ITV has issued an apology after receiving a warning from Ofcom for accidentally airing an expletive-heavy rant from Gordon Ramsay before 9am.
Well known for his sweary tirades, celebrity chef Ramsay has appeared on ITV since 2007, when he starred in the reality show Hell’s Kitchen.
While Ramsay’s shows normally air post-watershed – the time when more mature content can be broadcast on TV – ITV found itself in trouble with Ofcom over a “clear breach” of its rules.
During the broadcast of a repeat of Ramsay’s competition series Food Stars USA on 2 May, the 8.25am showing featured instances of Ramsay, 59, saying the word “f***” and “f***ing” – which remained in the subtitles despite being bleeped out of the episode itself.
Ofcom said that ITV had apologised and explained that, due to “human error”, the subtitles had been generated in June 2025 from a version of the episode featuring the original expletive, before “the implementation of new checking processes”.
All subtitles of Food Stars USA, the competition series Ramsay has presented since 2023, have since been “re-checked” following the mistake, ITV said, adding that it had also “reinforced its guidance on re-checking” subtitles to staff.
Ofcom ruled this mistake as a “clear breach” of its watershed rules, in which “the most offensive language” can only be aired on UK television after 9pm.
“Rule 1.14 prohibits the broadcast of the most offensive language on television before the watershed,” the judgement, published online, read.
“In this case, the broadcast of the words “f***” and “f***ing” at 08:25 was a clear example of the most offensive language being broadcast before the watershed.”
Ever since he first rose to fame, Ramsay has found himself in hot water as the use of expletives he established working in kitchens threatened his broadcasting career.
Back in 2008, the Australian Senate proposed – and ultimately rejected – a call to ban Ramsay’s use of certain swear words on the American series Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, which was a big hit in Australia.
The swearing has followed Ramsay out of the kitchen, becoming a trademark of his on-screen persona.
While hosting the BBC game show Bank Balance in 2021, Ramsay managed to refrain from swearing for a grand total of 45 seconds before shouting “s***” and “f***”.
Promoting the show, which aired post-watershed at 9pm, in an interview at the time, Ramsay: “It’s unpredictable, volatile and very, very unstable… sound familiar?”
