[5] He came to prominence on the show after persuading his team leader Leon Doyle to select a different person to bring back into the boardroom after he had already decided Jim would be one of the two candidates.
[6] From then on, he was branded "evil" and was branded by Lord Sugar's aide at the time Nick Hewer as "spooky"[7] because of his apparent decision to use his abilities of persuasion more aggressively, having another narrow escape in week 7 as project manager, when his mistake in negotiation over advertising space in the Hip Replacement magazine cost the team victory.
[8] However, Eastwood had a return to form in week 9, when he not only designed a well-received luxury biscuit called Special Stars, but also helped secure the biggest victory ever seen in the UK version of The Apprentice, by delivering a pitch to Asda that persuaded them to place an order of 800,000 units.
Eastwood reached the final despite a second disastrous loss as project manager, in which Venture's concept for a Mexican restaurant lost in every single category to Logic, made worse by the failure to produce any financial plan for the pitch.
Jim's survival was mostly a result of Natasha taking a total backseat on the task, despite possessing a degree in hospitality, but he was nonetheless tipped for victory by previous candidates.