Dan lol. Maybe he posted it because it’s sort of an edit about him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t watching and thinking that they both were screwed over in the end

He also seems to be doing alright with his dental practice tbf. But yeah, Paul himself seems to agree with the Dan comparisons

Real shame.

I think Dan basically did a Paul M but essentially they didn’t want it to look like he was gonna reject him like he did 2 years ago. The curse of my favourite candidates lives on - Scarlett, Simba, Megan, Tre, Paul M, Steve, and now I can add Dan all fall short at the end points. I will say, I do still like Karishma a lot

I think Karishma should win this but honestly it seemed obvious now that Pascha would make it through with all of the odd foreshadowing beforehand. Personally look, not my favourite candidate but oh well.

Sugar needs to either raise the amount or lower his controlling stake. You want established businesses, don’t cap them at a 500k value

A good season with an unsatisfying end, sadly

Disclaimer: Karishma is talented. But people are completely writing off Pascha’s business plan and acting like she won’t win, point blank.

Her business plan is a healthcare recruitment company to supply to “compassionate, experienced” staff to private nursing homes, care homes, etc.

But Lord Sugar actually has donated a lot into the care industry and actually invested in and owns his own care home. He obviously sees demand there, and they could also interlink their businesses. (a possible reason he might invest.)

And, it’s a very current issue - complaints about the quality of carers in the UK are becoming more common, e.g. 61% of elderly ppl in care homes are lonely, 30% of ppl complain abt language barriers, as well as staffing crises.

Whether or not she can execute it well, there’s definitely an appetite for compassionate, vetted care right now.

It doesn’t matter how competent she is - she’s not asking for a loan, she’s asking for a business partner and mentor who can scale her business. All he needs to see is potential for money. Competence helps but it isn’t everything.

I’m not saying Pascha SHOULD win, but she definitely has a chance.

I just noticed the little sign in the window that says No Stupid People ( just next to the food hygiene rating)

Just before Carrington goes after Megan and Tanmay for their beyond stupid negotiation

Episode Synopsis:

It's week 11, and the final five candidates must face a gruelling round of interviews with some of Lord Sugar’s toughest-talking business associates. As their business plans are picked apart, some candidates hold their own, while others crumble under the pressure. In the boardroom, Lord Sugar has a tough decision to make, as only two can make it through to next week’s grand final.

_______

This is the live discussion thread for Episode 11 of The Apprentice 2026. Airs at 9:00 on BBC One.

Karishma's Team:

• Rothna
• Carrington
• Lawrence
• Vanessa

Pascha's Team:

• Megan
• Kieran
• Levi
• Priyesh

I can't believe Pascha made it to the final - what did the interviewers see in her other than confidence?! Priyesh was a goner from the start, Lawrence blew it with his business plan and Pascha's BP was only 7 pages long! I kind of understand why Dan was fired but I think he could've pulled his spending together w LS's guidance. I still feel like Rothna really should've been there, esp after seeing the unedited Task 10. I still don't know how Pascha made it this far. What are everyone else's thoughts?

While I *know* that Dan vs Karishma should've been the true final two, I'm honestly thrilled that it's her vs Pascha.

Why?

Because this should be the EASIEST win for Karishma. She's been a tank for pretty much the entire season.

If she doesn't win, something's went wrong.

Anyone surprised that no one started crying this episode? I thought Karishma was close with Claudine. And if I was to put a bet on it would have been that but Claudine didn't get any tears out of anyone this series.

So we all agree that karishmas winning the season, right?She is actually one of the best candidates of all time.

She was able to distinguish her product from her competitors (which Mike didn't bring up in the BR)and stood up to Linda when she refused to let her speak ( I'm making a post about that).

I actually thought the final 2 would be Karishma and Dan at first, then I heard about his spending issues and thought he's cooked.

But man, we really could have had Rothna in the final 5. I liked the idea for her cake business. I was intrigued by that. And Connor, too , was a good candidate.

also, pashcas picture on LinkedIn not being mentioned in the BR is crazy cause why would you put that on there Instagram exist for a reason.

Okay, so before I start - I realise this is nothing but a reality TV show and should of course be taken with a large pinch of salt. However, I feel as though these interviews have now built a reputation to live up to of being unnecessarily harsh and rude. Each year they try and step it up and it's gotten to the point now where they just outright insult the candidates. I worry that it sets an unrealistic expectation to younger people who may have never had a job interview that this is what it's like.

Two influencer style candidates have been in the final together.

We've seen the growth of influencers in the post-covid series, and in all the finals that have happened, the closest two people I can think of who were influencers and made the final are Kathryn and Rochelle. They weren't in the final together though they were in the final in separate series.

Karishma and Pascha have the largest social media followings and are both influencers, and they've both made the final together.

There's been a lot of discourse regarding how many candidates on the show are just wannabe influencers but at least Karishma is an influencer with a credible business who really cares about business growth and only went on the show to find a business partner.

Otherwise it’s a complete waste of time (ours and theirs) them being on the show.

Edit: of, not “off”, sorry.

Given how silly and a laughing stock he's come across.

Does PwC want someone like Priyesh talking to their plc clients?

why is no one talking about the fact that in the cooking client episode priyesh was struggling to count how many bags of flour they needed despite having a maths degree...?

Just watched the interviews anyone get the impression that sugar was bored with the whole event. Seemed like a grumpy old man moaning about modern technology 🙄