Sussex pie man Phil Turner set to reveal his business plans on The Apprentice after surviving Lord Sugar's 'last chance' threat

Phil, who manages West Sussex business Turner’s Pies, was told it was make or break in Week Ten, when he was put in charge by Lord Sugar after failing nine tasks – he would be out the door immediately if he failed again.

Luckily for Phil, it was a cooking task, perhaps tailor-made for his skills, and as the call came in to meet Lord Sugar at Chiswick House, Nexus teammate Flo Edwards said she was feeling confident under Phil if it was a food task.

Speaking from his bed in The Apprentice contestants' house, Phil said: "Chips are all in the middle. I am ready to go. Feeling good."

Fans suspect Lord Sugar has a soft spot for Phil and eyebrows were raised when he moved Tre Lowe over to Nexus, giving Phil the advantage of a team of four for the task.

Lord Sugar asked the teams to develop a vegan alternative to cheese, pointing out that the global non-dairy cheese market was showing remarkable growth. They had to create their own recipe, design the branding and packaging and make a promotional video, then pitch to two major retailers.

Phil went for a gourmet, high-end cheese spread of restaurant quality, suitable for a dinner party, and he requested 'sleek branding' from his teammates to show it was a premium product.

He and Dr Paul Midha developed a truffle recipe which went down well with the retailers. They were not so keen on the SCRUMPTIOUS spreads branding created by Tre and Flo but felt that could be worked on and, based on taste alone, put in orders for a total of 18,000 units.

It was a remarkable win for Phil and given that he runs a food business, it was certainly a feather in his cap.

Lord Sugar quipped that Phil's win was 'as rare as a toilet roll in the pandemic' and added: "Can't get rid of you, you are like damp."

Now, as one of the final five, he must reveal his business plans to Lord Sugar's trusted advisors. In an Unseen and Exclusive sneak peek on The Apprentice: You're Fired on Thursday, we saw Claude Littner going through Phil's business plan, which was clearly marked Turner's Pies – something which may be of comfort to Sussex fans.

Experts have Flo and Tre as the favourites at the semi-final stage to win the £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.

Tune into BBC One at 9pm on Thursday, April 11, for The Apprentice: Interviews.