There are not many people who wish they could go another round with Sir Alan Sugar.
In his career, the former owner of Tottenham Hotspur has probably made as many enemies as he has millions and with words of wisdom, which include "Shut-up", "I'm the boss" and "You're fired", the chances of winning a battle of wits is admittedly unlikely.
But viewers of BBC2's The Apprentice have just witnessed a travesty, when Paul Tulip failed to make it to the final two, losing out on the chance of a six-figure salary.
In the past 10 weeks, as lesser candidates fell by the wayside, the Leeds headhunter had proved his worth, dressing up, with only a modicum of padding, as an overweight Italian waiter, organising a Strictly Come Dancing event on a cruise ship and even managing to rise above the indignity of an industrial light fitting falling on his head.
Last night Paul proved there is no such thing as a sure-fire bet during the face-to-face interview with three of Sir Alan's closest confidants, but, ever the optimist, he still believes if he'd had a few more minutes in the entrepreneur's company, the outcome might have been different.
"They absolutely crushed me," he says of his performance, now seen by millions. "I was, I have to admit, cringeworthy. They were there to be bullish, that's what makes good TV and they gave all of us the same treatment.
"Unfortunately, my defence mechanism kicked in a bit too quickly.
"You always learn from your mistakes and, in hindsight, of course I would have done things differently, but I had no opportunity to defend myself. I hadn't been in the boardroom before and Sir Alan himself said he didn't really know me. I'd never had the chance to argue my case before and yes, I think that went against me.
"To be honest, we only saw him on filming days, we spent more time with his advisers, Nick and Margaret, who were lovely.
"Nick's a top guy, he really defended me last night and Margaret's just like your mum. At first you're really worried swearing in front of them, but that worry doesn't last long."
For those who have never had the pleasure of sitting down to Wednesday nights with The Apprentice, then commiserations.
The format – 14 candidates spend 12 weeks in the same house fighting it out for one job with Sir Alan – sounds like a variation on any other reality TV show, but, for devout followers, comparing The Apprentice with Big Brother is tantamount to sacrilege.
The tasks set these candidates/victims range from anything from flogging the latest gadgets to producing charity calendars, but, when the desire to win replaces commonsense, watching them hoist by their own stupidity and misplaced ambition can be surprisingly therapeutic.
Unfortunately, last night, it was Paul, the one who everyone came to know as the big chap with a Northern accent and a sense of humour, who came undone.
"On my application I said I had a problem with the way people sell the The Big Issue. I didn't mean I had a problem with homeless people, but that's what they picked up on and I don't think I explained myself particularly well.
"Not long before I went on the programme, I was in Leeds and one of the sellers thrust a copy in my face. It wasn't his fault, but he hadn't been given any training and I just think the people behind it should be a bit more inspirational.
"They've got great features, great stories in there and they could really market
it, but instead, they just
send people out on the streets with a bundle of magazines and say, 'Here, sell this'.
"After last night's programme I do want to justify what I said and am thinking of maybe working with The Big Issue on marketing."
In between thoughts of turning Leeds Big Issue sellers into high-flying marketing men, Paul has returned to his job as a headhunter at Harrogate recruitment firm Burns Carlton – a position he secured just as he found out he had been selected to go on The Apprentice.
But how long he will stay there is unclear. While he finished filming in October, as the viewing public see the series nearing the finale, more and more people are recognising the 26-year-old, who once secured a business deal after sending a pair of jeans with the knees cut out to a managing director with a note saying, "Look I'm on my knees", and the offers of other TV opportunities are beginning to come in.
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't go on the programme to come out with a TV career," he says. "I went on it to win, but when you don't, you have to take a step back and see what other opportunities might arise.
"There have been a number of offers, the response I've got from my website has been really positive, but I'm not going to rush into anything.
"I came back to Harrogate because I love my job – I was recently named best salesperson and won a Porsche to drive over the summer, how good is that?"
Pretty good, admittedly, but when the Porsche goes back to the garage and when some new upstart starts biting at his heels, will Paul, whose parents, Jim and Janet, live at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, have learnt any lessons from his time in The Apprentice?
"When I saw the first series, I thought it was the best programme I'd ever seen," he says. "There's always an element of editing, they've got 200 hours of film, so of course people's characteristics are emphasised and of course what you see is not always the whole picture.
"But when you're in that kind of environment, you do analyse yourself and when you watch yourself back you do think 'I could do things differently'.
"I'm pretty happy with how I came across, more or less, it was pretty much the real me."
When it came to predicting who would escape Sir Alan's axe, Paul, a former wicketkeeper for Ripon, studied the form and was always surprisingly accurate and, while he probably has more than a little inside knowledge, will it be Hull's Michelle Dewberry or the frankly frightening Ruth Badger who emerges as victor?
"It's got to be Michelle. She's a dark horse. I don't want to call it a sob story, but she had a background which Sir Alan connected with. She's gone through some really tough times, she had a real working-class upbringing, she started off on the tills at a supermarket and gradually worked her way up.
"But I don't think you can say looking back at the series that she did anything spectacular. She didn't stand out, but she's got one of those stories which really helps."

sarah.freeman@ypn.co.uk

Name: Michelle Dewberry from Hull.
Age: 26.
Previous occupation: Telecoms consultant.
Qualifications: GCSEs and professional qualifications
The former check-out girl left Hull and headed for London where in her early 20s she embarked on a successful City career as a high-earning freelance consultant.
In her own words: "I'm passionate, I'm hard-working, I'm motivated, I'm focused and I'm very, very driven.
I want a successful business person to mentor me and take me to the next level. I like Sir Alan's no-nonsense approach and admire the empire that he has built up from scratch."

Name: Ruth Badger from Wolverhampton.
Age: 27.
Occupation: Sales manager.
Qualifications: Seven
GCSEs.
Ruth resigned from Compass Finance Group to join The Apprentice and has proved herself as an aggressive salesperson.
In her own words: "The reason I want to work for Sir Alan is very simple: I want to be a millionaire."