No Moore Apprentice bid for Laura

It was a masterclass in how not to negotiate but Laura Moore's £200 bid for a truffle worth at the most £80 was not the big story from last night's The Apprentice – it was Liz Locke and that killer stare, blogs Tracey O'Sullivan.

Now the woman wears some killer heels but they would never do as much damage as that simple but loathsome look she shot at Stella English last night. More scary than Lord Sugar's demon digit when he's in a firing mood.

She didn't even need an outburst with it to let Stella know the gloves were most definitely off after last night's boardroom clash.

And it certainly upped the tension as these two are among the favourites to go all the way. In fact I would put money on an all-female final which means Liz picked her victim with intent last night.

She can see Stella is her closest rival among the remaining five contestants.

Poor Laura – she never stood a chance as she dragged the two of them back into the boardroom last night after her Apollo team failed the task to complete Lord Sugar's shopping list of unusual items.

While it was inevitable after several weeks of poor performances including her last stint as project manager when she managed a record – for zero sales – it was still a pretty heavy fall for Laura.

Her girls had managed to buy everything on the list and couldn't help giving themselves a resounding pat on the back before they faced team Synergy believing they had it in the bag.

Unfortunately, Laura had led with such a dismal negotiating style, paying well over the odds for their items, the boys still managed to win despite having fines for failing to complete their list.

The latest win on a technicality saved Stuart from the final boardroom showdown but it can't be long now before Lord Sugar has him in his sights.

And while Jamie Lester and Chris Bates started well they are having more and more problems as the week goes on.

Foghorn Joanna Riley is just too loud and traditionally the brashy females don't charm Lord Sugar into submission which leaves Stella and Liz.

If anyone was in any doubt last night the last few minutes of the programme firmly placed them as solid enough business-wise to beat the competition but with the added ability of taking no prisoners.

As she looked across the room at Stella after their return to the candidates' house from the boardroom Liz locked stares and simply said "Laura would be missed" with the thinly-veiled assertion that it was Stella who should have gone.

Things just got an awful lot more interesting on The Apprentice.