Cakes vs collagen: All-girl Apprentice final as Lord Sugar fires favourite Neil Clough

The climax of the Apprentice next Wednesday will be a battle between cakes and collagen as entrepreneurs Luisa Zissman and Leah Totton fight to win a £250,000 investment and the chance to be Lord Sugar's business partner.

Zissman, a 25-year-old cake shop owner, is proposing a branded baking ingredients website, whilst Totton, a 24-year-old doctor, wants to launch a non-surgical cosmetic treatments clinic.

Last night, the football centre centre manager Neil Clough was fired despite being Lord Sugar's favourite candidate. The 32-year-old was told his estate agency website idea was not a viable business, but refused to back down.

Sugar told him: "If this was all about me giving someone a job, I'd give you a job tomorrow. But coming into business with me, I'm afraid not my friend."

Clough admitted: "I'm absolutely gutted. My biggest regret is I was given a chance to put in a Plan B and I didn't, and I absolutely do regret that.

"Whether or not that end goal of winning took over, I don't know. I'm so competitive, that's why I think I'm so gutted now. I wanted it so much and it's difficult to take.

"For Lord Sugar to say, 'You're the right man, you've just got the wrong plan', I could see he was sort of willing me to be the person that goes into business with him.

"But my business plan wasn't right for him, I did make a couple of mistakes with it. I do respect his decision."

Clough spoke of how his father's death from cancer had motivated him to succeed in life and make his father proud in a motivational speech to a group of businessmen.

He said: "My father passing away when I was 18 was a real driver, he was a strong character in my life. And he had that goal for me to become a professional footballer. And to this day I never know whether I let him down or not.

"I think that is one of my biggest drivers, to make him proud of me. And as I got further along on The Apprentice, it was like 'If I win it I will make him proud of me.' And I think the difficult thing for me to take is I've fallen short of the final hurdle."

The Apprentice Final will air on Wednesday July 17 at 8pm on BBC1.