"I don't like bullshitters, I don't like arse-lickers, I don't like schmoozers, I don't like liars and I don't like cheats."

These were the opening words of caution that business tough nut Sir Alan Sugar gave to the 14 ambitious wannabes who are vying to become The Apprentice, and land themselves a £100,000 a year job.

The reality TV show, which could be best described as Pop Idol for the business world, hit our screens for the first time this week. The programme is based on the successful American version which saw dodgy-haired business tycoon Donald Trump set young business men and women tasks which enabled them to display their entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses.

At the end of the show the least impressive candidate would face Trump in the boardroom and would be greeted by the immortal words: "You're fired."

The UK version works to a similar format, but in typical Alan Sugar-style, it is less schmaltzy and more hard hitting.

This of course had to be the case with Sugar fronting the show. It is doubtful he was the producers' first choice as his business philosophy is the embodiment of the 1980s loadsamoney culture, but despite his cockney wide-boy accent, he is no Del Boy trader and has successfully created an impressive £700 million empire.

The Apprentice's first offering saw the candidates split into two teams, men versus women. They were asked to choose team names and were then given the instructions for their task from Alan Sugar. The teams were each given £500 to buy wholesale flowers to then sell on the streets at a profit.

While watching I was of course rooting for the girls and sincerely hoped they would excel, showing viewers women are great business people and can be as astute and entrepreneurial as any male.

However, sadly these women did no favours for the female race. From the inception of the group, the squabbling began. Instead of getting on with the job, they time-wasted, and actually spent 90 minutes more time than the men to simply decide the name of their team, First Forte.

As for the task itself, Saira, a sales manager for an online recruitment company, nominated herself as team leader. She patronised and dictated to her team-mates in a very non-motivational fashion and seemed to rub most of the women up the wrong way.

In contrast, the men, with the exception of mature student misfit Matthew, approached the task professionally and worked well as a team in order to achieve success. The dark, handsome Paul, a property developer, sold flowers door to door in Islington, achieving outstanding results. But what woman wouldn't buy flowers from a gorgeous guy on their doorstep. My point is they played to their strengths.

The women were the losers on the day and Saira, Miranda, who had panicked and sold flowers below cost price to another wholesaler, and the slacker, Adenike, were all summoned to Sugar's bitter boardroom. Even then, the women embarked on a fit of mud slinging and woefully tried to justify their failure, resulting in Adenike finally getting the chop.

Individually there are undoubtedly some great, strong women with talent on this programme and I truly hope they will shine and prove to be significant contenders, but their team work left a lot to be desired.

Could it be that they are so used to striving for success in the upper echelons of business, predominantly a man's world, that when grouped with other equally powerful women, they fall to pieces?

Please girls, show us what you're made of and give us reason to be proud.

Bitchiness and back biting are not what we want to see. Leave the diva in you at home and let's get down to business.

The fee for this column is donated to the York City FC Youth Development Fund

Updated: 08:41 Saturday, February 19, 2005