Gordon Ramsay going soft?...

Viewers who tuned into Ramsay's latest 'F Word' offering on Channel 4 might well have been surprised to see Gordon show mercy when confronted with the decision to pull the trigger and shoot a beautiful wild Deer - thankfully Ramsay blinked when the awful moment arrived and instead of pulling the trigger Gordon showed his not often seen human side as he pulled back from the brink as he trudged away to reflect 'am I going ******* soft'?...

The show was pre-recorded and last week Channel 4 received many angry calls from viewers who were upset over the piece on horse meat when Janet Street-Porter was seen sending a beautiful Pony away for slaughter, but what happened this week was no knee-jerk PR reaction to the protests of the last episode when People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) criticised the show and Ramsay.

Indeed PETA will no doubt be in touch with Channel 4 again over another rather controversial piece in last nights show in which Geese were seen to be force fed in preparation for high quality foi gras (duck liver).

Ramsay is no doubt courting controversy but at least his F Word show is raising public awareness on such issues.

Porter upsets horse lovers in Ramsay's F word...

Trigger happy Janet Street-Porter in ratings shocker...

It's not often that I'm shocked when watching the goggle box, but last night I was as Janet Street-Porter trundled off to France on Ramsay's F Word to send a nag to slaughter, just so she could taste horse meat. Unlike many animals which we Brits happily consume without too much thought or consideration, horses are owned and loved by many of us and what shocked me was that Porter went to the trouble of going off to France to capture one short clip of one our four legged friend's being ushered into the back of a horse box for slaughter in preparation for human consumption.

This short clip brought home the harsh reality of what happens in other parts of Europe where the practice is common, but thankfully not so in the UK. Added to which there is concerns for the horses welfare as many are transported very long distances on the way to slaughter in totally inadequate conditions, there was no mention of this during the F Word.

In the programme Ramsay and Porter conclude that eating horse meat is good for you because of its nutritional values, I guess that they also thought that in making this short film that too would be good for the F Word, but the move has been described elsewhere as a desperate attempt to drive up ratings.

I have to say it left me completely unimpressed and slightly puzzled and yes slightly shocked too. Unlike the rest of the tv chefs, Ramsay has managed to do something with his rather unique - for much of his many shows it isn't just about the food, that is almost incidental, it's all about him and his huge personality, and how many times Gordon can say **** in the allotted time. Maybe Gordon & co feel the expletives shock factor is wearing thin hence the search for new shock tactics. Great tv? I don't think so.