It's the final week, and the most important task of the interview process. Alan wants the finalists to come up with a hypothetical idea for what might go in place of a building on the South Bank he owns and is thinking of flattening, and then present that idea to an audience of 100 property, finance and architectural experts.

A look back at the candidates who didn't make the cut. Talking about their worst moments, Sir Alan Sugar reveals how, each week, he decided who would hear that famous phrase - 'You're fired'.

With only five remaining, the candidates that are left face a different kind of challenge. Instead of being split into teams and having a task to complete, they have to face a gruelling interview process as individuals. Each of them is to be grilled by three of Sir Alan's trusted business colleagues, and they are not in for an easy ride.

At the end of the interviews, Sir Alan's three henchmen will report to him in the boardroom, and outline their findings. And then it's the candidates turn – but this week, three of them are going to be fired.

A profile of the most successful candidates from the 2007 series of The Apprentice, offering an insight into the real people behind the professional personas seen on the show.

The teams are set a very public challenge – they have to sell live on TV. But before they can sell, they first have to choose the products they think will bring in the cash.

One team goes for safe mid-price items, while the other decides to take a risk on some higher priced products. On the sales floor, they have an hour per team to sell, sell, sell. As half the team presents, the other half is controlling them from the gallery. But will their choices roll off the shelves, or will they be left embarrassed as they reach the boardroom?

Sir Alan will make the final decision, and at the end of the day, one more will be fired, and there will only be five remaining.

The candidates have to select groundbreaking and unusual products from around the world to introduce into the UK market. The teams have three products each to sell to London retailers and only a day in which to do it, and the team with the most money in orders will win.

The candidates have to create a new brand of trainer. Alan has laid on one of the country's top advertising agencies for them to work with, but the creativity is all theirs. They have to come up with a name and logo for their brand, and then produce a poster and TV ad with which to launch it. In the boardroom, Alan has to decide which team has best fulfilled his brief and who to fire.

The candidates have one day to buy ten items from a list for the least money possible, and get back to the boardroom by 6pm. The task is about negotiation, but Alan has thrown a tricky item into the list to put their research skills to the test too. Simon gets his first outing as project manager, but his erratic behaviour upsets his team. On the other team, Adam has to manage his nemesis, Katie.

The ten remaining candidates face their toughest sales challenge yet, as they have to sell British food to French people in France. With market stalls laid on by Sugar in a northern Gallic town, the teams spend a day sourcing produce in Kent before crossing the Channel to flog their British grub to the fussiest foodies in Europe.

Paul has a brainwave about an old army cooking technique he thinks will give his team the advantage, while on the other team Lohit spends his time trying to calm the conflict brewing in his troops. With hardly a word of French between them and centuries of gastronomic prejudice to overturn, will the teams sink or swim across the channel? In the boardroom, Sir Alan is stunned by the results, and a shocking revelation is made by two of the candidates.

As Sir Alan's search for an apprentice approaches the half way point, he decides to throw the candidates completely out of their comfort zone. He calls them to Christie's in London's St. James, where works of art regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds, where their task is to sell art photographs of their choosing in a trendy East London gallery. The teams are split on the best approach; should they go for the kill or do artists and their customers prefer a softly softly approach?

If all goes well, the teams could sell thousands of pounds worth of photography. But one team has to lose – and after a grilling from Sir Alan in the boardroom, one person in that team will get fired.

Sir Alan sets the teams the task of manufacturing sweets to sell at one of the country's top tourist attractions – London Zoo. Their target market are the toughest consumers in the world: parents and children. It's Ghazal and Adam's first turn as team leaders, and they and their budding Willy Wonkas must decide if their sweets should appeal to health conscious parents or sugar crazed kids. Then the teams must do something special to stand out against the Zoo's star attractions – the monkeys, lions and tigers.

With over 3000 potential customers the teams adopt unique selling approaches – from the charm offensive to the hard sell. But when one team tries to stretch the truth it lands them in trouble. In the boardroom, Sugar is not so sweet to the losing team – and one of them is about to get fired.

Forty years ago, Sugar started his first business selling car aerials with just 100 pounds and a white van to his name. Now he wants the candidates to prove they can do the same. They have just one day to start a business from scratch and make as much money as they can.

The teams are set the task of designing a new dog accessory to pitch to pet stores across London.

Alan sets a series of tasks designed to push some of the brightest and best young businesspeople in the country to the limit.