C4 admits faking Ramsay scene

Channel 4 admitted viewers saw "an inaccurate impression" of events

A scene in Gordon Ramsay's TV series The F Word was faked to make it look as if the chef had caught several fish at sea, Channel 4 has admitted.

He was filmed during an expedition into coastal waters, returning to the shore with a number of sea bass.

But it has emerged that a spearfishing expert set sail beforehand to guarantee Ramsay had something to cook.

"We regret that viewers may feel they were let down on this occasion," a Channel 4 spokeswoman said.

"Regrettably, it appears that one part of the sea bass video-tape gave viewers an inaccurate impression about Gordon's involvement."

She added that the broadcaster took "such errors of judgement seriously" and was working with production company Optomen to ensure there was no repeat.

Hour-long trip

Fisherman Dave O'Callaghan told the Sunday Times he had left "20 minutes before everyone else to make sure we had fish to put on the barbecue".

"I caught about four and then Gordon got in, and we spent about an hour in the water.

"When we came back in, we threaded the fish on to a stringer and he carried them," Mr O'Callaghan added.

The admission by Channel 4 comes only days after the BBC apologised for a misleading preview clip of a forthcoming Royal documentary.

The Queen was seen apparently storming out of a photo shoot but it emerged that the scenes had been edited together out-of-sequence, in a non-chronological order.