Gordon Ramsay asked to tone down swearing for new BBC series — but he refuses
PLAIN-SPEAKING chef Gordon Ramsay will return to his sweary best on new show Future Food Stars.
The programme comes after his gameshow, Bank Balance, ran for just one series, with viewers saying the chef had been sanitised.
But Gordon, 54, won’t hold back when the cookery contest – known by the acronym FFS - airs next year on BBC1.
A TV insider said: “This will be unrestricted Gordon doing what he does best: inspiring, mentoring, challenging and cooking with a healthy dollop of swearing.
“He was very much toned down on Bank Balance. Add in the dreadful Covid rules and it was stilted and uncomfortable - not at all the Gordon that everyone loves.
“You only have to see how successful the Gordon, Gino and Fred roadtrips are on ITV, where they always say to him: ‘Just be yourself.’”
FFS is an Apprentice-style search for hot new foodies who will compete for a big-money investment in their business.
Its abbreviation of FFS is a nod to Gordon’s penchant for swearing, just like his Channel 4 show The F Word, which supposedly referred to food.
Bank Balance, which aired earlier this year, saw Gordon dabble in becoming a prime-time gameshow host.
Contestants on Bank Balance had to answer questions to earn the chance to pile bars of gold on a precarious wobble board, with a top prize of £100,000 on offer.
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But viewers found it difficult to see Gordon outside of his usual foodie environment and clearly biting his tongue when he’d normally be turning the air blue.
Let’s hope FFS is on after the watershed . . .
Sophie Ellis next door
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR is the latest Brit to land a role in Channel 5’s Aussie soap Neighbours.
Days after Amanda Holden announced she would be playing Harriet Robinson, Sophie will be shooting scenes in London with Amanda’s on-screen niece Harlow. Harlow is played by Jemma Donovan – real life daughter of Ramsay Street legend Jason Donovan. Sophie will play herself, and she gives Harlow some “pearls of wisdom” about her late mother Prue – played by Denise Van Outen.
Viewers will see her cameo next year. Sophie said: “Neighbours was a huge part of my school days. We all watched it, loved it, talked about it. It’s a joy to now be able to say I’ve been in it.”
Jac's icy barney with Dan
JACQUELINE JOSSA was born to be on EastEnders because she loves a row.
The actress starred in the BBC1 soap, known for its fiery character and miserable storylines, for eight years as Lauren Branning.
And she says when disagreements brew between herself and husband Dan Osborne, she secretly loves it and he has a unique way of ending them.
Speaking in Vicky Pattison's The Secret To podcast, Jacqueline said: “I love an argument sometimes.
“I think that’s the dramatic in me, where I’m not doing EastEnders anymore, screaming and shouting all the time, but we’re well past it now.
“The other day he chucked water at me, that’s how we argued. I was fuming at him and in a bad mood and he was like ‘I know how to (sort this)’.
“And he threw freezing cold water at me right after I showered.
“That’s how we argue now, we haven’t got the energy to do that big blow up argument anymore, we don’t do that.”
Their heating bills must be huge.
THE VOICE UK coaches WILL.I.AM, Tom Jones, Olly Murs and Anne-Marie have all signed up to sit in those big revolving chairs for the 2022 series. Emma Willis remains host of the ITV Saturday night show and the winning act will bag a recording contract with Universal’s label UMOD.
Daisy's Taron snog
COMEDY favourite Daisy May Cooper has revealed she smooched Rocket Man star Taron Egerton when both were students at London drama school RADA.
According to Daisy, she seduced him with her ample cleavage – which he soon discovered was as fake as Elton John’s hair.
She says: “When I was at drama school I ended up snogging him.
“I had loads of socks in there and he went, ‘What is that? What’s wrong with it?’”
This Country actress Daisy made the revelation on Sky One show Never Mind The Buzzcocks in which she is a team captain. She is perhaps a touch more loose-lipped about her past loves after splitting from husband Will Weston earlier this year.
Taron, meanwhile, has been dating Emily Thomas on and off since 2016.
Emily is also in the movie business, working as an assistant director on films including Solo: A Star Wars Story and the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die.
I’m sure there’s enough water under the bridge for her to help cast Daisy in a future movie without any awkwardness.
Sall of approval for Alma
ACTRESS Sally Lindsay says BBC sitcom Alma’s Not Normal is the best British comedy in a decade.
She reckons the series – written by and starring Sophie Willan as Boltonian wild-child Alma – is on a par with legendary hit The Office.
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Former Corrie actress Sally, who wrote and stars in new Channel 5 drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries, said: “You look at someone like Sophie Willan and you see how unbelievably brilliant Alma’s Not Normal is and how that smashes anything in the last ten years out the water. It’s up there with The Office. It is so dark and meaningful.
“Women in comedy are amazing and I am the biggest fan ever. We are on the rise.”