Ramsay eats humble pie

Potty-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay offered an unreserved public apology on Wednesday to a popular Australian TV presenter whom he suggested was an ugly pig.

The sharp-tongued cook was forced to swallow humble pie over his attack on Tracy Grimshaw, the presenter of 'A Current Affair' on Nine Network, after his mother called him to tell him she was disgusted with his behaviour.

Ramsay's rant last weekend prompted outrage in Australia and led Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to call him a "low life".

"I'd just like to take this opportunity to apologise for my stupid comments," Ramsay told the Nine Network.

"I'm mortified that the whole thing has gone this far, my apologies."

The British chef attacked Grimshaw at a Melbourne cooking expo on Saturday, a day after she interviewed him.

In front of thousands of onlookers, Ramsay suggested Grimshaw needed "to see Simon Cowell's botox doctor".

He also showed a picture of a woman apparently naked on all fours with the face of a pig and said "that's Tracy Grimshaw". Reports also suggested he said she was a lesbian, but he strenuously denied the allegation.

Ramsay initially shrugged off his comments as a joke and suggested his lawyers would be looking into the issue when Grimshaw responded on Tuesday by questioning his treatment of women, including his wife.

But he backed down on Wednesday, facing a wave of negative publicity not only in Australia but also in his lucrative British and US markets, describing the comments as "stupid" and "careless".

While Rudd and other Australian political leaders lined up to condemn Ramsay, the chef revealed it was a phone call from his mother that made him realise he had gone too far.

"When your mum rings you and it's a bollocking down the telephone, then of course you begin to get the picture," he said.

"She was disgusted, she wanted to know what actually happened."

Ramsay, who Grimshaw labelled a bully and an "arrogant narcissist", admitted the controversy had been a humbling experience.

"Humble pie is something that from this day on I'll be eating for breakfast for the rest of my life," he said.

AFP