The Apprentice week 3: Luton contestant dodges arrows in toy challenge failures

Creative challenges are always a game changer in the competition, separating the duds from those who can think imaginatively in business.

As viewers start to sort the wheat from the chaff, they will have a hard time sizing up Luton's own Lubna Farhan, 33, who is yet to raise her head above the parapet.

Is she a praying mantis waiting to strike or just padding out the numbers?

This week sees the boys and girls finally mixed into two teams under the names Unison and Empower.

Drinks company owner Riyonn, 30, leaps at the chance to lead team Unison and appoints cockney salesman Thomas, 28, as his deputy.

They quickly settle on an idea for a "sweet" talking turtle.

It's the best, or possibly only idea, from a bad bunch. As the team awkwardly sits together for the first time, there's anything but 'unison' in the air!

Riyonn offloads creating the product to Thomas, who disappears with Scarlett and Lottie to manufacture the cutesy turtle that most eight-year-olds would rip the head out of.

Thomas even records its saccharine little lines, "I'm brave ... I'm special".

Having left his most important task to the sub-team, Riyonn leads colleagues Lubna, Souleyman and Marianne on a mission to record their advert.

Determined to humiliate themselves at any cost, the group engages in two minutes of mind-numbing dance while wearing animal onesies.

And despite the little turtle's talking powers, the ad is strangely mute with very little showcasing of the toy.

A children's focus group blasts the turtle as "babyish" and "boring" and retailers John Lewis and Henleys dismiss it, especially after motor-mouth Lottie, 19, lets slip the "mixed feedback" during her pitch.

Over in Empower, 29-year-old Pamela puts her beauty business expertise to use as team leader.

After discussing the benefits of "slime" for a toy, Pamela chooses her bestie Jemelin, 34, as sub-team leader, ignoring the pleas of 28-year-old salesman Lewis.

While the sub-team make a decent if overambitious fairytale advert, Pamela and her team ignore the joys of slime as they create a bland plastic unicorn that looks straight out of My Little Pony.

For reasons unknown, besides slime, the miniature unicorn also has a passport...

Poor Lewis, with his aeons of experience, is itching to pitch the toy to the retailers but Pammy refuses to indulge him and instead takes sidekick Dean, 20.

Their inept pitch to John Lewis and Henleys is littered with the sort of umming and aahing that would send nervous chills down the spines of most corporate clients.

"So... ummmm ... yeah... you know, you know... we were thinking..."

The day is only saved when the team's Little Voice, 27-year-old Iasha, steps in to explain the trippy tale of slime and unicorn to retailer John Lewis, who are impressed enough to give Empower its sole order.

Over in the boardroom, failed team leader Riyonn proves once again there's no real accountability on the show after his neck is saved at the expense of underwhelming colleague Souleyman, 20, whose chief sin was to have been boring television.

With three men down, the stakes will certainly be raised for the remaining gents on episode four!

The Apprentice airs on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday.