Gordon Ramsay has hit back at Lord Sugar for talking ‘absolute b******ks’ after he was accused of ‘ripping off’ The Apprentice with his new TV show, Future Food Stars.
The tycoon, 75, told MailOnline that in January that Gordon should ‘stick to his day job’ after he launched the new series last year, which sees 12 entrepreneurs compete for a £150,000 investment of the restaurateur’s own money to start a food business.
And in a new interview, the chef, 56, fired back that the tycoon, 75, had ‘no right to start throwing his toys out the pram’, adding that there’s ‘enough room’ for both of their shows on the BBC.
Speaking to The Sun, Gordon told how Lord Sugar should stop ‘b***hing’ about him, while any suggestion that his show is a rip-off is the businessman simply talking ‘absolute b******ks’
He said: ‘He has no right to start throwing his toys out the pram. Do you think Simon Cowell started complaining about The Voice when he was running The X Factor? Of course he didn’t.
Having his say: Gordon Ramsay has hit back at Lord Sugar for talking ‘absolute b******ks’ after he was accused of ‘ripping off’ The Apprentice with his new TV show, Future Food Stars
Not impressed: The tycoon, 75, told MailOnline that in January that Gordon should ‘stick to his day job’ after he launched the new series last year
‘There is more than enough room for both shows on the BBC. Come on Alan! Share the fing love!’
Gordon went on to say that a former The Apprentice contestant even begged him to be on his new show, with the Scotsman sniping that while Alan was ‘b***hing’ about him, his candidates were ‘dying to come on’ his programme.
While talking about his new TV series, Gordon couldn’t resist another swipe at his fellow TV star when stating that Future Food Stars was going international.
He said: ‘Strictly between you, Lord Sugar and I, we’ve also just finished filming in the US too. And we are going to Australia next month as well to launch it. Future Food Stars is about scale and magnitude. I am not going to get them dressed up in f***ing pin-striped suits. It’s about the businesses themselves and what they can offer.’
It comes after Lord Sugar said that the format of Gordon’s show that returns to BBC One with a second series later this year is a ‘virtual rip-off’ of The Apprentice and says he doesn’t understand how lawyers allowed it to go ahead.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Lord Sugar said: ‘I think broadcasters, Channel 4, Channel 5, and ITV have tried for many years at least for 17 years to try and replicate the elimination process of The Apprentice. I say this with great respect to them but they’ve failed.
‘Last year, Gordon Ramsay had some cockamamie idea… I like Gordon and I think he’s very good and should stick to what he should do, cooking and all that stuff.
‘He had some thing, which was like, I don’t know how the lawyers allowed it because it was a virtual rip-off of The Apprentice. No disrespect to Gordon but stick to your day job mate that’s all I would say.’
Swipe: In a new interview, the chef, 56, fired back that the tycoon, 75, had ‘no right to start throwing his toys out the pram’, adding that there’s ‘enough room’ for both of their shows on the BBC
Rant: Do you think Simon Cowell started complaining about The Voice when he was running The X Factor? Of course he didn’t. There’s more than enough room for both shows on the BBC’
Wow: Future Food Stars is about scale and magnitude. I am not going to get them dressed up in f***ing pin-striped suits. It’s about the businesses themselves and what they can offer’ (pictured, this years The Apprentice candidates)
Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars aired for the first time in 2022 on BBC One and the second series will begin later this year.
The show saw Gordon challenge cooking hopefuls with a series of tasks, explaining in episode one that his aim was to ‘catapult someone to the next level and invest £150,000 of my own cash into their business.’
Gordon stated that he ‘handpicked’ 12 of the UK’s best up and coming food and drink entrepreneurs, with the show later being dubbed as ‘The Apprentice of food.’
After Lord Sugar’s jibes, Gordon later told MailOnline he doesn’t understand why Alan included a food task in a recent episode of The Apprentice, when the show is about how to run an office.
Gordon suggested that Lord Sugar took inspiration from HIM, saying: ‘What have bao buns got to do with running an office?’
An episode of The Apprentice saw the candidates manufacture bao buns to sell to the public, but kitchen explosions and a maths meltdown led to a grilling in the boardroom.
But speaking highly of Lord Sugar, Gordon said: ‘I love that guy.’
Fuming: Lord Sugar said that the format of Gordon’s show that returns to BBC One with a second series later this year is a ‘virtual rip-off’ of The Apprentice and says he doesn’t understand how lawyers allowed it to go ahead
Awkward: Alan told MailOnline that Gordon should ‘stick to his day job’ after he launched the new series last year, which sees 12 entrepreneurs compete for a £150,000 investment of the restaurateur’s own money to start a food business
Oh dear: Gordon went on to suggest Lord Sugar copied HIM with food task on The Apprentice
‘The Apprentice is an amazing format. And when the BBC approached us three years ago and asked if they could entice us to develop an exciting food hero sort of entrepreneur programme, I got so excited.
‘We started to unearth all this talent. Since then, we’ve gone off to the US and next month, we’re off to Australia.’
Contemplating further, he said: ‘Yeah, Lord Sugar, bless him in his 70s… I don’t think that my level of competition and excitement is anywhere near his at that age.
‘But I was fascinated with the bao bun challenge they had on The Apprentice. What’s that got to do with running an office?’
When asked if Lord Sugar could have been inspired by him, Gordon replied: ‘Who knows? But I love that guy.’
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