Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Tre have a baby too? Why was this not important? Because Katie's a woman and should therefore not be allowed to be both successful in her career AND have a family? These questions are not asked about men.
Jane, London,

Jane, are you being serious? First, Tre wasn't in the final three, so it didn't come to this level of questioning about taking the job. Second, Tre had sorted out his childcare and so it didn't become an issue because he's bright enough to not make it. Third, at this stage in the competition Sir Alan was discovering how committed the three in front of him were to the job if they were to take it. Katie has even admitted that she didn't want the job, she just wanted the TV air time to make a name for herself. Sir Alan sensed this, and asked a blatant question to do with her commitment. If she didn't have kids, he'd have asked about whether she'd move from Devon anyway.

It's got nothing to do with what you think it does.

Laura Roberts, London, UK

I actually think that Katie's decision to decline the offer of a place in the final was a shrewd and calculated move.She knew she would not actually win "the Apprentice".She knowingly created and contrived far more publicity and money for herself by walking out.
She would have got minimal publicity and money by being Katie Hopkins - Runner up.She played the game to her advantage right to the end! Wouldn't like her a mate much tho!

Mairi, Edinburgh, Scotland

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Tre have a baby too? Why was this not important? Because Katie's a woman and should therefore not be allowed to be both successful in her career AND have a family? These questions are not asked about men. The fact is that we all have personal lives, and there is a major imbalance for both women and men to sacrifice too much of their home happiness and stability for jobs that are only meant to be about making a living. Women are paying a higher price for this at the moment, because women are traditionally expected to look after children, and put that before everything else -- that is why women are paid less, because they have to sacrifice career time to look after children, while working fathers can continue to climb corporate ladders etc. More flexible, family friendly work policies would benefit everyone, and harmonise work and family life so that both men and women can enjoy work and family.

Jane, London,

One thought comes to mind - TV Ratings!!! This was set up. If someone as ruthless as Katie Hopkins had won this competition (or "job interview"), I believe there would've been a public outcry. She readily admits to doing anything to succeed, including stealing husbands so not the most likeable of persons. Nine weeks should be long enough to put your house in order for any job. Alan Sugar never wanted her for his employ. What an easy way out and good results for both sides .....Katie payouts & publicity, Sugar/BBC ratings & publicity. Of Katie's Exeter....a few football seasons ago, Exeter FC were minutes away from knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup, had they got to the final .... do you know, I think they would've turned up to play!!!!!!

David Guest, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire

If Katie has stayed I suspect she would have won. But i very much doubt if Sir Allan would have been able to have given her the job. Because Sir Allan as commented by one of his sidekicks Margarete said on the show "he can't stand Consultants". So I reckon that is why he did what he did making her take the decision to pull out of the competition. Which is a bit dirty on his part.

F, isle of cumbrae, Scotland

or am I the only person that watched "Sir" Alan bully the poor women into a decission?
Jon, Bath, Wiltshire

Yep, I think you are. The rest of us watched an appallingly incompetent and integrity-lacking competitor bailing out before she could formally "lose", citing reasons whic were laughable: namely that she hadn't had a conversation with her parents regarding childcare for a job that she had applied for, was actively competing for, and for which every other contestant had managed to make suitable arrangements yet she, with her deluded "brilliant business skills" hadn't planned! Hilarious!

Laura Roberts, London, UK

Are we actually discussing the correct topic here, or am I the only person that watched "Sir" Alan bully the poor women into a decission? Yes she made the decission to leave but he forced her into it, repeadly asking her not to take the job.

Jon, Bath, Wiltshire

I really hope she wasn't still on full pay from the MET while she faffed about wasting everybody's time.

Alex, Exeter,

As for the descrimination aspect, let me get this right, someone will hock themselves up to the eyeballs, risk all they have and try to make a living in business; Here comes the funny bit, then, they'll entrust some of it to someone who may or may not turn up every day. Not only that, this bit'll kill you, they may want months off, obviously with pay, and you can't say boo to a goose.
Get real.

Ken Wyatt, Todmorden, UK

Clearly Alpha Mummy has not watch the show as Katie was offered a place in the final and she gave that place up when faced with the reality of being offered the job!

Mike, Notts,

I watched the show with a friend and we both thought there was
definitely something wierd going on - there was a performance
element to the whole Katy deciding moment. It either seemed that she
never wanted the job and Sir Alan was calling her bluff or it was a set
up for reasons we may never know. Either way it rather spoils it for the
other two and leaves me not quite buying future programmes -
Are we seriously meant to believe that before the 'interview' process
begins, questions about family ties etc.

Barbara TURNER, London, England

What a load of rubbish - Why did Katie even bother entering the competition if she had no intention of relocating to London. I bet she doesn't have too much bother moving to London once her media career takes off!

The standard of this year contestants has gone down a notch once again, with this years 2 finalists getting through almost by default. Where have all the shrewd business mean and women of GB gone?

Charles, Reading, UK

What a load of politically correct cobblers!

What was Sir Alan supposed to do? Move his company to Katie in Exeter? This was not about access to childcare, surely Katie could have afforded childcare in London. It's just that she chose not to, for emotional reasons. That's fine, but blaming Sir Alan of discrimination over this? Get real!

Philip, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

'The Equal Opportunities Commission said: “It is unlawful to discriminate over domestic arrangements for the purposes of allocating a job”' - right, so, that embarrassment of a human rejecting the offer of a place in the final means Sir Alan was discriminating against her? Must everyone play the discrimination card without applying the slightest shred of common sense? And what story exactly has she got to sell?

Chris, Hertfordshire,

I don't know if you actually watched the show but Katie was offered a place in the final and turn it down when asked by Sir Alan to consider the implications for her family.

Mike, Notts,

I agree with Andy, Katie had 9 weeks plus the application time to consider the reality of what would happen if she was offered the job. Why go for a position that you are not entirely sure you can take?

Clearly she was interested in making a name for herself. I have respect for the fact that her family won in the end but I do question the motives of someone who can spend that long away from their beloved children just to turn down the offer when it comes.

Sir Alan was right to push her to decide. Mother or not, any candidate who did not look happy after being offered their 'Dream' position as Sir Alan's apprentice would have been questioned.

louise, Surrey, UK

Not had time to consider it? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but she's had NINE WEEKS to consider it. What, Did she think Sir Alan was going to relocate to her house so she could be his apprentice?

Perhaps his decision was based more on the fact that she hadn't had the foresight to consider this when she applied.

Andy, Bradford,

The Met Office needs a brand consultant?

And I thought the world was weird because people actually watched manipulated-reality shows....

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

Obviously when she entered this competition for such a high profile job as this, I would have thought that she would have arranged child-care for her children if she won before hand.
Quite honestly it would have been grossly unfair to have deprived one of the other contestants of this job when a woman as intelligent as Katie is must have known that it would have been rather necessary to have discussed with her parents beforehand the situation involving her children. Which can only highlight the fact that she was not taking the whole thing seriously.

sally colella, stoke, staffs

We all are happy enough for the BBC to line Sir Alan's pockets while we watch his very individual interviewing technique. From the episode shown and the message given by the Equal Opportunities Commission it seems clear he was in the wrong.

But in Sir Alan's defense, surely if he wants to offer someone a £100k job it should go without saying that the recipient needs to start with sufficient intelligence to have anticipated the question and to have realised that to work for an organisation based in London you can't expect to stay firmly rooted in Exeter.

Liz Harnett, Bristol,

Stop me if i'm wrong, but didn't Alan actually offer Katie a position in the final two?

And wasn't it Katie that backed out rather than Alan firing her? Alan merely pointed out that the job would mean a change not just for her but her family too.

And finally surely anyone would know that applying for a job such as this will mean being separated from your home and from your family on occasions. Katie had her 9 weeks+ to work that one out for herself, surely it came as no surprise?

John Norris, Windsor, Berkshire

Huh? She said she wouldn't want to relocate to Brentford (who can blame her) and said "no" to the job. How the bloody hell is that "discriminating" against her?

As Alan Sugar would say, "what a load of toot".

Kay Tie, York,