Margaret Mountford will make her return on The Apprentice final tonight and one person glad to have her back was her former co-worker Nick Hewer.

The pair acted as joint advisors to Lord Alan Sugar in previous series’ of the BBC One reality TV show, until she decided to step down and concentrate on her phD and was replaced by younger businesswoman Karren Brady.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, PR expert Nick admitted that he misses Margaret and hasn’t managed to build such a close relationship with her replacement.

“Ah, the blessed Margaret. I think she’s very special,” Hewer said. “It may have something to do with the length of time I’ve known her… It may be because we’re nearer in age. It may be because we’ve shared experiences when working for Sugar.

“But Karren’s no slouch. We have a cordial relationship… We’re different ages and from different backgrounds. Karren’s got her children, her husband, her own set.

“Margaret and I used to go out to dinner because both of us were kicking around London on our own. We were two lonely old people with white hair and we bounce off each other quite well mentally.”

Mountford announced her decision to step away from TV work after the fifth Apprentice series in 2009, because she wanted to pursue her PhD in papyrology.

Commenting on her decision, Hewer added:

“I think Margaret genuinely had to get on with her PhD. I don’t think she was as attracted to the money as much as me. She made a lot more as a lawyer than I did.”

Margaret is set to make a bit of a fool of Northern Irish candidate Jim Eastwood tonight, as she blasts him for his constant use of clichés.

View the original post The Apprentice 2011 Final: Nick Hewer doesn’t connect with Karren Brady as he did with Margaret Mountford! on Unreality TV

The Apprentice final airs on BBC One tonight and Northern Irish candidate Jim Eastwood finds himself in a bit of hot water, during his interview with former show aide Margaret Mountford.

The silver haired business expert asks Jim to describe himself without using nay of his normal clichés and on of the first things out of his mouth is:

“I’m ­exactly what it says on the tin”

Margaret looks dumbfounded by his stupidity and after accusing him of “swallowing a book of clichés”, she asks:

“What impression does that give me of you? That you’re a bit of an ass?”

Things go from bad to worse for Eastwood as he moves on to his next interview, only for magazine mogul Mike Soutar to pick up on exactly the same point.

He blasts:

“I’ve read your application and it’s full of clichés, buzzwords and blarney. Jim, do you have difficulty expressing yourself succinctly?”

It looks like Jedi Jim may not ride to glory tonight and insiders say the competition is fierce as he, ­Susan Ma, Helen Milligan and Tom Pellereau battle it out for the chance of a £250,000 investment in their new business venture.

Who do you think will win? Can any of them beat the formidable Helen? Leave your comments below.

View the original post The Apprentice 2011 Final: Jim Eastwood angers Margaret Mountford with constant clichés on Unreality TV

It’s a later life love story!

Nick Hewer has admitted that although he is happily married, he would quite like to get hitched to his former Apprentice co-star Margaret Mountford in the future.

The former PR guru has shot to fame while assisting his boss Lord Alan Sugar on the BBC One reality TV show and confessed that he will always have a soft spot for Margaret, who worked alongside him on the show until 2009.

He said: “I’m very fond of her. I like to think she’s fond of me. She has got Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes and great teeth. Margaret is not currently married. I always remain hopeful.”

Nick – who has worked alongside Lord Sugar since 1983 – also revealed the multi-millionaire businessman “tortured” him into agreeing to appear on BBC One series ‘The Apprentice.

He added to G2: “Lord Sugar rang me and said he wanted to be on this new TV show called ‘The Apprentice’. He tortured me for days at his house in Marbella. I said, ‘I don’t want to be on TV’. He said, ‘You’re a wimp’. He said he would fix a fee for me, which I thought was a bit rich.”

“In the end, I went for it. I had nothing else to do.”

View the original post The Apprentice 2011: Nick Hewer wants to marry Margaret Mountford! on Unreality TV

Margaret Mountford is to make her triumphant return to ‘The Apprentice’ on tonight’s show.

The straight-faced lawyer – who was Lord Alan Sugar’s right-hand woman on the BBC One show until being replaced by vice-chairman of West Ham United Karren Brady this series – will fire a host of gruelling questions at the five remaining contestants.

However, Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs immediately gets off to a bad start when he addresses her as ‘Margaret’.

The businesswoman scolded: “Would you normally address an interviewer who you hadn’t met by their first name?”

However, the 21-year-old telecoms entrepreneur is not the only candidate to bear the brunt of Margaret, as Jamie Lester is also forced to concede his “third nipple” gag was stupid.

Failing to find amusement at his cheeky CV, she said: “If I asked you an interesting fact about you? ‘I have a third nipple.’ You’re laughing, I’m not.

“One or two pages later on – What’s the worst lie you’ve ever told? ‘That I have a third nipple.’ Is that supposed to make me laugh? Think of a word that applies to that.”

To which he replied: “Stupid”.

Stuart and Jamie, alongside remaining contestants Stella English, Chris Bates and Joanna Riley, will now battle it out for two places in Sunday’s (19.12.10) series final.

View the original post Yay! Margaret Mountford is back on The Apprentice tonight! on Unreality TV

Sir Alan Sugar’s advisor, Margaret Mountford, has quit the show after five years.

The Northern Irish corporate lawyer acts as Sir Alan’s eyes and ears on the show, as she and Nick Hewer shadow teams of candidates and report back on their performance throughout the tasks.

The Sun reports that Mountford will quit after this years series ends in order to finish her doctorate on ancient Egyptian manuscripts.

A show insider told the newspaper: “This will come as a big blow to Sir Alan and the millions of viewers.

“Margaret and Nick have almost as big a following as Sir Alan.

“She is very sad to be leaving but she feels the time is right.

“When she started I don’t think she had any idea just how popular it would become.”

The source added: “She has enjoyed every minute but it is very hard work and she wants to go out on a high.

“Margaret has told Sir Alan, who understands her reasons and thanked her for her hard work.”

View the original post Margaret Mountford Quits The Apprentice on Unreality TV

Nick Hewer has claimed that his colleague Margaret Mountford is quite flirty and revealed that he has a bit of an eye her on ITV’s This Morning.

Sir Alan’s right hand man told Phil and Fern: “She is a very attractive woman. She has beautiful eyes and is quite flirty.”

He joked: “I’m beginning to gather my courage together to make some sort of move. She is, fortunately, not spoken for at the moment, which is good for me.”

View the original post The Apprentice: Nick Hewer Fancies Margaret Mountford! on Unreality TV