Last Manc standing Lewis makes it to the final five of The Apprentice

The only remaining candidate from Greater Manchester has reached the penultimate stage of The Apprentice.

Lewis Ellis scraped into the final five of this year’s series despite a shocking performance in the final task – creating a new perfume and pitching it to retailers Boots and Debenhams.

The 28 year-old digital marketing project manager from Altrincham got the dream job in the task – designing the packaging and branding for a fragrance created by his colleagues on team Empower.

But he nearly blew it. Whilst Pamela and Dean managed to create a scent that wasn’t completely awful – quite an achievement on The Apprentice – Lewis’s packaging and branding stank.

Determined (Push Boundaries Move Mountains) Eau De Parfam came in a box which featured a woman in denim shorts looking at a mountain, complete with spelling mistakes.

Project manager Pamela thought it looked cheap and nasty. Lord Sugar thought it looked like an alpine air freshener or a deodorant for backpackers.

And they were right. The only place you could possibly sell Determined would be from a suitcase on Market Street, three for a tenner, cash only, no refunds.

It was odds-on Lewis getting the boot. But luckily for him, in the boardroom he was up against Dean, who has done very little throughout the entire series.

Lewis’s description of Dean – ‘as useful as a wet fart’ – may not have been eloquent, but at least it was accurate.

“The only person who thinks you contribute is you,” Lord Sugar told Dean, before pointing his finger at him and firing him.

Next up, the interview from hell in which the five remaining candidates and their business plans are subjected to a grilling by Lord Sugar’s advisors that’s so fierce it should be X- rated. Good luck Lewis.