He is not a man typically lost for words but Lord Sugar, ahead of the new series of The Apprentice, refused to discuss the high-profile dismissal case brought against him by one of its previous winners.
The business show returns to BBC1 for its ninth series next week with its usual cast list of wannabes, no-hopers and – maybe, just maybe – genuine entrepreneurial talent.
It comes less than a month after Stella English, who won the show in 2010, lost her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar, who accused her during the tribunal of effectively blackmailing him. English had claimed she was treated like an "overpaid lackey".
But at the programme launch in central London on Tuesday, Sugar refused to answer any questions on the topic.
"Here we go," he said. "We are here to talk about the new series and that's what we are going to talk about today."
But while The Apprentice is back, the BBC has axed its spinoff series, Junior Apprentice, a decision that clearly still rankles with Sugar who pointed out that it had been nominated at next month's Bafta TV awards.
"Young Apprentice has been nominated for a Bafta for the second time. The BBC commissioners decided not to recommission it," he said. "There was obviously some logical thinking behind it. They can explain it to me if we pick up the gong next week."
He said he hoped the BBC would continue to commission The Apprentice, which first appeared in 2005, into a 10th series and beyond.
"Television is a product and like any product they will make the decision simply by the reaction in the marketplace. They judge television programmes by viewing audiences, all that type of stuff," he said.
But he admitted it was difficult to refresh the challenges faced by contestants, nine series in.
"I think the Apprentice has got longevity in it as long as we can continue to find interesting and different characters. I know it's difficult with tasks – they are either selling or buying or negotiating or manufacturing something, of course that is never going to change.
"We try to make it a little bit more interesting but at the end of the day it is down to the candidates if it is interesting TV. I am sure the BBC will continue to commission it."
Asked if the new series of the programme had found the right balance between candidates who were entertaining and talented, Sugar said: "You wouldn't ask that question if you turned up to some of the auditions and saw some of the people with mohican hair painted pink and bones through their nose. You would realise we do actually select some credible people."
Exactly how credible remains to be seen. The new series features candidates who boast, among many other things, "I take inspiration from Napoleon. I'm here to conquer" and "I have the sex appeal of Jessica Rabbit and the brain of Einstein."
Sugar tells them, "I am sick and tired of all these bloody cliches – failure not an option, thinking outside the box, inside the box" before offering up one of his own: "I am interested in actions, not words."
The programme, which began by offering a £100,000 job with Lord Sugar, now offers £250,000 backing for the winning candidate's new business idea.
The opening episode – no spoilers – sees the two teams challenged to sell the contents of two shipping containers in Tilbury, Essex, including cat litters, bottles of water, high visibility jackets and waving "lucky cats".
Sugar said he already had a "quick glimpse" at the contestants' business plans before the show began but said it was only towards the end of the series that he looked at the remaining candidates' ideas in greater detail.
Asked if he had ever made any mistakes, Sugar said: "I am not perfect, there are occasions when I may have got it wrong. Of course some slip through the net. I haven't seen anybody who I let go become the new Branson or Zuckerberg. I am sure you in the media world would have taken delight."
The Apprentice returns to BBC1 next Tuesday, followed by the second episode the following day on Wednesday.
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