How would your assistant would describe you?

I’m fair, I join in. I’m not scared to get my hands dirty, therefore I think I earn their respect and loyalty, I think I’m fun to work with because I’m always stimulating. […] Without sounding conceited, I think I stimulate my staff, which is what a leader needs to do. You need to keep your staff interested and stimulated and if you’re that way in business – I’m passionate about business, all kinds of business, and I’ve been in more than one. But I’m very passionate about it, so if you have that feeling - if they’re your leadership skills - then that’s what you get from your staff.

What do you think it does for the candidates’ future hiring potential having been on the show?

I think it does a lot, because on the show, over the weeks that you watch – and especially the ones that have longevity – you can see their personalities, can see their tenacity, you can see quite a lot about them. So I think if they want to broaden their business horizons and they’re going on the show as business people, it’s a very good forum for them. And I think if they’re still inclined and they’ve got a bit of a business brain that’s very good, they can expand on that.

Money on the table: would you ever invest any of your own fortune in any of the candidates that you met?

I would.

And I’m assuming you would hire one of them?

I might. I would invest, put it that way.

Who have you tipped to win The Apprentice?

I don’t think I can answer that. I have to be very careful, I don’t want to say anything that would tip the scales or give anything away.

“I don’t get on well with shy people”: Stylist speaks to this year's most challenging Apprentice panelist