The Apprentice Series 20 Odds: Dan & Karishma Frontrunners Ahead Of Interviews

The Apprentice series 20 has chosen its final five contestants ahead of the dreaded interview stage of the series - but Kieran McCartney is not one of them. 

Estate agent Kieran made a huge gamble in Episode 9 by telling Lord Sugar he would leave the process if his team lost the next task, and last Thursday night he went home as the 11/8 favourite on betting sites to be fired next. 

Kieran went walkies after he led Team Eclipse to a narrow defeat in the Pet Product task, and his fellow teammate Rothna Akhtar followed him out of the door. 

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 Dan's Turning Point 

Dan Miller was the only member of Team Eclipse not to be fired last time out. 

The student recruitment company owner has landed in the boardroom in the last two tasks, but he has talked his way out of each one. 

As a result, he has shortened to 11/8 favourite on betting apps to win the series and land Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment. 

Team Eclipse appeared doomed from the start during the latest task when all three admitted they didn't have experience with pets, and Rothna had a fear of pets.

Dan was sent out to do the branding on his own, during which he earned some rare praise from Lord Sugar's aide Karren Brady. 

She told the camera that the task was a "turning point" for Dan, admitting he was doing a good job while flying solo.

The Apprentice Odds: Who Will Be Fired Next?

He later received further acclaim during the consumer research, when potential customers praised his branding, and they agreed with him that his team's cat tree was too big, and was too tricky for moggies to reach the top. 

While felines had problems making it to the summit of Team Eclipse's cat tree, Dan has had no such trouble hitting the top of the outright market to win this year's Apprentice. 

Team Eclipse secured 2,058 orders from four out of six clients, and Dan sold 2,000 of those units. 

While Team Alpha only sold to two corporate clients, their 2,600 orders were enough for victory. 

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Pascha's Faux Pas 

Not for the first time this series, Karishma Vijay was Project Manager of her team and she knew exactly what she wanted to create. 

Despite leading her side to victory, her dog bed with an audio feature had mixed reviews. 

Karishma appears to know what she wants in business and she deserves to be 6/4 second favourite to win this year's Apprentice. 

Lawrence Rosenberg isn't too far behind at 13/8, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he made it to the finale. 

However, Pascha Myhill was fortunate to make the final five after a huge faux pas in the last task of the series. 

Pascha and Priyesh Bathia oversaw their team's branding, and she made a huge spelling error by writing chic as "chique". 

Despite being told on several occasions the word was spelt incorrectly, she, bizarrely, continued to insist throughout the task that it was an alternative spelling of the word. 

This continued into the boardroom when she claimed "chic" is "a bit more of a slang spelling" of the word, and even Karren had to step in, saying: "I'm not sure that's true."

It didn't look good for Pascha, and she would surely have been one of the two fired if Team Eclipse had lost the task. 

She heads into the final five as the 5/4 second favourite to be sacked next.

The Apprentice Odds: Outright Winner

Perplexing Priyesh 

However, Priyesh looks to be the one most in trouble at 11/10. 

Incredibly, he has won the last five tasks in a row, including one as Project Manager, but during the interview stage it comes down to the strength of the candidate and their business plan. 

In the latest episode, Lord Sugar hinted Priyesh may not have too long left in the contest, when the entrepreneur couldn't hide his surprise that the candidate had progressed to the penultimate episode.

Upon telling the four Team Eclipse victors they were in the final five, he looked at Priyesh and said: "How you made it, I do not know."

Everyone burst out laughing, and Lord Sugar continued: "I haven't got a bloody clue. You're a lucky charm, you really are."

Priyesh replied: "I hope you like my business plan though."

Lord Sugar said he would "soon see about that".

* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.

Who do you think will be fired next, and who should Lord Sugar hire? Let us know in the comments below or vote in our poll above!