Channel 4 rapped over Ramsay's 'F' word

Channel 4's transmission of a Gordon Ramsay show has breached Ofcom rules, it has been ruled.

Ramsay's Great British Nightmare came under fire after a total of 115 uses of the 'F' word were counted in its first 40 minutes.

The two-hour show received 51 complaints from viewers who felt the TV chef had gone too far in his use of inappropriate language.

Ofcom said in its ruling: "The range of complaints made to Ofcom indicated that a number of regular viewers to the programme were shocked and offended by the combination of the sheer frequency of the offensive language and the way some of it was delivered.

"Whilst acknowledging that they were fans of the show many of them simply found it unacceptable and were extremely discomforted by it."

Channel 4 defended the programme, which aired on January 30, claiming that the language used "was not inconsistent with the acrimonious disputes and levels of strong language that has regularly featured across the Kitchen Nightmares series".

A spokesperson concluded: "The sheer intensity of the language in this two-hour Ramsay special so soon after 9pm meant that even frequent viewers of his normal shows were unprepared."