Former JC sports reporter Craig Silver came agonisingly close to making the final cut for the next series of BBC TV's The Apprentice.

The former King Solomon pupil got down to the last pool of 15 male candidates from thousands of hopefuls. With his eye on the winner's £250,000 prize, the 24-year-old estate agent passed several stages before missing out on the chance of a boardoom duel with Lord Sugar. "The application process was gruelling but the experience gave me a buzz," he said. "My big plan was to open a traditional English sweet shop in New York."