‘Disgraced’ contractor recruiter makes it through to BBC's The Apprentice final

James White could be about to earn a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar, despite being previously fired for ‘gross misconduct’.

Having made it through the interviews from Claudine Collins, Linda Platt, Mike Soutar and trusted aide Claude Littner, only White and his opponent in the final, Sarah Lynn, remain.

White boasted having 70 contractors on his books and claimed that he was making 900K a year for IT recruitment company, TEKsystems. He then predicted that he would be turning over 3 million for Lord Sugar within 18 months of starting his one-man band recruitment company.

Several of the interviewers were sceptical of his figures and believed his business plan to be unrealistic, leading Lord Sugar to confront White on his ‘finger in the air’ numbers and his ‘very, very optimistic business plan’.

However his sales forecasts were the least of his problems, considering he admitted he had been sacked from his previous position.

When asked for the exact reason why he was fired by Platt, the 26-year-old said: "I met with some other investors on the side to start another business."

James insisted that it "added to his character", but Platt replied: "I think meeting with other recruiters on the side and getting fired doesn't add to your character.

"I'll tell you what I do think it does. I think it puts a shadow over your trustworthiness with Lord Sugar's investment."

Platt left White emotional after her gruelling interview, and when asked by his fellow candidates if he was crying when he came out, he claimed it was a case of ‘blood shot eyes’.

And this was not it for James’ discrepancies, interviewer Mike Soutar also noticed that White’s website was sporting an APSCo logo, implying his new business was registered with one of the leading trade bodies for the recruitment industry.

However with some further investigation it turned out that he had simply added the logo to his website, and that he planned to register but couldn’t afford it yet.

This obviously did not go down well with Soutar, who believed James White to be taking shortcuts to get to where he wanted to be.

Some viewers believe hotly tipped contestant Michaela Wain should have reached the final, in place of White or Lynn, who owns a confectionary company.

Even money saving expert Martin Lewis, who knows a bit about business, admitted he was "stunned" and his money would have gone to Michaela.

The Final takes place on Sunday and requires the two finalists to launch their business plans; creating a brand and unveiling their campaign to an audience full of industry experts.

Join the discussion on The Apprentice Final on the ContractorUK Forum.