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You're hired! Simon Ambrose is Sir Alan's apprentice
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After 12 gruelling weeks battling it out against Britain's brightest business hopefuls, Simon Ambrose, a 27-year-old internet entrepreneur from London, has been named as Sir Alan Sugar's third Apprentice.
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Simon walks away with the prize of a six-figure salaried job with the self-made multi-millionaire and boss of Amstrad, Sir Alan Sugar.
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In the concluding episode, screened last night on 91Èȱ¬ One, Simon beat off stiff competition from 36-year-old pharmaceutical sales manager Kristina Grimes, by managing a team of fired apprentices in the toughest task yet – they had to come up with ideas for a replacement building to Sir Alan's recently acquired £120million IBM building on the South Bank.
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Although some said Simon's design looked like a flaccid-looking phallic symbol, he won over a room full of architects and property gurus during his presentation. Sir Alan later credited Simon with delivering a presentation about his building design which had "hard-nosed business people ... eating out of his hands."
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Meanwhile, Kristina failed to impress with an Angel Of The North-style property that architects said was redolent of Thirties fascist architecture.
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Sir Alan dropped the bombshell news by telling the pair: "It's a very difficult decision. There's only one job. I've got someone who's very experienced. I've also got someone who's enthusiastic, a great talker and willing to learn."
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He told Simon: "Bloody old fool that I am, I'm going to take that risk, you're hired."
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The series finale was the conclusion of another hugely successful series of the multi-award-wining show, which attracted up to seven million viewers on 91Èȱ¬ One.
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The show had more than 10,000 applicants this year, whittled down to the final 16 who all quit their jobs to face the biggest challenge of their lives, a 12-week job interview with the self-confessed "most belligerent person you'll ever come across" – Amstrad boss and multi-millionaire Sir Alan Sugar.
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Simon said after the show: "To get to the final was a dream come true. Winning is the cherry on the cake ... I started out playing with an Amstrad computer as a child – now I'm working for Sir Alan Sugar."
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He added: "I feel so sad for Kristina. She's such a great opponent. She worked her heart out for this job and so it's a bitter-sweet victory."
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Kristina Grimes said later she was devastated by the decision: "I came on this intent on getting the job with Sir Alan. My heart and soul was in this, so it's very tough."
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Asked what he would do with the salary, Simon said: "There's nothing on my radar that I want to buy with the £100,000, except perhaps an Aston Martin, but I want to pay off my mortgage."
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Simon, from Clapham, south London, will train as a chartered surveyor while working on a project to develop a hotel and golf complex near Stansted Airport.
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The Apprentice is a talkbackTHAMES production for 91Èȱ¬ One.
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