Bill Cullen picks Michelle Massey to be his new Apprentice

It was a battle between two girls this year, but only one could win the chance to be Bill's apprentice... and her name is Michelle Massey.

On Monday night, TV3 viewers got the chance to find out who would win the €100,000 a year job to join Bill Cullen's business as his latest protegé.

In the end it was a close call between 28-year-old Michelle and her 23-year-old rival Niamh, but there could only be one winner and the English brunette was the candidate who walked away with the lucrative job.

Sixteen had been whittled down to two for the final, with a number of contestants returning to help the two finalists carry out their final task, which involved each team putting on an event to promote three Irish products. Unusually for the show, there were no tears, no arguments and no disastrous presentations.

"It was down to the experience in the end," Bill said on The Apprentice: You're Hired, screened after the main show. Michelle has nine or ten years experience, and that's what I need right now."

At the end of the show, both girls were presented with a bonus prize of a new Renault Megane Coupé car.