US TV
A British celebrity chef has been dropped by a US cable channel after admitting he lied about having a knighthood.
In Dinner: Impossible, which has become a hit for Food Network, Robert Irvine shared tales of his supposed connections to the Royal Family and having cooked for four US presidents.
The channel announced at the weekend it would not renew his contract after it learned several claims were not true.
Irvine told a US newspaper he made up the knighthood and that the Queen had given him a castle: "When I first came down there and I met people with all this money, it was like trying to keep up with the Joneses. I was sitting in a bar one night and that came out. It was stupid."
Food Network president Brooke Johnson confirmed the chef would go at the end of the current series.
"We rely on the trust that our viewers have in the accuracy of the information we present, and Robert challenged that trust," he said. "We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host."
Reports have cast doubt on a string of his claims about working on Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake and cooking for four US presidents.
Irvine, in a statement released by the channel, said: "I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences regarding the royal family. I am proud of my work while serving in the Royal Navy and on board the royal yacht Britannia, also as part of the guest chef programme in the White House with the United States Navy, in addition to my culinary accomplishments.
"I should have stood on those accomplishments alone, without embellishment... I am truly sorry for the errors in my judgement."
In Dinner: Impossible, which has become a hit for Food Network, Robert Irvine shared tales of his supposed connections to the Royal Family and having cooked for four US presidents.
The channel announced at the weekend it would not renew his contract after it learned several claims were not true.
Irvine told a US newspaper he made up the knighthood and that the Queen had given him a castle: "When I first came down there and I met people with all this money, it was like trying to keep up with the Joneses. I was sitting in a bar one night and that came out. It was stupid."
Food Network president Brooke Johnson confirmed the chef would go at the end of the current series.
"We rely on the trust that our viewers have in the accuracy of the information we present, and Robert challenged that trust," he said. "We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host."
Reports have cast doubt on a string of his claims about working on Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake and cooking for four US presidents.
Irvine, in a statement released by the channel, said: "I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences regarding the royal family. I am proud of my work while serving in the Royal Navy and on board the royal yacht Britannia, also as part of the guest chef programme in the White House with the United States Navy, in addition to my culinary accomplishments.
"I should have stood on those accomplishments alone, without embellishment... I am truly sorry for the errors in my judgement."
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